Modeling and simulation of aerial refueling by finite element method

The aerial refueling hose-and-drogue system is a special case of a generalized aerial cable towed system. The present work investigates the effect of pertinent parameters such as the cable tension, tow point disturbance and vortex wake on the dynamic behavior and stability of the generalized model by using the finite element method with an accurate and computationally efficient three-noded, curved beam element. The analysis results show that the conventional modal and spectrum analysis method is inappropriate for the dynamic stability analysis of the aerial cable towed system. This is because the mechanism of instability due to the tow point disturbance is not the resonance of the aerial cable towed system but the wave propagation downstream along the cable absorbing energy from the airflow when the wave propagation speed is less than the airflow speed. The study also demonstrates that the vortex wake has a significant impact on the dynamics of the aerial cable towed system. The short cable system will orbit with the vortex and the orbiting behavior will diminish as the cable length increases.