Tool prerequisites¶
To plug a CFD or a FEM tool into AeroFrame it needs to fulfil a few prerequisites which will be listed here. If they are fulfilled it is possible to write a wrapper module Wrapper modules.
Aerodynamics tool¶
Discretised load field¶
In AeroFrame, lift and all other aerodynamic forces are thought of as a discretised load field acting around the aircraft’s surface. In practice, only force vectors (and potentially moment vectors) as well as the corresponding points of attack are exchanged. The discretised load field must in some way represent the continuous pressure distribution acting around the aircraft.
The CFD tool which is to be used in AeroFrame must be able to generate the output which is or can be converted into a discretised load field formulation. The exact output format does not matter since the CFD wrapper module can be used to convert and encapsulate the required format.
Fig. 4 Discretised load field. Here a VLM mesh is shown (image from [Dett19]).
Structure tool¶
Discretised deformation fields¶
Similarly to the loads, structural displacements are exchanged in a discretised form. Fig. 5 illustrate this for a simple beam FEM mesh. The discretised deformation field consists of FEM node locations and the corresponding deformation at this particular node. In case of the shown beam mesh there is a position vector \(r_i\) point to a node \(i\) where there can be translational and rotational deformations.
A structure tool intended to be used in AeroFrame must be able generate a full deformation field consisting of position vectors, and the nodal deformation.
Application of load fields¶
The discretised load field described above must be applied to the structure.
Load and deformation grouping¶
TODO
Notes on coupling boundary conditions¶
TODO