Ronald C. M. Cheung

Dr. Ronald C. M. Cheung

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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 March 2023 in Journal of Aircraft
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
FHFintan Healy
Fintan Healy
RCRonald C. M. Cheung
Ronald C. M. Cheung
DRDjamel Rezgui
Djamel Rezgui
JCJonathan Cooper
Jonathan Cooper
TWThomas Wilson
Thomas Wilson
ACAndrea Castrichini
Andrea Castrichini
Recent studies have considered the use of flared folding wingtips (FFWTs) to enable higher aspect ratios—reducing overall induced drag—while reducing gust loading and meeting airport operational requirements. The majority of these analyses have employed linear assumptions despite the presence of large wingtip deformations. In this paper the effect of geometric nonlinearities introduced by an FFWT on the static and dynamic aeroelastic response of a wing is assessed. A geometrically exact expression was formulated to describe the change in the local angle of attack in the chordwise direction across all fold angles. This expression highlighted that the aerodynamic stiffness of an FFWT and, therefore, quantities such as the linear flutter speed are a function of the fold angle and, hence, the attitude of the wing. This effect was verified using both a wind tunnel model of a flexible semispan wing and a numerical model utilizing MSC Nastran, which linearized the model about the equilibrium position of the wingtip. These experiments showed that the geometric nonlinearities introduced due to the large deformations of FFWTs can significantly affect the dynamics of the system, with flutter speeds varying by over 28%, simply by changing the angle of attack of the model.