A. Geeraert, A. Lepage, P. Stephani, D. Feldmann, W. Häberli
DOI Number: N/A
Conference number: IFASD-2017-072
The aviation community is committed to reducing their environmental impact in light of increasing demand for extra passenger capacity. Explored through CleanSky research programme, innovative tail concepts have the potential for substantial reduction in fuel burn and noise reduction for the next generation of Business jets. In parallel to noise shielding performance evaluation, structural feasibility assessment of such concepts requires dedicated intersecting surfaces, such as U-Tail tests. Particularly, configurations, in subsonic and transonic domains is investigated during Wind Tunnel Tests (WTT) to obtain a sufficient comprehension of the involved phenomena. This paper first presents the design stage of the model, highlighting the difficulties inherent to such geometrical configuration. Laboratory static tests results of unit components or subassemblies validating locally the structural behaviour are shown. Ground Vibration Tests (GVT) results obtained during qualification laboratory stage on the whole model, validating the global dynamic behaviour, are then exposed. Finally, WTT results, such as flutter domain and flutter curves, are presented. Additionally, a companion paper [1] focuses on the detailed experimental results obtained and their correlation with numerical results.