FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION-BASED NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF ELASTIC DEFORMATION ON A CANTILEVER BEAM WITH INFINITE ASPECT RATIO

In this study, the deformation of a 2D flat plate with varying angles of attack is numerically examined, focusing on the impact of structural deformation on aerodynamic performance. Traditionally, aerodynamic analyses assume rigid body behavior, but in this case, the effects of elasticity are considered through a coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) approach. Both the fluid and solid domains are solved using OpenFOAM, a finite volume-based solver. The fluid flow is modeled as turbulent, and the structure’s elastic deformation is incorporated into the analysis. Initially, uncoupled simulations are validated against experimental and analytical reference cases. Following this, a coupled simulation is conducted, where deformations and changes in aerodynamic coefficients are compared to rigid-body assumptions. The results show good agreement with reference data for uncoupled cases. However, in the coupled simulations, significant deviations in aerodynamic performance are observed due to the structural deformation. Specifically, for the elastic plate, lift coefficient losses of up to 6% and drag coefficient increases of up to 47% are observed compared to the rigid-body assumption. This study demonstrates the importance of accounting for aeroelastic effects in simulations involving flexible structures, as neglecting structural elasticity can lead to significant inaccuracies in aerodynamic predictions.