AIAA 2017-1818

AIAA SciTech Forum

9 - 13 January 2017, Grapevine, Texas
58th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference

Design and Wind Tunnel Test Validation of Gust Load

Alleviation Systems

S. Ricci1, A.De Gaspari2, F.Fonte3, L.Riccobene4, F.Toffol5, P.Mantegazza6

Politecnico di Milano, Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, 20156 Milano, Italy

M.Karpel7, F.Roizner8, R.Wiberman9, M.Weiss10

TECHNION – Israel Institute of Technology

J.E.Cooper11, C.Howcroft12, D.Calderon13

University of Bristol, Senate House, Tyndall Ave Bristol, BS8 1TH UK
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S.Adden14
IBK Technologie GmbH & Co. KG/ IBK Innovation GmbH & Co. KG

The paper summarizes the activity performed under EU funded project GLAMOUR. The
GLAMOUR project, in response to the SP1-JTI-CS-2013-01-GRA-02-022 call, tackles the
development, implementation and experimental verification of Gust Load Alleviation
technologies applied to the so-called Green Regional Aircraft as reference. It is based on an
extended experimental campaign carried out at POLIMI’s wind tunnel on a large scale fully
aeroelastic model.

I. Introduction

T he need for more efficient aircraft able to meet the new challenging requirements defined by ACARE with its
strategic road map stated in the Vision 2020 forces the researchers to look for more advanced aircraft
configurations, based on more efficient aerodynamics and structures together with more sophisticated flight control
systems. Aircraft industry has to be able to deliver new significantly greener aircraft with a substantial reduction of
fuel consumption, emissions and perceived noise levels1-3. One of the most promising concept regarding more
environmentally friendly aircraft concerns Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) wing. This concept requires a fully
multidisciplinary approach due to the counteracting role of main aircraft parameters such as wing sweep, wing
thickness and cruise speed, so to minimize the potential structural wing penalty4-6. Looking for this global target, a
possible solution is based on combining Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) with an aggressive use of maneuver (MLA)
and gust load alleviation (GLA) technologies that offer the potential to greatly improve both the weight and
aerodynamic terms in the classical Breguet equation. For all these reasons the interest in the development,

1
Associate Professor, AIAA senior member, Politecnico di Milano
2
Research assistant, Politecnico di Milano
3
PhD Candidate, Politecnico di Milano
4
Research assistant, Politecnico di Milano
5
Graduated student, Politecnico di Milano
6
Professor, Politecnico di Milano
7
Professor, Sanford Kaplan Chair for Aerospace Engineering, AIAA Fellow, Israel Institute of Technology
8
PhD Candidate, Israel Institute of Technology
9
Graduated student, Israel Institute of Technology
10
Associate Professor, Israel Institute of Technology
11
Professor, Royal Academy of Engineering Airbus Sir George White Professor of Aerospace Engineering,
University of Bristol
12
PhD Candidate, University of Bristol
13
PhD Candidate, University of Bristol
14
Dr.-Ing, IBK Technologie GmbH & Co
1
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Copyright © 2017 by S. Ricci, A.De Gaspari, F.Fonte, L.Riccobene, F.Toffol, P.Mantegazza, M.Karpel, F.Roizner, R.Wiberman, M.Weiss, J.E.Cooper, C.Howcroft, D.Calderon, S.Adden. Published by the Ame
 implementation and experimental verification of MLA and GLA technologies is becoming a key topic in the
development of the next generation transport aircraft.
The GLAMOUR project, in response to the SP1-JTI-CS-2013-01-GRA-02-022 call under the JTI-Cleansky 1
initiative, tackles this topic in two different ways. At first, having the Green Regional Aircraft as reference, starting
from the active control laws proposed by manufacturer LEONARDO COMPANY-Aircraft Division, formerly
Finmeccanica, and ITD member of Cleansky program, it tries to deeply explore their validity over the entire flight
envelope, and to extend them with new control strategies based on alternative approaches, such as the Neural
Networks, as well as based on Robust Model Predictive Control techniques.
Finally, an extended experimental validation campaign is conducted at Wind Tunnel available at Politecnico di
Milano. To this scope, a large wind tunnel half aircraft model properly scaled is manufactured and tested in a free-
free configuration allowing to validate the most promising GLA techniques. Aiming at this goal, a dedicated gust
generator has been designed, installed and tested into the wind tunnel.
The paper summarizes the GLAMOUR project structure as well as the wind tunnel model design and
manufacturing, the control strategies and the wind tunnel test setup. Finally, a preliminary analysis of the first
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measurement results is also included.

