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At least 235 records · Page 13

An influence coefficient method for the application of the modal technique to wing flutter suppression of the DAST ARW-1 wing

The methods used to compute the mass, structural stiffness, and aerodynamic forces in the form of influence coefficient matrices as applied to a flutter analysis of the Drones for Aerodynamic and Structural Testing (DAST) Aeroelastic Research Wing. The DAST wing was chosen because wind tunnel flutter test data and zero speed vibration data of the modes and frequencies exist and are available for comparison. A derivation of the equations of motion that can be used to apply the modal method for flutter suppression is included. A comparison of the open loop flutter predictions with both wind tunnel data and other analytical methods is presented.

Pines, S.↗

Application of modal control to wing-flutter suppression

A discrete modal control design approach that is applied to a single control surface, unswept aircraft wing subject to bending torsion flutter is described. The modal approach is a mathematical method to decouple the equations of motion into isolated differential equations. In this paper, a pole-placement approach is then applied to determine stability gains in the discrete plane using only the two complex-conjugate flutter-mode equations. A fixed gain Kalman filter is used to estimate the model amplitudes using three measurements. Results are presented for a full-state estimator (36 states) and two reduced state estimators using two different closed-loop pole locations. The control law is designed for a dynamic pressure that is 50 percent greater than the uncontrolled-flutter dynamic pressure. With constant control-law gains, the closed-loop system remains stable over the dynamic-pressure range from flutter onset to approximately an 80-percent increase in pressure.

Ostroff, A. J.↗

Comparison of analytical and wind-tunnel results for flutter and gust response of a transport wing with active controls

Two flutter suppression control laws wre designed and tested on a low speed aeroelastic model of a DC-10 derivative wing. Both control laws demontrated increases in flutter speed in excess of 25 percent above the passive wing flutter speed. In addition, one of the control laws was effective in reducing loads due to turbulence generated in the wind tunnel. The effect of variations in gain and phase on the closed-loop performance was measured and is compared with predictions. In general, both flutter and gust response predictions agree reasonably well with experimental data.

Abel, I.↗

Flutter clearance of the horizontal tail of the Bellanca Skyrocket II airplane

The Skyrocket II is an all composite constructed experimental prototype airplane. A flutter clearance program was conducted on the horizontal tail so that the airplane could be safely flown to acquire natural laminar flow aerodynamic data. Ground vibration test data were used in a lifting surface flutter analysis to predict symmetric and antisymmetric flutter boundaries. Subcritical response data which were acquired during flight tests are compared with the analytical results. The final flutter clearance placard speed was based on flight test data.

Ricketts, R. H.↗

Analytical procedures for flutter model development and checkout in preparation for wind tunnel testing of the DAST ARW-1 wing

A study to develop analytical procedures to be used in the checkout and calibration of a flutter wind tunnel model of the DAST ARW-1 wing equipped with a flutter suppression device is reported. The methods used to obtain a realistic simulation of the structural inertial and aerodynamic properties of the wing, the hydro-electro-servo actuator used for flutter suppression, a prediction of the open loop flutter speed at a fixed Mach number (.897), a procedure for checkout and calibration using the method frequency response of a wing mounted accelerometer, and an analytical representation of a reduced state approximation of the overall system are described.

Pines, S.↗

Eigenspace techniques for active flutter suppression

Eigenspace (ES) techniques were used to design an active flutter suppression system for the DAST ARW-2 flight test vehicle. The ES controller meets control surface activity specifications and at the flutter test condition provides reduced wing root torsion at the gust test condition, and results in improved flutter boundaries. The ES controller is compared with a controller designed using Linear Quadratic (LQ) techniques. The LQ controller exhibits better phase margins at the flutter condition than does the ES controller but the LQ design requires large feedback gains on actuator states while the ES does not. This results in reduced overall actuator gain for the LQ design.

Garrard, W. L.↗

A root locus based flutter synthesis procedure

An efficient generalized constraint is proposed in the context of a nonlinear mathematical programming approach for the minimum weight design of wing structures for flutter considerations. The approach is based on a root locus analysis procedure that is better suited for flutter redesign than the conventionally used V-g method. The proposed flutter constraint does not require an actual computation of the flutter speed, allows prescription of meaningful margins of safety in the optimized design and lends itself to elegant computation of sensitivity information. The approach is implemented and results presented for representative structural models.

