Presentation: Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings

Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Gabriele Dessena1& Alessandro Pontillo2 1Department of Aerospace Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Madrid, Spain 2School of Engineering, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom 3rd December 2025 Turin, Italy Joint 28th AIDAA International Congress and 10th CEAS Aerospace Europe Conference [email protected] Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Outline 1. Contributions 2. Background 3. Motivation 4. Experimental Modal Analysis 5. Ground Vibration Testing 6. Operational Modal Analysis 7. Wing Spar Model 8. Propeller-driven Vibration Testing Setup 9. Experimental Results 10. Conclusions and Future Work 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 2 Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Contributions •Introduce a novel operational modal analysis experiment for propeller-driven aircraft •Test propeller-driven vibration testing (PVT) on a flexible wing spar model 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 3 Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Background •Modal parameters extraction is important in aeronautics •Finite element model tuning •Aeroelastic phenomena characterisation •Modal parameters can also be used for damage detection •Generally, aircraft Ground Vibration Testing (GVT) is based on •Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) •Operational modal analysis (OMA) has been investigated for specific applications •E.g., Taxi Vibration Testing (TVT) 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 4 Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Motivation •Aircraft GVT can take over a week •For complete characterisation of the dynamic behaviour •Involves large and complex setups •So it is expensive •Complementing GVT has been attempted with TVT and FVT •To include dynamic characterisation within other test •Now it is time to attempt to exploit engine testing for this 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 5 Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Experimental Modal Analysis •EMA •A system is under a known excitation •Response and input are recorded over time •Response typically: •Acceleration •Displacement (strain) •Velocity •General use: •Extraction of modal parameters •Example: •Shaker test 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 6 Retrieved from: https://www.uml.edu/docs/s-v-jan2001_modal_analysis_tcm18-189939.pdf Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Ground Vibration Testing •In Aeronautics: •GVT •Characterising dynamical response •Takes over a week for large aircraft •Includes changing the aircraft setup •Such as landing gear deployed or retracted, etc. •Moving the shaker positions •Etc. 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 7 Retrieved from 1 Retrieved from 2 1. https://www.crystalinstruments.com/blog/2022/1/7/ground-vibration-testing-gvt-ofaircraft-assembly 2. G. Dessena, D. I. Ignatyev, J. F. Whidborne, A. Pontillo, and L. Zanotti Fragonara, “Ground vibration testing of a flexible wing: A benchmark and case study,” Aerospace, vol. 9, no. 8, p. 438, 2022, doi: 10.3390/aerospace9080438. Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Operational Modal Analysis •Output-only modal analysis •Operational modal analysis (OMA) •Same goal as the traditional approach •Extract modal parameters •Sometimes there is a need •Unknown input •Structure too large to be excited •In aeronautics: •Taxi Vibration Testing (TVT) •Flight Vibration Testing (FVT) •In astronautics: •Rollout OMA 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 8 Credits to NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/centers-andfacilities/nesc/operational-modalanalysis-of-the-artemis-i-dynamicrollout-test/) Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Wing Spar Model •7075 T651 Aluminium spar •Cantilever span: 81 cm •Used in 1 as an aeroelastic demonstrator •Kindly lent by Prof Lowenberg from the University of Bristol 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 9 1. P. D. Banneheka Navaratna, A. Pontillo, D. Rezgui, M. H. Lowenberg, S. A. Neild, and J. E. Cooper, “Design and Assessment of Subscale Flexible High Aspect Ratio Cantilever Wings,” in AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum, vol. 1305, no. 2021. Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2022. Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Acknowledgements Grants for research activity of young PhD holders, part of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Own Research Program (TOMA - Tangential interpolation for Operational Modal Analysis project) 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 16 Prof Mark H. Lowenberg from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol for kindly allowing the use of the wing spar, which was designed and manufactured within the EPSRC Experimental Flight Dynamics Testing for Highly Flexible Aircraft project grant ref. EP/T018739/1. CEAS EuroGNC conference 2026 hosted at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid May 5th – 7th 2026 Organizing committee Local Organizing Committee Andrés Marcos, UC3M, Conference Chair Rafael Vázquez, Universidad de Sevilla, Conf. Deputy Chair Diego Navarro-Tapia, UC3M, Local Arrangements Chair Gabriele Dessena, UC3M, International Arrangements Chair CEAS GNC Technical Committee Nicolas Fezans, DLR, Chair of the Committee Raziye Tekin, Roketsan, Co-chair of the Committee TC member roster, see conference webpage Conference Venue The EuroGNC 2026 conference will be hosted at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M). The conference venue is located in the city center, at the Campus Puerta de Toledo. Numerous famous monuments, museums, and parks can be reached in less than 20-30 min on foot, with metro/bus stations also available just outside the conference venue. Madrid is a vibrant city known for its rich cultural heritage, lively atmosphere and warm hospitality. Madrid generally enjoys pleasant weather in May. Attendees can also look forward to experiencing the city’s renowned tapas scene. Topics: •Control Theory, Analysis and Design •Applications of GNC •Intelligent Control/AI in Aeronautics/Astronautics •Aerospace Robotics •Novel Navigation, Estimation and Tracking methods •Sensor Systems for GNC •Flight Mechanics, Dynamics, and Simulation •Modelling for Aerospace Systems •Flight Testing and Experimental Results Key dates September 30th, 2025 Full Paper Submission Deadline Nov/Dec, 2025 Author notification February 20th, 2026 Final Paper Submission Deadline Jan/Feb, 2026 End of Early-Bird Registration May 5th-7th, 2026 EuroGNC Conference in Madrid Opportunity for students to present their theses in a dedicated poster session Deadline: Feb 2026 Keep an eye on the website! Organising committee Organising Committee Erasmo Carrera, Politecnico di Torino, General Chair Yongming Liu, Arizona State University, Technical Chair Ibrahim Guven, Virginia Commonwealth University, Technical Vice-Chair Tracks: •Structures •Structural dynamics •Materials Key dates February 17th, 2026 Presentation-only Abstract deadline still open Structural dynamics track Marco Petrolo, Politecnico di Torino, Track Chair 1. Aero-, Servo-, Thermo-Elasticity of Aircraft, Rotorcraft and Spacecraft 2. Rotordynamics 3. Aeroacoustics and Vibroacoustics 4. Nonlinear Dynamics and Flexible Multibody Dynamics 5. Dynamic Loads, Wave Propagations, Response, Vibration, Control, and Alleviation of Aerospace Structures and Vehicles 6. Computational Methods and Modelling 7. Experimental Studies in Structural Dynamics 8. Machine Learning in Structural Dynamics and Aeroelasticity 9. Model Uncertainties and Uncertainty Quantification in Structural Dynamics 10. General Topics of Structural Dynamics of Aircraft, Rotorcraft, and Spacecraft Structures Invitation to submit to •Nonlinear Dynamics and Flexible Multibody Dynamics •Experimental Studies in Structural Dynamics Topic co-organiser: Gabriele Dessena, UC3M Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Interested in Surrogate-based Optimisation? Catch me tomorrow: 4th of December 2025 14:15-15:35 B-T2.17 Room: Dublino Special Session - Virtual Testing and Manufacturing of Aerospace Structures and Materials Constrained Surrogate-based Optimisation for Finite Element Model Updating Eduardo Larrea Herranz, Gabriele Dessena 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 19 Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings Thank you for your attention! 3rd December 2025 Dessena & Pontillo – CEAS/AIDAA 2025 20 Presentation download ResearchGate profile