II. GLAMOUR Project overview

The project GLAMOUR was submitted in response to the following call: CfP Topic No. JTI-CS-2013-1-GRA-
02-022: Technological optimisation and experimental validation through an aero-servo-elastic innovative WT model
of gust load alleviation control system for advanced regional aircraft, in the framework of Cleansky research
program. The project full title is Gust Load Alleviation techniques assessment on wind tUnnel MOdel of advanced
Regional aircraft and the duration is 24 months, starting from February 1st, 2014.
The main project objectives are:
• Validate the Load Alleviation techniques based on control architectures provided by ITD member
• Develop of alternative control schemes
• Design and manufacturing of a wind tunnel model representing half GRA aircraft
• Design and manufacturing a gust generator
• Perform wind tunnel test under gust excitation
The consortium is composed by the following partners:
1. Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), Lead
2. IBK-Innovation GmbH & Co. KG (IBK)
3. REVOIND Industriale S.r.l. (REVOIND)
4. TECHNION - Israel Institute of Technology (IIT)
5. University of Bristol (UNIVBRIS)

III. The GRA Regional Aircraft

The Green Regional Aircraft, one of the six Clean Sky platforms, led by LEONARDO COMPANY-Aircraft
Division, the ITD member, involves 32 European partners among engine manufacturers, system engineering
companies, research centres, universities, small and medium enterprises.
The future green regional aircraft will meet demanding weight reduction, energy and aerodynamics efficiency, an
high level of operative performance, in order to be compliant regards to pollutant emissions and noise generation
levels. To achieve these so challenging results, the aircraft will be entirely revisited in all of its aspects.
The GRA structure is as follows:
• GRA1 - Low Weight Configuration (LWC)
• GRA2 - Low Noise Configuration (LNC) that includes investigations on load alleviation systems
• GRA3 - All Electric Aircraft (AEA)
• GRA4 - Mission & Trajectory Management (MTM)
• GRA5 - New Configuration (NC)
and reflects its transversal nature by being organized in 5 domains, that in turn interface with the other Cleansky
platforms, such as Eco-Design (EDA for Airframe with LWC, EDS for System with AEA), System for Green
Operation with AEA and MTM, and Sustainable and Green Engine (SAGE) with NC.

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 The research activity carried out by GLAMOUR project is part of the GRA2 domain, which will evaluate the effects
of drag reduction of the aircraft with a view to reducing consumption and external noise. Drag in particular will be
reduced, by using Natural Laminar Flow (NLF), that will be integrated with specific innovative anti-ice and high lift
systems able to alleviate well-known drawback of NLF technologies. Flow and load control systems activated by
electric fly-by-wire commands will be also investigated both for drag and weight reductions. In order to reduce
external noise and drag the study will deal mostly with approaching and landing phase, improving high lift device
(HLD) technologies. Gears will also require further aerodynamic optimization, with respect to past approaches, in
order to reduce the turbulences they generate and consequently reduce noise. Figure 1 shows a pictorial view of
GRA aircraft investigate during GLAMOUR project.
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Figure 1. Pictorial view of GRA aircraft.

IV. Preliminary WT Model Configuration and Dynamic Scaling Definition

The finalization of the model configuration implies the selection of the geometry scale and the definition of the
scaling method. Concerning the geometry scale, taking into account the maximum size available at the POLIMI’s
wind tunnel and the minimum model size requested by the call, the geometry scale has been frozen equal to 1:6.
Figure 2 shows a comparison of different model sizes with respect the wind tunnel test chamber sizing 4x4x6
meters.

Figure 2. Different geometry scales considered: 1:5.5 (left), 1:6 (middle) and 1:7 (right).

