Impact of actuation and sensor measurement delays on stability of real-time hybrid aeroelastic simulation system

This paper is focused on the stability of real-time hybrid aeroelastic simulation systems for flexible wings. In a hybrid aeroelastic simulation, a coupled aeroelastic system is ‘broken down’ into an aerodynamic simulation subsystem and a structural vibration testing subsystem. The coupling between structural dynamics and aerodynamics is achieved by real-time communication between the two subsystems. Real-time hybrid aeroelastic simulations can address the limitations associated with conventional aeroelastic testing performed within a wind tunnel or with pure computational aeroelastic simulation. However, as the coupling between structural dynamics and aerodynamics is completed through the real-time actuation and sensor measurement, their delays may inherently impact the performance of hybrid simulation system and subsequently alter the measured aeroelastic stability characteristics of the flexible wings. This study aims to quantify the impact of actuation and sensor measurement delays on the measured aeroelastic stability, e.g. the flutter boundary, of flexible wings during real-time hybrid simulations, especially when different aerodynamic models are implemented.