Hajela, P.↗

A three degree-of-freedom, typical section flutter analysis using harmonic transonic air forces

Typical section flutter solutions are obtained using generalized air forces calculated with OPTRAN2, a program based on the transonic small perturbation potential equation, which uses potentials from a nonlinear solution to the steady flow to obtain linear unsteady air forces. Flutter results are calculated with a conventional, linear V-g type solution. Results are presented for a NACA 64A010 airfoil oscillating in plunge and pitch, and with a quarter-chord control surface in the Mach number range of 0.80 to 0.90. The flutter boundary shows a significant 'transonic' bucket, together with changes in flutter mode as, with increasing Mach numbers, a shock appears on the airfoil and then moves aft. Single degree-of-freedom instabilities associated with both the pitch and the control surface motions are identified.

Weatherill, W. H.↗

Flutter of swept fan blades

The effect of sweep on fan blade flutter is studied by applying the analytical methods developed for aeroelastic analysis of advance turboprops. Two methods are used. The first method utilizes an approximate structural model in which the blade is represented by a swept, nonuniform beam. The second method utilizes a finite element technique to conduct modal flutter analysis. For both methods the unsteady aerodynamic loads are calculated using two dimensional cascade theories which are modified to account for sweep. An advanced fan stage is analyzed with 0, 15 and 30 degrees of sweep. It is shown that sweep has a beneficial effect on predominantly torsional flutter and a detrimental effect on predominantly bending flutter. This detrimental effect is shown to be significantly destabilizing for 30 degrees of sweep.

Kielb, R. E.↗

Flutter of swept fan blades

The effect of sweep on fan blade flutter is studied by applying the analytical methods developed for aeroelastic analysis of advance turboprops. Two methods are used. The first method utilizes an approximate structural model in which the blade is represented by a swept, nonuniform beam. The second method utilizes a finite element technique to conduct modal flutter analysis. For both methods the unsteady aerodynamic loads are calculated using two dimensional cascade theories which are modified to account for sweep. An advanced fan stage is analyzed with 0, 15 and 30 degrees of sweep. It is shown that sweep has a beneficial effect on predominantly torsional flutter and a detrimental effect on predominantly bending flutter. This detrimental effect is shown to be significantly destabilizing for 30 degrees of sweep.

Kielb, R. E.↗

Flight test of passive wing/store flutter suppression

Flight tests were performed on an F-16 airplane carrying on each wing an AIM-9J wingtip missile, a GBU-8 bomb near midspan, and an external fuel tank. Baseline flights with the GBU-8 mounted on a standard pylon established that this configuration is characterized by an antisymmetric limited amplitude flutter oscillation within the operational envelope. The airplane was then flown with GBU-8 mounted on the decoupler pylon. The decoupler pylon is a NASA concept of passive wing-store flutter suppression achieved by providing a low store-pylon pitch frequency. The decoupler pylon successfully suppressed wing-store flutter throughout the flight envelope. A 37 percent increase in flutter velocity over the standard pylon was demonstrated. Maneuvers with load factors to 4g were performed. Although the static store displacements during maneuvers were not sufficiently large to be of concern, a store pitch alignment system was tested and performed successfully. One GBU-8 was ejected demonstrating that weapon separation from the decoupler pylon is normal.

Cazier, F. W., Jr.↗

The effects of strong shock loading on coupled bending-torsion flutter of tuned and mistuned cascades

This paper presents an investigation of the effects of strong in-passage shock waves on coupled bending-torsion flutter of both tuned and mistuned cascades. The aerodynamic and inertial coupling between the bending and torsional motions of each blade are included in the analytical model. Analysis revealed (1) that the shock loading has a beneficial effect on torsional flutters of both tuned and mistuned cascades and (2) that alternating bending mistuning has a beneficial effect on shock load induced bending flutter. The latter finding becomes important when shock induced bending flutter is a problem.

Busbey, B. C.↗

Flight flutter testing at Ames-Dryden

Over the past several years the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards Air Force Base has developed a variety of flight flutter and ground test techniques which have been applied to an assortment of new or modified aerospace research vehicles. This paper presents a summary of these techniques and the experiences gained from these applications. Topics discussed include the roles of ground vibration testing, flight flutter testing, wind tunnel flutter model testing, predictive analyses, and aeroservoelastic considerations. Data are presented for a wide variety of aircraft, including remotely piloted vehicles, modern fighters with relaxed static stability and highly augmented flight control systems, aircraft modified for laminar flow control experiments, a glider modified for deep stall tests, and aircraft with skewed or forward swept wings. The conclusions include a brief discussion of future directions in flight flutter testing at Ames-Dryden.

