Aeroelastic Analysis of a Distributed Propulsor With Rotary Inertia on an Uniform Cantilever Wing

This paper investigates the aeroelastic characteristics of a cantilever wing equipped with distributed electric propulsors, with particular attention to the effects of spanwise mass distribution, rotary inertia, and chord-wise center-of-gravity placement. An analytical aeroelastic framework is developed by coupling an Euler-Bernoulli beam with Theodorsen’s unsteady aerodynamic model, and its accuracy is verified using a classical benchmark wing. Several distributed-propulsion configurations are examined to isolate the influence of added mass, tip-mounted and distributed rotary inertia, and changes in propulsor center-of-gravity location on both the natural vibration modes and the onset of flutter. The analysis shows that distributed propulsors alter the dynamic response of the wing by lowering the natural frequencies while increasing the separation between the bending and torsional modes, which has important consequences for aeroelastic stability. Rotary inertia is found to play a secondary role compared with the effects of translational mass, whereas chord-wise center-of-gravity placement has a pronounced influence on the presence or absence of flutter within the investigated range. The results demonstrate that mass and inertia tailoring within distributed propulsion architectures can serve as an effective mechanism for enhancing aeroelastic performance in electrically powered wings.