To have enough space to install the gust generator in the initial section of the testing room, the model fuselage was
shortened of about 1 meter. Concerning the dynamic scaling strategy, the following considerations have to be
introduced at first:
• The model will be constrained at the floor and hence vertically mounted.
• Gravity will simply act in the direction of the wing span and will not be reacted by lift force
• Of course the difference in the initial static aeroelastic deformation at trim which in reality are influenced by
gravity itself will be
• When compared to deflections due to aerodynamic forces, the gravitational contribution will be insignificant
• The ratio of the elastic and weight force cannot be preserved. In our case we can simply set the initial angle
of attack to the expected lift coefficient and accept the resulting static deformation
• A different response for the rigid body dynamics would be expected for a free-free flying model where
gravity appears in the dynamic equations
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 A. Scaling Strategy
Two different scaling strategies have been investigated: constant Froude number and constant frequency. Despite the
constant Froude number is the most common scaling strategy for aeroelastic test, the solution adopted here is
slightly different due to the following considerations. At first, due to the vertical position of the wing, the gravity
acts orthogonally to the plane of motion (plunge). Second, using the Froude scaling the scaled frequencies are equal
to the real ones multiplied by the square root of the geometry scale factor. This requires an actuator bandwidth that
is very difficult to reach for such a small scale so to be installed inside the wing model. For these reasons the iso-
frequency scaling strategy has been identified as the most suitable in this case, meaning that the frequency of the
most relevant mode shapes is equal to ones of the full scale reference aircraft. It must be pointed out that, due to the
vertical position of the wing, and due to the presence of the Weight Augmentation System (WAS), that will be
introduced later, it is possible to combine Froude and iso-frequency scaling strategies at the same time.
Once defined the scaling strategy, the original 3D model of full aircraft was transformed in an equivalent stick
model to be used to generate the scaled mesh of the wind tunnel model. In particular, the mass properties have been
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obtained by an equivalent lumped mass distribution while the stiffness properties have been determined by means of
a model updating procedure using the MSC/Nastran SOL200, trying to perfectly matching the properties of the
original 3D FEM model and the stick one. Finally, the stick model of the full aircraft has been scaled down to obtain
the wind tunnel model, used for the definition of the design loads based on the gust response for the flow conditions
requested. Figures 3 and 4 show some details of the stick model generated starting from the reference aircraft.

Figure 3. Original 3D model of the wingbox (left) and the partitions to compute the corresponding lumped mass
model (right).

Mode # Freq. MAC

Error %

1 +0.1 0.99

2 -0.7 0.96

3 +0.4 0.97

4 +0.5 0.92

5 -0.6 0.91

Figure 4. The first bending of the stick model (left) and frequency and mode shape errors (MAC values) among the
first five modes of the reference aircraft and the stick model(right).
Once created the stick model corresponding to the full aircraft, it was scaled down 1:6 and used for the preliminary
aeroelastic analysis of the wind tunnel model.

B. The Wind Tunnel Model

The design of the wind tunnel model represent a very challenging activity due to the relevant project requirements,
in particular:
1. The wing has to be aeroelastically scaled with respect the real wing, while the other components of the
model have to be considered as rigid, or at least they have not to participate in the low frequency motion
typical of gust response

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 2. The mass configuration for both MTOW and ZFW as well the position of the CoG has to be scaled down
with respect the reference aircraft
3. The test configuration must produce both the gust as well the 1g loads.
The combination of the frequency targets together with the mass constrains forced to adopt design and
manufacturing solutions for the wing based on a main double omega shaped spar made by carbon fibre covered by 8
aerodynamic sectors made by 3D printing using a carbon reinforced plastic material able to combine high strength
and low density. The main spar has been designed and manufactured by POLIMI while the aerodynamic sectors
have been manufactured by a specialized company outside the consortium.
The fuselage is based on a main carbon fibre square beam to guarantee the requested stiffness. The vertical tail and
horizontal tail are realized by combining a carbon spar while the aerodynamic shape is obtained by Styrofoam
covered by carbon fabric. Finally, the fuselage is realized as a sandwich of carbon fabric and thin honeycomb. A
heavy fuselage nose allows to move the global centre of gravity In the right position. Figures 5 and 6 show some
details of the wind tunnel model.
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b
a

c
d
Figure 5. Overview of the wind tunnel model (a and b), details of the aerodynamic sectors and the connection
between the spar and fuselage (c), the manufacturing of the full carbon wing spar (d).