Felt, L. R.↗

Concentrated mass effects on the flutter of a composite advanced turboprop model

The effects on bending-torsion flutter due to the addition of a concentrated mass to an advanced turboprop model blade with rigid hub are studied. Specifically the effects of the magnitude and location of added mass on the natural frequencies, mode shapes, critical interblade phase angle, and flutter Mach number are analytically investigated. The flutter of a propfan model is shown to be sensitive to the change in mass distribution. Static unbalance effects, like those for fixed wings, were shown to occur as the concentrated mass was moved from the leading edge to the trailing edge with the exception of one mass location. Mass balancing is also inferred to be a feasible method for increasing the flutter speed.

Ramsey, J. K.↗

A computational procedure for automated flutter analysis

A direct solution procedure for computing the flutter Mach number and the flutter frequency is applied to the aeroelastic analysis of propfans using a finite element structural model and an unsteady aerodynamic model based on a three-dimensional subsonic compressible lifting surface theory. An approximation to the Jacobian matrix that improves the efficiency of the iterative process is presented. The Jacobian matrix is indirectly approximated from approximate derivatives of the flutter matrix. Examples are used to illustrate the convergence properties. The direct solution procedure facilitates the automated flutter analysis in addition to contributing to the efficient use of computer time as well as the analyst's time.

Murthy, Durbha V.↗

Static aeroelastic effects on the flutter of a supercritical wing

The results of an effort to calculate the effects of angle of attack and the associated aeroelastic deformation on the flutter of a highly swept supercritical wing by use of the modified strip analysis employed in previous studies of this wing are discussed. The spanwise distributions of steady state section lift-curve slope and aerodynamic center required as input for these calculations were obtained from static aeroelastic calculations for the wing by use of the FLO22 transonic code and an assumed dynamic pressure. The process is iterative so that flutter can be obtained at the same dynamic pressure as that used to calculate the statistically deformed shape and loading about which the flutter oscillation occurs (matched conditions). The results of this investigation show that the unconventional backward turn of the transonic dip in the experimental flutter boundary for angles of attack greater than zero is caused by variations in mass ratio and not by static aeroelastic deformation, although inclusion of the latter appears to be required for quantitative accuracy in the calculations.

Yates, E. Carson, Jr.↗

Modern wing flutter analysis by computational fluid dynamics methods

The application and assessment of the recently developed CAP-TSD transonic small-disturbance code for flutter prediction is described. The CAP-TSD code has been developed for aeroelastic analysis of complete aircraft configurations and was previously applied to the calculation of steady and unsteady pressures with favorable results. Generalized aerodynamic forces and flutter characteristics are calculated and compared with linear theory results and with experimental data for a 45 deg sweptback wing. These results are in good agreement with the experimental flutter data which is the first step toward validating CAP-TSD for general transonic aeroelastic applications. The paper presents these results and comparisons along with general remarks regarding modern wing flutter analysis by computational fluid dynamics methods.

Cunningham, Herbert J.↗

Mach number effects on transonic aeroelastic forces and flutter characteristics

Transonic aeroelastic stability analysis and flutter calculations are presented for a generic transport-type wing based on the use of the CAP-TSD (Computational Aeroelasticity Program - Transonic Small Disturbance) finite-difference code. The CAP-TSD code was recently developed for transonic unsteady aerodynamic and aeroelastic analysis of complete aircraft configurations. A binary aeroelastic system consisting of simple bending and torsion modes was used to study aeroelastic behavior at transonic speeds. Generalized aerodynamic forces are presented for a wide range of Mach number and reduced frequency. Aeroelastic characteristics are presented for variations in freestream Mach number, mass ratio, and bending-torsion frequency ratio. Flutter boundaries are presented which have two transonic dips in flutter speed. The first dip is the usual transonic dip involving a bending-dominated flutter mode. The second dip is characterized by a single degree-of-freedom torsion oscillation. These aeroelastic results are physically interpreted and shown to be related to the steady state shock location and changes in generalized aerodynamic forces due to freestream Mach number.

Mohr, Ross W.↗