Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings
Gabriele DESSENA, Alessandro PONTILLO
Abstract. This study details the development and initial validation of a newly introduced modal testing method, called Propeller-Driven Vibration Testing (PVT), designed for validating aircraft wing dynamics. Ground vibration testing (GVT) is crucial for aircraft certification, but it is often costly and time-consuming. By utilising the operational modal analysis (OMA) principle, PVT leverages the forces generated by an aircraft propeller running to excite the wing structure, potentially streamlining the GVT process. The research specifically examines a flexible wing model spar, constructed from Aluminium 7075-T6, excited by varying propeller speeds. Seven distinct vibration tests were conducted, including a baseline case without propeller rotation and numerous configurations with the propeller spinning at different throttle settings. Results demonstrate the feasibility of PVT in assessing dynamic characteristics, indicating that this method could significantly reduce the duration and resources needed for traditional GVT, thereby optimising the certification timeline for future electrical regional aircraft designs.
Keywords
Propeller-driven Vibration Testing, Modal Analysis, Flexible Wings, Operational Modal Analysis, Experimental Structural Dynamics
Published online 7/20/2026, 4 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Gabriele DESSENA, Alessandro PONTILLO, Propeller-driven Vibration Testing of Aircraft Wings, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 69, pp 380-383, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904251-69
The article was published as article 69 of the book CEAS – AIDAA Conference 2025
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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