Figure 6. Overview of the wind tunnel model.

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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 C. The Weight Augmentation System (WAS)
The GLAMOUR wind tunnel model, representing the half of the reference aircraft, is connected to the floor with a
dedicated support able to guarantee a free-free motion in plunge and pitch. This configuration appears as challenging
from the model trim point of view, due to the presence of the 1g load. Indeed, since the wing is in vertical position
the weight does not offer any counterbalance of the lift force. The adopted strategy required the design of a device
able to produce the necessary force able to balance the lift produced at different test speed. Aiming at this target, a
special device, named Weight Augmentation System (WAS) composed by a sliding mechanism to allows for the
plunge motion driven by an electrical servo-actuator controlled in force, so to be able to guarantee a constant force,
has been designed (see Figure 7). Thanks to this system, it is possible to trim the model in different corresponding
flight conditions so to assess the validity of the gust alleviation strategies for a large portion of the flight envelope.
The hardware constituting the WAS system is covered by the so-called dummy floor over which the wind tunnel
model is sliding in plunge and pitch motion.
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Figure 7. The dummy floor internal structure (left), details of the central pivot for pitch motion (middle) and the
WAS together with the moving sled for plunge motion (right).

D. The Actuation System

The load alleviation architecture is based on the use of a splitted aileron and the elevator as control surfaces and
POLIMI was in charge of the development of the complete hardware and software. The design of such a kind of
actuator is challenging due to two main requirements: minimum size, so to be installed inside the wing airfoil
thickness, and the allowable bandwidth, allowing to control the most relevant modes. The final configuration is
summarized in the following Figure 8. The control system of ailerons is based on RSF-5B by Harmonic Drive
electric motors connected to the control surfaces by means of belt. In the case of the elevator, the same type of
electric motor but the most powerful model, i.e. RSF-9B, has been selected. In this case, a direct connection without
belt has been designed due to the larger available space.
ACTUATORS:
RSF-5B by Harmonic Drive

BELT: CONTINENTAL HTD Timing belt 117-3M-8mm

Maximum span tension = 124 N
Maximum transmitted power = 10 W
No free-play

OUTBOARD AILERON
Belt length = 35 mm
Drive pinion radius = 5.73 mm
Driven pulley radius = 8.56 mm

INBOARD AILERON
Belt length = 48 mm
Drive pinion radius = 5.73 mm
Driven pulley radius = 8.56 mm

Figure 8. Actuator configuration.

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 A PID controller based on two possible configurations, i.e. single and double loop, depending on the number of
angular rotation sensors adopted and implementing the same saturation of the real actuator has been designed and its
main characteristics are reported in Table 1, while Figure 9 shows some details of the implementation of the
actuators.
SINGLE LOOP DUAL LOOP
Bandwidth 10 Hz 10 Hz

Gain margin 12 dB @ 18 Hz 6.62 dB @ 16 Hz

Phase margin 66 deg @ 11 Hz 70.5 deg @ 14 Hz

Table 1. Actuator’s performances.

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Figure 9. Location and details of the ailerons actuator systems inside the wing model.

E. The Measurements
The wind tunnel model is equipped with many and different kind of sensors to measure the following quantities:
• Airframe displacement at 10 spanwise locations by means of a photogrammetric measurement system by
Optisys.
• Airframe local accelerations at 28 selected points using PCB piezoelectric accelerometers.
• Airframe sectional loads (Shear, Bending and Torque Moments) at 10 spanwise locations of the wing by
means of strain gauge bridges.
• Plunge and pitch motion measured at the device connecting the model to the testing room using two
potentiometers.
• Rotation of all control surfaces using angular potentiometers and digital encoders.
• Lift load using a dedicated load cell connected to the WAS actuator.
• The gust angle using a 5 holes pressure probe installed on the front part of the fuselage.

