manufacturability but failing to fully exploit the directional stiffness and coupling potential of advanced composite materials.
This project proposes a passive load alleviation strategy based on aeroelastic tailoring of thin-ply composite laminates within a Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) framework. The central concept is to design laminate stacking sequences that induce controlled bend-twist coupling, allowing the wing to passively reduce aerodynamic loads without active control systems or additional structural mass.
Thin-ply composites enable this approach by providing enhanced design flexibility through reduced ply thickness. This allows finer control of anisotropy, improved strain distribution, delayed damage initiation, and superior fatigue resistance. Most importantly, thin plies enable precise tailoring of bending-torsion coupling, which is essential for achieving effective passive aeroelastic load alleviation.
A key contribution of this work is the development of a fully coupled MDO framework integrating structural design, aeroelastic analysis, fatigue modelling, and manufacturing constraints. Unlike traditional sequential design approaches, this framework combines classical laminate theory, fluid-structure interaction models, and fatigue damage prediction within a unified optimisation environment. Manufacturing constraints, including ply orientation limits, stacking sequence rules, and ply drop-offs, are explicitly embedded in the design process.
The optimisation framework will employ gradient-based and evolutionary algorithms to explore a high-dimensional design space defined by laminate stacking sequences and structural parameters. The objectives include minimising structural weight, maximising fatigue life, and reducing aeroelastic loads, subject to constraints on manufacturability, stiffness requirements, and flutter stability.
The resulting designs will be benchmarked against conventional composite wing configurations to quantify improvements in key performance metrics, including root bending moment reduction, load redistribution efficiency, stress mitigation, and fatigue life under representative flight loading conditions. Trade-offs between structural flexibility and aeroelastic stability will also be systematically evaluated to ensure robust and safe operational performance.
Finally, a central focus of the proposed research is industrial relevance. By embedding manufacturing constraints directly within the optimisation loop, the resulting laminate architectures will be inherently compatible with established composite manufacturing processes, thereby enhancing the potential for real-world implementation in next-generation aerospace structures.
