Aircraft-fuel sloshing ROMs for aeroelastic analyses

This paper will propose Reduced-Order Models (ROM) based on data provided by high-fidelity and highly efficient CFD codes, for the study of sloshing-integrated aeroelastic systems. A sloshing-addressed CFD code, ELEMENTAL, is employed to generate data set to be used for the ROM synthesis. The developed sloshing ROM, based on a Linearized Frequency Domain (LFD) approach, uses an Input/Output system identification technique from CFD transient simulations to construct an unsteady Generalized Sloshing Force (GSF) matrix in analogy with the Generalized Aerodynamic Force (GAF) matrix used to model the aircraft external unsteady aerodynamics. The approach is assessed with experimental results performed at the Airbus Protospace Lab. (Filton, Bristol UK) on an actual beam-like structure carrying a series of tanks. The obtained state-space form for the sloshing ROM has been suitable developed for applying it within aeroelastic framework for perspective integrated stability analyses and design.