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Aerospace
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Aeroelasticity, Volume V
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Aeroelasticity, Volume V

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Aeronautics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 4694

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Enrico Cestino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: aeroelasticity; aircraft design; aerospace structural analysis, construction and experimental investigations; theoretical-experimental aeroelastic modeling of innovative aircraft; design, development, and flight testing of innovative new-concept aircrafts with electro-solar propulsion and hydrogen fuel cells
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giacomo Frulla

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy
Interests: aerospace structural design and construction; critical and post-critical behavior of thin walled metallic/composite components; experimental/numerical investigations; solar powered UAV design; wind rotor design and blade dimensioning; aeroelastic analysis of slender structures
Dr. Markus Raimund Ritter

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Aeroelasticity, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Bunsenstraße 10, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Interests: aeroelasticity; aircraft; CFD simulation; aerodynamics; fluid structure interaction; flight dynamics; numerical simulation; CFD coding; wind tunnel modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aviation’s contribution to global CO2 emissions has come under scrutiny since the early 2000s. For this purpose, new aircraft configurations with greater energy efficiency are being developed. One way to increase energy efficiency is to reduce structural weight and the increase the wing aspect ratio.

The resulting slender, lighter, and highly flexible structures are prone to exhibit aeroelastic instabilities and require radically different structural and manufacturing concepts. The extensive use of anisotropic materials can play a crucial role in enhancing aircraft performance with no additional penalties on weight. To this end, aeroelastic tailoring is a fundamental tool. Potential enabling technologies are functionally graded materials (FGM), variable angle tow (VAT), curvilinear stiffeners, and foldable wings. The ongoing revolution in computer-aided design and manufacturing technologies has broken down barriers and paved the way for a variety of innovative solutions. The use of additive manufacturing (AM) can lead to numerous advantages either in terms of time and costs saving or the possibility of increasing the mould’s complexity and customization.

Uncertainties associated with the prediction of flight loads and manufacturing processes are not negligible, especially during the conceptual design phases due to the lack of information about the new product to be designed. Methods to quantify adequate design margins to account for the various sources of uncertainty are essential in order to satisfy safety levels imposed by regulations. Finally, experimental tests will provide the opportunity to verify the effectiveness of the design choices.

Research in this field is characterized by a highly multidisciplinary approach including theoretical, computational, and experimental studies.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • New design concepts for future aircrafts;
  • Advanced numerical model development for aero-structural analyses and process simulation;
  • Optimization of composite structures;
  • Innovative morphing wing concepts to improve aeroservoelastic behaviour and active wing technology;
  • Uncertainty in composite aerostructures’ design;
  • Aeroelastic experimental tests.

Dr. Enrico Cestino
Dr. Giacomo Frulla
Dr. Markus Raimund Ritter
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • innovative aircraft
  • aeroservoelasticity
  • composite structures
  • morphing wing
  • experimental tests
  • structural optimization

