Aerodynamic characteristics analysis and capability assessment of structural damaged aircraft with advanced configuration

Structural damage may weaken the aircraft and lead to loss of control, which is the leading cause of aircraft fatal accidents in the world. Meanwhile, advanced configuration aircraft is more complex than traditional aircraft and the controlling is more difficult. Hence, based on the modeling of structural damaged aircraft, firstly, the aerodynamic characteristics are analyzed according to trim, linearization, stick-fixed response and disturbance simulation. The results show that the damage causes offset of center of gravity and the pitch-roll, pitch-yaw coupling, which would make the emergency more complex. Secondly, the remaining flight performance is calculated by inducing the Remaining Capability Factor, which indicates that the remaining flight performance is reduced due to the damage. The results of above analysis should be considered in the future controller design.