Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

The project industrial partner, Airvinci, is developing a coaxial rotorcraft with a ducted fan in both manned andx000D
unmanned types. Increasing the payload fraction of the rotorcraft is Airvinci's major objective as it wouldx000D
increase fuel economy and maneuverability. As a result Airvinci desires a composite airframe that meets allx000D
regulations according to FAR part 27. The composite airframe will need to be optimized to endure all flightx000D
loads as well as impact load dissipation during the landing phase. The two main objectives of the proposedx000D
project are:x000D
1.Direct Replacement of an existing steel spaceframe with composite equivalent.x000D
2.Design of an optimized impact reducing composite airframex000D
The research effort will therefore focus on the following:x000D
1.Non-linear Explicit Dynamic Structural Analysisx000D
The airframe will need to be crashworthy according to FAR part 27 standards. Therefore, it will be required tox000D
show that the airframe will not deform significantly or will springback under dynamic loads. Traditional FEx000D
models utilize linear solvers for static analysis and small displacements. For an accurate estimation towards thex000D
airframe's crashworthiness and energy absorbing capabilities of the landing skids, a Non-linear model explicitx000D
model will be required. The nonlinear model will allow for more complex failure modes as well as dynamicx000D
analysis. An explicit solver will allow for simulating the landing.x000D
2.Design Optimizationx000D
The anisotropic properties of composites allow for a great deal of tailoring towards the design loads. Using ax000D
combination of the packages available in ANSYS it is possible to determine the directions of the plies as wellx000D
as their stacking sequence. The resulting design will also be optimized for manufacturing to avoid complexx000D
tooling.