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 14826 KB  
Article
Parametric Evaluation of Morphed Wing Effectiveness
by Guido Servetti, Enrico Cestino and Giacomo Frulla
Aerospace 2026, 13(2), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace13020187 - 14 Feb 2026
Viewed by 725
Abstract
Recently, continuous improvements in aircraft manoeuvrability and fuel consumption reduction have led researchers to investigate additional wing configurations based on morphing concepts. Morphing is also a potential solution for noise level reduction and may therefore represent an additional benefit. The advantages of morph-type [...] Read more.
Recently, continuous improvements in aircraft manoeuvrability and fuel consumption reduction have led researchers to investigate additional wing configurations based on morphing concepts. Morphing is also a potential solution for noise level reduction and may therefore represent an additional benefit. The advantages of morph-type schemes over traditional control surfaces during specific manoeuvres become a key parameter in the preliminary design stage. In this work, three types of airfoil morphing applied to a typical basic wing are considered and analysed: leading-edge morphing, trailing-edge morphing, and rib twist. The aerodynamic performance of each configuration is evaluated through a numerical procedure combining a panel method and a vortex lattice method. Drag reduction in morphed versus conventional wings under identical flight conditions is quantified, allowing the identification of the most efficient configuration. The analyses consider both roll manoeuvres and high-lift flight phases by evaluating changes in design parameters—such as chord-wise hinge positions, span-wise morph distribution, and morphing angles—which are compared and discussed. For the rolling manoeuvre, increasing the span-wise morphing region improves drag reduction, but not by more than 5%. When shifting the hinge position from 60% to 80% of the chord, similar drag reduction levels can be achieved, although the required morph angle differs under the same conditions. The effect of different drag components is also assessed, showing that the induced drag component is predominant for low aspect ratio wings, whereas parasite drag becomes significant at higher aspect ratios. Optimal geometrical configurations are presented and discussed for both manoeuvres. For the rolling, hinge positions yielding typical rolling moment coefficients (i.e., −0.05, −0.06, and −0.08) lie between 65% and 75% of the chord, with span-wise morphing ranges 40% < yrib < 60% producing drag reduction up to 40% compared with a conventional wing. For the high-lift conditions, configurations between 65% < xhinge < 80% and 50% < yrib < 90% allow a drag reduction which can go up to 60%. Another beneficial effect is also observed for the yawing moment coefficient Cn with a reduction of more than 20% for larger aileron surfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity, Volume V)
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22 pages, 2699 KB  
Article
A Simplified Model for Stator Asymmetry Design Considering Low-Engine-Order Forced Response
by Yun Zheng, Xiubo Jin, Hui Yang and Jun He
Aerospace 2026, 13(2), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace13020141 - 1 Feb 2026
Viewed by 351
Abstract
The 2-segment even-split layout in various stator asymmetry layouts effectively mitigates the amplitude of the high-engine-order (HEO) forced response induced by the vane passing frequency (VPF). However, it may increase the level of the low-engine-order (LEO) forced response. A 2-segment non-even-split layout has [...] Read more.
The 2-segment even-split layout in various stator asymmetry layouts effectively mitigates the amplitude of the high-engine-order (HEO) forced response induced by the vane passing frequency (VPF). However, it may increase the level of the low-engine-order (LEO) forced response. A 2-segment non-even-split layout has been proposed in a previous study to reduce the amplitude of LEO aerodynamic excitation arising from the 2-segment even-split layout. This paper presents a full-annular unsteady forced response analysis of a single-stage turbine conducted using an in-house code to compare the aerodynamic excitations on the rotor blades across different 2-segment non-even-split layouts. The analysis reveals that an inappropriate circumferential angle assignment of the 2-segment non-even-split layout is ineffective in simultaneously suppressing the high amplitudes of both HEO and LEO aerodynamic excitations. Determining the optimal layout by calculating various circumferential angle assignments individually incurs significantly high computational costs. To address this issue, a fast and accurate simplified model for stator asymmetry is proposed in this study. The accuracy of the simplified model is validated by comparing its results with the suppression effects of aerodynamic excitation obtained from numerical simulations. The optimal stator asymmetry layout for a single-stage turbine is identified through this simplified model. The results indicate that the selected optimal layout can reduce VPF aerodynamic excitation of the symmetric layout by 45.14% and the 3-engine-order (3EO) aerodynamic excitation introduced by the 2-segment even-split layout by 43.56%, while the negative impact on the aerodynamic performance is significantly smaller than that of the 2-segment even-split layout. This study provides a robust theoretical foundation for enhancing the application of stator asymmetry in engineering, which demonstrates its practical engineering value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity, Volume V)
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24 pages, 3791 KB  
Article
Two-Stage Assumed Mode Method for Flutter Analysis of Supersonic Panels with Elastic Supports and Attached Masses
by Wuchao Qi, Shuai Yuan and Sumei Tian
Aerospace 2026, 13(1), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace13010089 - 14 Jan 2026
Viewed by 378
Abstract
