Case Study: AeroVironment Optimizes Aircraft Performance with MSC Nastran

AeroVironment - Customer Case Study

AeroVironment, the aerospace company behind the Global Observer unmanned aircraft, needed to prove that its unusually large, lightweight wing could withstand the stresses of normal operation in turbulent air and during required maneuvers. To support this challenge, MSC Software provided MSC Nastran, along with related modeling tools, for nonlinear stress, structural dynamics, and aeroelastic finite element analysis.

MSC Software’s solution enabled AeroVironment to build high-fidelity composite models, correlate them with ground vibration and static wing load tests, and evaluate design changes throughout development. The simulation results matched physical test data very closely, with average error around 5% when excluding a few detailed joint locations, giving AeroVironment confidence to continue refining the aircraft and use the validated models for production optimization and weight reduction.

AeroVironment

D.J. Taylor

Principal Engineer