Impact of Adopting Active Flutter Suppression Systems on the Optimization of a Typical Long-Range Transport Aircraft

The increasing pressure to reduce the environmental impact of future aircraft is driving the adoption of more innovative aerostructural solutions, such as unconventional configurations and the use of active control systems to ensure high overall efficiency across the entire flight envelope. Implementing high aspect ratio wings to decrease induced drag, which are generally more flexible, requires advanced active control systems to mitigate potential aeroelastic issues. Active Wing Control systems are likely to be integrated with technologies currently utilized in existing fly-by-wire control systems. However, Active Flutter Suppression systems (AFS) are relatively new, although with a long history behind them, and their expected performance and technical feasibility need to be evaluated in terms of safety, robustness, and reliability. Despite this, two aircrafts with AWC have been certified under special conditions: the B747-800 and the B787-10, highlighting the necessity for further investigation into the adoption and certification of these systems. Setting aside the intricate certification considerations, a key design question remains: assuming stability can be assured with suitable AFS systems, what potential weight savings could be achieved by designing the structure without the explicit constraint of a minimum flutter velocity requirement? This paper focuses on a generic long-range, twin-aisle transport aircraft and presents comparisons based on optimizing the wing structure with various design constraints, including or excluding the flutter constraint, to draw general conclusions.