Aeroelastic behaviour of a solar-powered high-altitude long endurance unmanned air vehicle (HALE-UAV) slender wing

A preliminary dynamic and aeroelastic investigation is performed in a simplified equivalent configuration derived from the HELIPLAT HAVE-UAV (high-altitude very-long endurance unmanned air vehicle) wing structure. The presence of slender wing structures introduces in the structural design a certain degree of non-linearity, forcing the designer to deal with specific phenomena, one of which is described. A simple dynamic system is used to point out the important effect due to the inclusion of the deformed equilibrium configuration into the dynamic behaviour of the system. A modified wing structure configuration is used to point out this effect in the flutter behaviour of slender structures. Some interesting design indications are presented.