Benefits and Challenges of a Multifunctional Leading-Edge System for High-Efficiency Transport Aircraft

The improvement of aerodynamic performance is a key research aspect in the context of current and modern aircraft design. This is represented in multiple approaches addressing future aircraft optimization. The present study places a particular emphasis on the design of the wing and the corresponding flight control systems, such as high-aspect-ratio wings featuring laminar flow technologies and load alleviation systems. For the realisation of these approaches, it is necessary to rethink the functions of leading-edge devices and extend their capabilities from a simple high-lift system to a multifunctional control system. This design, enabling the proposed multifunctionality of high lift, load alleviation, and laminar flow, is yet to be developed, and it is therefore unclear whether the integration of such a system on the leading edge is feasible. Especially the resulting requirements and constraints regarding the actuation system of a multifunctional leading-edge control device pose significant challenges to the realisation of such a system. This paper aims to investigate the correlating and contradicting factors resulting from the combination of high-lift and load alleviation functionalities within one system. Furthermore, challenges regarding the system design are indicated.