V. Active Control Strategies

GLAMOUR is addressing the validation of Load Alleviation technologies by means a dedicated design activity
coupled to an extensive experimental activity. The project objective is directly related to aircraft performances in
terms of load alleviation, reduction of maximum stress with and a potential weight saving and consequently fuel
saving, so impacting the quality of future aircraft design and the global impact on the environmental. The impact of
GLAMOUR will be felt through a comprehensive design and evaluation of the proposed load alleviation concepts
by means of numerical tools and analysis together with dedicated experimental validation. The potential of new
control strategies proposed into GLAMOUR will be assessed by comparing the obtained performances with ones
achieved adopting the already available approaches proposed by ITD member and to other related design
requirements.
The Work Package 1 of the project, focused on the development of gust load control strategies, is divided in two
tasks: the first one is dedicated to the evaluation of control architecture proposed by the ITD member, while the
second one is mainly dedicated to the new control strategies proposed by the partners. The ITD optimized loads
alleviation control laws, based on a combination of a non-linear PID and a Feed Forward controller, to drive the
ailerons and the elevator, respectively, using as feedback the IMU together with the gust angle measurements, yield
significant reduction in the dynamic loads peaks in response to regulation discrete gust profiles. For example, the
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American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
 wing-root bending moment in response to discrete gust of the ZFW configuration at M=0.48, sea level was reduced
by about 30%. POLIMI and UNIVBRIS proposed alternative control scheme called Static Output Feedback and
Gust Reactive Control, both of them using accelerometer sensors on the wing and an angle of attach sensor located
on the nose. These control strategies exhibited discrete-gust incremental wing-root bending moment reductions
comparable of the ones obtained by the ITD proposed schemes, using the same control surfaces, i.e. the ailerons and
elevators. Concerning the Static Output Feedback7, proposed by POLIMI (named GLA2), the control input is given
by a linear combination of measurements:
u = −Gy
The gain matrix G is computed by optimizing a quadratic transfer function, defined considering the closed loop
response to impulsive disturbances
1 ∞ T
I=
2 ∫0
[ z Wzz z + u TWuu u ]dt
where Wzz and Wuu are weighting matrices. One of the main advantage is its simplicity and easy tuning of the control
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gains.
Concerning the Gust Reactive Control, proposed by UNIVBRIS, it was shown that an early warning of the
upcoming gust may allow an aircraft response that reduces the gust loads dramatically (Figure 10). This method uses
information from the aircraft nose sensor to pre-empt the incoming gust, and move the control surfaces in advance.
This reactive effort is also coupled with an LQR controller to help damp out the transient response after the gust has
passed.

Adaptive delay

Nose
sensor

Gust profile
Figure 10. Gust reactive control approach.

Two different implementations, named GLA3 and GLA4, have been investigate which, in terms of simulated results,
appear able to reach a reduction of the root bending moment around 35%. An important question, which was not in
the scope of the project, was whether very complex control strategies to obtain very high load reduction are really
necessary. An investigation with a simple PI control law proposed by TECHNION (named GLA1), based on wing-
mounted accelerometers and application of the ailerons only, exhibited a modest reduction of the incremental wing-
root bending moment by "only" 9%. Since such a solution may be preferred when only a modest loads reduction is
required, even this control strategy based on a local decentralized control scheme will be tested in the wind-tunnel
investigation. At the end of the simulation campaign four different control strategies, to be compared with one
proposed by ITD manager, have been included in the test matrix to be verified during the WT test campaign. One of
the significant difference between the different control strategies is related to the feedback sensors adopted. Indeed,
while control schemes GLA1 and GLA2 use only accelerometers feedback, the control strategies GLA3, GLA4 as
well the originally proposed ITD1 use also the direct measurement of the gust angle based on the alpha sensor
installed on the nose of the aircraft.

