State and development of flutter calculation

Abstract

This report discusses the need for considering a wide variation in certain of the basic flutter parameters in conducting a flutter analysis. Conclusions are drawn stating that design charts or simple rules may be misleading. Due to inherent difficulties, dynamic model testing may also yield misleading results. The general flutter equations and various methods of solution are discussed. Of particular interest, curves are presented showing computational effort plotted against a number of degrees of freedom used in a flutter analysis.