Congratulations to Professor Cesnik and Renato Medeiros, and their Airbus collaborator, Dr. Etienne Coetzee, winners of the 2018 ASME/Boeing Best Paper Award. Together, they conducted research for and penned, “Nonlinear Computational Aeroelasticity Using Structural Modal Coordinates.” Medeiros, Cesnik and Coetzee’s paper presents their research and development of a geometrically nonlinear aeroelastic analysis for the dynamic response of a flexible wing. They introduce a new solution using a reduced order model (ROM) and finite element analysis (FEM) that can predict the aeroelastic response of a high-aspect-ratio wings.
Many engineers and researchers within the aerospace community, both at the University of Michigan and outside of it are familiar with Professor Cesnik’s work on X-HALE and for his Center Directorship for the high-profile Airbus-University of Michigan Center for Aero-Servo-Elasticity for Very Flexible Aircraft. “Nonlinear Computational Aeroelasticity Using Structural Modal Coordinates” is a continuation of his previous work; the applications of his latest research on the dynamic response of a flexible wing are wide. Next-generation, low-emission, high-efficiency commercial aircraft – the design goal of major commercial aircraft manufacturers – will especially benefit. The Active Aeroelasticity and Structures Research Laboratory (A2SRL), for which Professor Cesnik is Director, hosted the computational aspects of the research presented in the paper.
Medeiros, Cesnik, and Coetzee’s research paper received the award at the AIAA SciTech 2019 conference held in San Diego on January 7-11, 2019. The ASME/Boeing Best Paper award – which only 36 other papers received, including twice in the past by Prof. Cesnik’s papers – included a plaque and a check of $1,000 to be shared among the authors.