VI. The Wind Tunnel and the Gust Generator

The GVPM is a medium size low speed wind tunnel highly dedicated to helicopter and airplane models testing.
Due to this facility POLIMI is member of SATA since 2003. The wind tunnel can operate both in closed test section
and in open jet configuration. The closed test section is 6 m long, 4 m wide and 3.84 m high. The first 5 m part of the
closed test section is removable to allow for off-line test preparation (or, in case, to allow for open jet tests). Two
interchangeable closed test sections (the ”yellow” and the ”blue” one) are available. A high flow ratio compressor
supplies compressed air for the air bearing movement systems that are used to move the closed test sections (Figure
11) and the other heavy structures or machines.

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 Figure 11. The POLIMI’s wind tunnel.
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The good flow quality is adequate for aeronautical testing (the turbulence level is less than 0.1%). The air flow is
produced by 14 fans with a total power of 1.4 MW. By virtue of the heat exchanger, the wind tunnel testing are not
affected by any significant temperature gradient so that test duration is not limited by wind tunnel overheating. The
wind tunnel is controlled in velocity (from 3 m/s up to 55 m/s). The maximum velocity of 55 m/s corresponds to a
maximum Mach number of 0.16 and to Reynolds number per meter of about 3.8 million. As this usually produces a
model Reynolds number lower than in the full-scale aircraft, transition strips can be positioned on the model surface.
Adhesive tape transition strips are used at GVPM, sized according to NASA TN-3579.
The velocity feedback for the control is obtained by dynamic pressure measurement together with the measurement
of thermodynamic quantities necessary to compute the fluid density. The test condition parameters continuously
monitored during the test are: dynamic pressure, absolute pressure, absolute temperature and relative humidity. Thus
an accurate evaluation of the actual fluid density is possible allowing the flow velocity to be obtained from the
dynamic pressure. To avoid vibration transmission to the rest of the facility the ventilating section is fixed on a
independent foundation plinth. The closed test section basement too, as well as the model strut basement in open jet
configuration, leans on an independent foundation plinth to prevent vibration transmission from the rest of the tunnel
(the duct continuity between the contraction and the test section is assured by a flexible seal). In the centre of the
closed test section a turning table, consisting in two concentric disks, is mounted on a large bearing.
To perform the gust response wind tunnel test it is necessary to install into the wind tunnel a dedicated device to
produce the typical 1-cos gust profile as requested by the CS certification rules. Since the test will be performed in
the close chamber configuration, the capability of reaching the right gust velocity and a sufficient homogeneous gust
field around the model has to be evaluated in the preliminary design phase, due to the wall effect and the dissipation
of the gust along the chamber. The main design parameters playing the major role in the design of the gust generator
are the number of gust vanes, its chord length and the maximum rotation angle. Indeed, different and opposite
requirements have to be combined. While the increasing of the chord of the gust vane could potentially increase the
maximum gust generated, the increased inertia of the vanes could limit the maximum frequency reachable. More,
the increased number of the vanes could increase the maximum gust obtainable but at the same time generates
disturbances in the normal flow even if when the vanes are not actuated. Figure 12 shows the response surface used
during the optimization of the configuration (left) together with a simulation result showing the simulated gust angle
map inside the test chamber.

Figure 12. The surface response used during the design process to maximize the obtained gust angle (left) and a
numerical map of the gust angle (right).
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 The final configuration obtained after an optimization process is based on the use of 6 vanes of 0.4m chord. Any
couple of vanes is connected together and actuated by a single linear electromagnetic actuator, similar to one
adopted for the WAS system. A dedicated control loop allows to create a 1-cos gust profile. The 6 vanes have been
manufactured by POLIMI using a single steel square tube as main spar, the aerodynamic shape made by styrofoam
and covered by glass fiber so to minimize the inertia and maximize the available excitation bandwidth. The gust
generator has been then assembled and tested measuring the obtained gust profile mapping the flow field inside the
test chamber using a hot wire anemometer. Figure 13 shows some detail of the gust generator during the
manufacturing process and the final test campaign.
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Figure 13. Details of the vanes, the static test, the actuation configuration and the final gust generator validation.

Figure 14. Overview of the final test setup.

