D328 UpLift testbed completes ground vibration test

Deutsche Aircraft and the German Aerospace Center worked together to carry out the vibration test, which confirmed structural dynamics and informed future modifications for the D328 UpLift.

Deutsche Aircraft, in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Aeroelasticity, has completed a Ground Vibration Test (GVT) on the D328 UpLift flying testbed, D-CUPL.

The test is part of the UpLift programme, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to accelerate the development of new technologies for sustainable aviation.

The Ground Vibration Test determines modal properties such as natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes, providing essential data for flutter analysis and loads calculation.

Over two weeks, the aircraft was suspended on actively controlled air springs, excited at more than 20 locations using electrodynamic shakers, while 237 acceleration sensors captured the response. The campaign covered three aircraft configurations, included 45 hours of excitation time and identified 50 distinct eigenforms.

Simon Binder, senior engineer, loads and aeroelastics, at Deutsche Aircraft says: “This successful GVT campaign is a cornerstone in validating the Global Finite Element Model in support of the structural modifications designed for the UpLift D-CUPL.”

Julian Sinske from the DLR Institute of Aeroelasticity adds: “With the ground vibration test, we have reached an important milestone in the UpLift project. We can now evaluate upcoming modifications to the research aircraft in terms of their aeroelastic behaviour. I’m pleased that we conducted the test efficiently and achieved high-quality results. The new air spring support played a decisive role in this.”