Loads Alleviation

Atmospheric gusts and continuous turbulence as well pilot-induced maneuvers can significantly affect aircraft ride qualities, increase airframe loads and be detrimental to on board equipments. Their importance has been recognized since the very beginning of aviation, and, by requiring the analysis of both discrete gusts and continuous turbulence, nowadays regulations impose stricter design requirements for atmospheric loads. An optimized compliance with the related rules can be achieved through: an optimally strengthened airframe, active loads reducing maneuvers, the integration of both of them. 

The technologies developed included:

• A wind tunnel setup so to be able to test 1g + Gust loads

• A gust generator able to produce the requested gust profile

• A dedicated, full scale aircraft model, equipped with movable control surfaces

• Hardware and software to implement dedicated controllers for load alleviation and to measure the relevant structural responses

ASDL is involved since many years in design, numerical and experimental validation of Active Loads Alleviation technologies, mainly in the framework of two EU Projects, i.e.: 

• CleanAviation "HERWINGT" (2023-2025) 

• CleanAviation "HERA" (2023-2026)

• CS2-EU "AIRGREEN2" Project (2014-2021)" where POLIMI is core-partner of LEONARDO Aircraft.

• CS1-EU "GLAMOUR - Gust Load Alleviation techniques assessment on wind tUnnel MOdel of advanced Regional aircraft (2014-2016)", (Coordinatore e PI) in cooperation with IBK (Germany), REVOIND (Italy), TECHNION (Israel) and UBRIS (UK).

• Toffol, F., Marchetti, L., De Gaspari, A., Chardí Espí, J.V., Riccobene, L., Fonte, F., Ricci, S., Mantegazza, P., Design and Experimental Validation of Gust Load Alleviation Systems Based on Static Output Feedback, AIAA Scitech 2022 Forum, AIAA, 2022, ISBN: 9781624106316, p. 1-18, AIAA 2022-0441, San Diego, CA, USA & Virtual Conference, 3-7 Jan. 2022, DOI:10.2514/6.2022-0441
• Malik, S., Ricci, S., Monti, D., Buffet Mitigation Control System for High-Performance Aircraft, 2021 IEEE Aerospace Conference, PROCEEDINGS - IEEE AEROSPACE CONFERENCE, IEEE, 2021, ISBN: 9781728174365, p. 1-7, 9438488, Big Sky, MT, USA, Mar. 6-13, 2021, DOI:10.1109/AERO50100.2021.9438488
• Malik, S., Ricci, S., Riccobene, L., Monti, D.,Experimental and Numerical Implementation of Robust Control for Attenuation of Buffet Loads, Paper presented at: 18th International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics (IFASD 2019), 2019, p. 1-13, IFASD 2019-079, Savannah, GA, USA, 10-13 June 2019.
• Fonte, F., Iannaccone, G., Cimminiello, N., Dimino, I., Ricci, S., Active Load Control of a Regional Aircraft Wing Equipped with Morphing Winglets, ASME 2018 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS2018), San Antonio, TX, USA, 10-12 Sept. 2018, ISBN: 9780791851944, p. 1-12, DOI:10.1115/SMASIS2018-8167
• Fonte, F., Toffol, F., Ricci, S., Design of a Wing Tip Device for Active Maneuver and Gust Load Alleviation, 2018 AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference - AIAA SciTech, Kissimmee, FL, USA, 8-12 Jan. 2018, ISBN: 9781624105326, p. 1-18, AIAA 2018-1442, DOI:10.2514/6.2018-1442
• Fichera, S., Ricci, S., "Freeplay-Induced Limit-Cycle Oscillations in a T-Tail: Numerical vs Experimental Validation", Journal of Aircraft, vol. 52, p. 486-495, ISSN: 0021-8669, doi: 10.2514/1.C032748
• Fonte, F., Ricci, S., Mantegazza, P., "Gust Load Alleviation for a Regional Aircraft Through a Static Output Feedback", Journal of Aircraft, vol. 52, p. 1559-1574, ISSN: 0021-8669, doi: 10.2514/1.C032995
• Fonte, F., Ricci, S., Mantegazza, P., Wind Tunnel Evaluation of a Static Output Feedback Controller for Gust Load Alleviation on a Regional Aircraft, 17th International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics (IFASD 2017), Como, Italy, 25-28 June 2017, ISBN: 9788897576280, p. 1-14.
• Malik, S., Riccobene, L., Ricci, S., Monti, D., Development of a Buffet Load Mitigation System Based on Multi-Surface Control, 17th International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics (IFASD 2017), Como, Italy, 25-28 June 2017, ISBN: 9788897576280, p. 1-20.
• Ricci, S., Beretta, J., Fonte, F., Monti, D., Active Control for Buffet Load Alleviation on the Fin of a High Performance Training Aircraft, 58th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference - AIAA SciTech 2017, AIAA, 2017, ISBN: 9781624104534, p. 1-11, AIAA 2017-1819, Grapevine, TX, USA, 9-13 Jan. 2017, DOI:10.2514/6.2017-1819
• Ricci, S., De Gaspari, A., Fonte, F., Riccobene, L., Toffol, F., Mantegazza, P., Karpel, M., Roizner, F., Wiberman, R., Weiss, M., Cooper, J.E., Howcroft, C., Calderon, D., Adden, S., Design and Wind Tunnel Test Validation of Gust Load Alleviation Systems, 58th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference - AIAA SciTech 2017, AIAA, 2017, ISBN: 9781624104534, p. 1-12, AIAA 2017-1818, Grapevine, TX, USA, 9-13 Jan. 2017, DOI:10.2514/6.2017-1818
• Toffol, F., Fonte, F., Ricci, S., Design of an Innovative Wing Tip Device, 17th International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics (IFASD 2017), Como, Italy, 25-28 June 2017, ISBN: 9788897576280, p. 1-16.
• Veiberman, R., Weiss, M., Karpel, M., Fonte, F., Travaglini, L., Ricci, S., Aeroservoelastic Response of Nonlinear Wind Tunnel Model to Non-Uniform Gust Field, 57th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference 2016, Curran Associates, Red Hook, NY, 2016, ISBN: 9781510820609, p. 3024-3037, AIAA 2016-1486 [57th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference - AIAA SciTech 2016, San Diego, CA, USA, 4-8 Jan. 2016], DOI: 10.2514/6.2016-1486
• Fonte, F., Riccobene, L., Ricci, S., Adden, S., Martegani, M., Design, Manufacturing and Validation of a Gust Generator for Wind Tunnel Test of a Large Scale Aeroelastic Model, 30th Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS 2016), 2016, ISBN: 9783932182853, p. 1-9 [30th Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS 2016), Daejeon, South Korea, 25-30 Sept. 2016