21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-4.9.3

OPTIMISATION OF THE STRUCTURAL DYNAMIC FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL FOR A COMPLETE AIRCRAFT

Dunn S. A.
Aeronautical and Maritime Research Lab., Australia

Keywords: optimisation, ostructural dynamics, finite-element model

A finite-element (FE) model for aeroelastic analyses, is a vast idealisation of the actual structure. In creating this idealised model, many approximations must be made and the model then tested against the results of a ground vibration test (GVT). Subsequent to the GVT, the FE model invariably requires modification; how to best carry out such modifications has been the subject of a large .body of work presented in the literature over the past 30 years, without any generally satisfactory solution. More recently, the artificial intelligence tool of genetic algorithms have shown promise in the development of optimised FE models directly from experimental GVT data for simple structures and aircraft sub-structures. In this paper, it will be demonstrated how such processes can be used to optimise the FE model for a complete aircraft using simulated GVT data for an aircraft carrying underwing stores. Details of how such a process may be used to give unique, or minimum order, models will also be demonstrated and discussed.

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