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 VII. Gust Alleviation Test Results
The WT test activity requested about two weeks for model setup and preparation and a full week of wind tunnel
test. The test matrix required a preliminary flutter verification followed by the gust alleviation session. In particular
two flow speed where tested, and for each one two gust velocities, positive and negative, were tested, for a total of
about 394 gust alleviation tests. The wind tunnel test has been completed successfully at the end of October 2016
and the postprocessing phase is now under finalization.
Despite a final assessment requires a complete data analysis together with a correlation with the simulation
results, a preliminary results analysis is here reported based on a very simplified metrics. Indeed, the load alleviation
capability obtained in the wind tunnel test campaign, in terms of reduction of the Root Bending Moment (RBM) has
been summarized in the following table 2:
Controllers using alpha sensor
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Gust
GLA1

GLA2

GLA3

GLA4
ITD1
V Vgust Sign
LOW Worst + 6.8% 5.0% 18.4% 22.8% 10.0%
LOW Worst ‐ 3.0% 4.8% 9.4% 15.7% 5.8%
LOW Tuned + 1.8% 6.7% 34.9% 17.6% 6.9%
LOW Tuned ‐ 5.7% 10.2% ‐0.7% ‐5.7% ‐9.8%
HIGH Worst + 13.5% 5.9% 10.2% 47.0% 11.8%
HIGH Worst ‐ 9.7% 6.5% 1.2% 2.4% 18.5%
HIGH Tuned + 7.0% 10.9% 32.5% 42.9% 9.9%
HIGH Tuned ‐ 2.2% 10.9% 19.5% 55.3% 33.8%

RBM reduction < 15%

RBM reduction > 15%
RBM amplification < 15%
RBM amplification >15%
Table 2. RBM reduction measurement comparison.

In light and dark green are reported the cases of percent RBM reduction in closed vs. open loop lower and higher
than 15%, respectively. On the other hand, in light and dark red are reported the cases of RBM amplification lower
and higher than 15%, respectively. The table includes the results of the four control strategies proposed by the
consortium together with the original control strategy proposed by the ITD manager LEONARDO COMPANY-
Aircraft Division, formerly Finmeccanica. Looking at the table it is possible to underline that all the proposed
control schemes worked properly with relevant reduction factors. Only in two cases the active controls generated
instabilities. It appears evident that all the control strategies based on the measurement, among the others, of the gust
angles by means of the alpha sensor allow for the most relevant reduction factors.

VIII. Conclusions
GLAMOUR represented a challenging project allowing to explore new and unconventional strategies to validate
active control strategies. The project requirements, combined with other difficulties inside the consortium requested
a radical change in the design approach and manufacturing technologies with respect the initial design. Despite the
difficulties, the originally planned activities have been completed successfully allowing for a collection of a huge
amount of high quality experimental results fundamental for the final assessment.
The results table is almost completely green, with some spot red, meaning that all the tested controls worked out
properly, at least in terms of RBM reduction. The presence of the alpha sensor appears as determinant in terms of
alleviation capability. The model behavior was in general good and the active controllers as well the measurement
systems worked properly without any failure. The friction was higher than expected on both the rails-cars of WAS
and the rollers under the model. This for sure impacted in some way the free response of the model and as
consequence the controllers using the elevator.

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 The GLAMOUR wind tunnel model, together with the wind tunnel installations ad hoc realized, represent now a
fundamental hardware for future investigations on aeroelastic active control at European level.

IX. Acknowledgements
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework
Programme (FP7/2007-2013) for the Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative under Grant Agreement for Partners no.
620084.
A special thanks to all the colleagues and co-workers at Politecnico di Milano involved in the GLAMOUR project
that thanks to their continuous support and enthusiasm made the project possible, and in particular to: Luca
Cavagna, Lorenzo Travaglini, Andrea Mannarino, Gabriele Campanardi, Donato Grassi , Paolo Rubini, Mariarosa
Monzani, Alessandro Mottironi, Silvio Ferragina, Alessandro Maggiolini, Potito Cordisco, Mauro Terraneo and
Edoardo Vigoni.
Downloaded by UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO on January 10, 2017 | http://arc.aiaa.org | DOI: 10.2514/6.2017-1818

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