Suppression of Dynamic Aeroelastic Response of a Semispan Wing Using Traditional and Distributed Sensing

Characterization and management of aeroelastic effects are a vital part of aircraft design. Mitigation of these effects often includes control systems to suppress the vibrations. Control systems are constantly being developed and improved, with one such avenue of development being new sensing systems that can increase the information fed into the controller. Fiber Optic Strain Sensing (FOSS) technology is one such system that utilizes Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) on a fiber optic cable to sense the strain on structural elements. This system has promise as a high-density feedback device, and the maturation of the technology has allowed assessment of its use directly in a feedback controller. This project will evaluate use of the FOSS system in active controls to suppress dynamic aeroelastic response. To this end, a semi-span experimental model containing FOSS was tested in a small-scale wind tunnel. Feedback control through classical and modern methodologies was developed and characterized using both the experimental model and an analytical model derived from the physical construct. The feedback control of the FOSS system was compared to a similar setup using an accelerometer-based control law architecture. Both control law methodologies using the FOSS system were concluded to reduce vibrations of the model, particularly at lower velocities. The comparisons between the two sets of instruments were found to be highly location-dependent, but as constructed, the FOSS system performed at least as well as the traditional instrumentation. This evaluation shows that the FOSS system has the potential to be utilized in feedback control, and while there are many areas of improvement beyond this study, the system deserves consideration for this application.