Case Study: Texas A&M University reduces aircraft slat noise with Hexagon CFD and FSI analysis

CFD and FSI analyses of an aircraft wing leading edge slat with superelastic shape memory alloy cove filler

Researchers at Texas A&M University needed to perform complex fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis for an aircraft slat-cove filler made from a superelastic shape memory alloy. Their challenge was that the significant deformation during wing articulation caused mesh elements in their computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to collapse to zero volume, which standard software could not handle. They turned to Hexagon and its SC/Tetra CFD software for a solution.

Hexagon's SC/Tetra software provided a robust overset mesh feature that accommodated the extreme movement and deformation, along with a native link to the Abaqus structural solver for the FSI analysis. This enabled the first-ever FSI analysis of this type of morphing structure. The computational results compared well with subsequent experimental wind tunnel tests, successfully validating the model and providing a powerful tool to assess performance and identify safe test conditions without building multiple physical prototypes.

Texas A&M University

Darren Hartl

Assistant Professor