Improved aeroelastic tailoring using tow-steered composites

The use of tow-steered composites to tailor the aeroelastic behaviour of composite wings is investigated. A Rayleigh–Ritz type approach is used to model the aeroelastic behaviour of a simple rectangular unswept composite wing combined with modified strip theory aerodynamics. Symmetric lay-ups have been considered where the outer fibres are allowed to vary in orientation along the wing span, and the effects on free vibration, flexural axis, flutter and divergence speeds, and gust loads are examined. It was found that it is possible to influence the aeroelastic behaviour in both a beneficial and detrimental manner using tow steering. By increasing the design space, tow-steered laminates allow improved designs compared to traditional unidirectional composite laminates.

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