During the service life of a supersonic aircraft, panels are susceptible to damaged boundary supports and unexpected attached masses, which can critically alter their flutter characteristics. This paper proposes a novel two-stage assumed mode method to efficiently analyze the modal properties and expanded [...] Read more.
During the service life of a supersonic aircraft, panels are susceptible to damaged boundary supports and unexpected attached masses, which can critically alter their flutter characteristics. This paper proposes a novel two-stage assumed mode method to efficiently analyze the modal properties and expanded flutter envelopes of such compromised structures. In the first stage, the bending modes of a Euler–Bernoulli beam under elastic supports in two orthogonal directions are combined to construct the assumed modes of the intact panel, forming a modal matrix that satisfies geometric boundary conditions and establishing the baseline dynamic model. In the second stage, the method is reapplied to derive the generalized eigenvalue problem for the panel with attached masses, accurately capturing the modified mode shapes and frequencies. Subsequently, based on the principle of virtual work and first-order piston theory, the generalized aerodynamic forces are formulated. These are then incorporated into the flutter equations, which are solved in the frequency domain using the p-k method. The results demonstrate that elastic supports generally lower flutter velocities and frequencies. However, an interesting finding is that a centrally attached mass of 0.03 kg (≈10% of the panel mass) can increase the flutter speed by about 10%, whereas the same mass placed off-center may reduce it by roughly 2%. Furthermore, the proposed 9-point damper layout is shown to raise the flutter speed of an elastically supported panel with an off-center mass by up to 18% and the flutter frequency by over 13%, thereby recovering and even exceeding the design flutter boundary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity, Volume V)
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31 pages, 26260 KB  
Article
Aeroelastic Analysis of a Tailless Flying Wing with a Rotating Wingtip
by Weiji Wang, Xinyu Ai, Xin Hu, Chongxu Han, Xiaole Xu, Zhihai Liang and Wei Qian
Aerospace 2025, 12(8), 688; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12080688 - 31 Jul 2025
Viewed by 1472
Abstract
This paper presents a preliminary investigation into the aeroelastic behavior of a tailless flying wing equipped with a rotating wingtip. Based on the configuration of Innovative Control Effectors (ICE) aircraft, an aeroelastic model of the tailless flying wing with a rotating wingtip has [...] Read more.
This paper presents a preliminary investigation into the aeroelastic behavior of a tailless flying wing equipped with a rotating wingtip. Based on the configuration of Innovative Control Effectors (ICE) aircraft, an aeroelastic model of the tailless flying wing with a rotating wingtip has been developed. Both numerical simulation and wind tunnel tests (WTTs) are employed to study the aeroelastic characteristics of this unique design. The numerical simulation involves the coupling of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and implicit dynamic approaches (IDAs). Using the CFD/IDA coupling method, aeroelastic response results are obtained under different flow dynamic pressures. The critical flutter dynamic pressure is identified by analyzing the trend of the damping coefficient, with a focus on its transition from negative to positive values. Additionally, the critical flutter velocity and flutter frequency are obtained from the WTT results. The critical flutter parameters, including dynamic pressure, velocity, and flutter frequency, are examined under different wingtip rotation frequencies and angles. These parameters are derived using both the CFD/IDA coupling method and WTT. The results indicate that the rotating wingtip plays a significant role in influencing the flutter behavior of aircraft with such a configuration. Research has shown that the rotation characteristics of the rotating wingtip are the primary factor affecting its aeroelastic behavior, and increasing both the rotation frequency and rotation angle can raise the flutter boundary and effectively suppress flutter onset. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity, Volume V)
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20 pages, 7607 KB  
Article
An Aeroelastic Solution Method Using an Implicit Dynamic Approach
by Weiji Wang, Wei Qian, Zheng Chen and Xinyu Ai
Aerospace 2025, 12(6), 546; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12060546 - 16 Jun 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1185
Abstract
This paper presents an innovative aeroelastic solution method called the implicit dynamic approach (IDA). The IDA is a novel technique implemented to address the complexities of structural displacement and fluid–structure interactions. At the core of this method lie the Navier–Stokes equations, which are [...] Read more.
This paper presents an innovative aeroelastic solution method called the implicit dynamic approach (IDA). The IDA is a novel technique implemented to address the complexities of structural displacement and fluid–structure interactions. At the core of this method lie the Navier–Stokes equations, which are pivotal for resolving the unsteady aerodynamic forces for studying aeroelasticity. This paper develops a time-step-coupling data-solving interface that bridges the structural dynamic and fluid dynamic domains, ensuring a seamless integration of these two critical aspects of aeroelastic analysis. To substantiate the credibility of the IDA, the aeroelastic responses of a two-dimensional wing and the benchmark supercritical wing (BSCW) are analyzed. The results obtained from these models demonstrate the IDA’s credibility and stability. The IDA proves to be reliable in predicting aeroelastic responses and offers a powerful tool for analyzing aeroelastic problems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aeroelasticity, Volume V)
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