Aero structural modeling of a wing using CATIA V5 and XFLR5 software and experimental validation using the Price- Païdoussis wing tunnel

During the structural study of an aircraft wing, it is difficult to accurately model the aerodynamic forces applied on the wing. To facilitate analysis, the lift of the wing is distributed on the main wing’s spar and its ribs. This method particularly works when the wing structure has a main beam. At this point; we design this spar so that it can withstand the lift of the wing on its own. This implies that the entire wing will be stronger than necessary so that the structure will not be fully optimized. To overcome this problem, we should be able to apply an overall aerodynamic distribution over the entire surface of the wing. By applying realistic embedment, we should be able to get much more reliable results. To achieve this we will therefore need to combine the software results of calculations about the aerodynamics of a wing with the software results for its design and structural analysis. In this project, the software used to calculate the coefficients of pressure on the wing is XFLR5 and the software for the design and structural analysis will be CATIA V5.The XFLR5 software allows quick analysis of a wing based on the analysis of its airfoils. This software computes airfoil performances as XFoil and lets you choose from three methods to calculate the performance of the wing (LLT, VLM and 3D Panels). To validate the results given by XFLR5, wind tunnel tests were performed on several different airfoils. Regarding the design and finite-element analysis of the structure, the CATIA V5 software is commonly used in the aerospace field. It is easier and faster to use than software like HyperMesh and gives very similar results. CATIA V5 also provides greater automation steps for wing design. Thus, in this project we will see how to automate the design process from the reading of the results obtained by XFLR5, specifically about the pressures around the wing, to the creation of the skin representing the surface of the wing. The goal to achieve, after a quick analysis on XFLR5 and a recording of values of the pressure coefficient, the user would only have to launch a CATIA V5 program to get the skin of the wing with the applied pressures. Once the skin is obtained, the user can create the inside structure of the wing and during the structural analysis, the deformation of the wing can realistically be visualized and thus optimized for the best possible structure.