Hopf bifurcation analysis of an aeroelastic model using stochastic normal form

We investigate the effects of parameter uncertainties on the dynamical response of an aeroelastic model representing an oscillating airfoil in pitch and plunge with linear aerodynamics and cubic structural nonlinearities. An approach based on the stochastic normal form is proposed to determine the effects due to the variations in the flow speed and the structural stiffness terms on the stability of the aeroelastic system near the Hopf bifurcation point. This approach allows us to study analytically the bifurcation scenario and to predict the amplitude and frequency of the limit cycle oscillation (LCO). The results show that the amplitude of LCO corresponding to the supercritical Hopf bifurcation increases with the intensity of the noise perturbing the pitch and plunge cubic terms, but there is almost no effect on the LCO frequency. Uncertainties in the flow speed produce a shift in the bifurcation point, and unstable subcritical behavior may occur for values of parameters for which the corresponding deterministic model is stable. The stochastic normal form confirms and extends previously known numerical results regarding the effect of parameter variations, and offers an effective way to perform sensitivity analysis of the system's response.     

Bifurcation and chaos analysis for aeroelastic airfoil with freeplay structural nonlinearity in pitch

The dynamics character of a two degree-of-freedom aeroelastic airfoil with combined freeplay and cubic stiffness nonlinearities in pitch submitted to supersonic and hypersonic flow has been gaining significant attention. The Poincaré mapping method and Floquet theory are adopted to analyse the limit cycle oscillation flutter and chaotic motion of this system. The result shows that the limit cycle oscillation flutter can be accurately predicted by the Floquet multiplier. The phase trajectories of both the pitch and plunge motion are obtained and the results show that the plunge motion is much more complex than the pitch motion. It is also proved that initial conditions have important influences on the dynamics character of the airfoil system. In a certain range of airspeed and with the same system parameters, the stable limit cycle oscillation, chaotic and multi-periodic motions can be detected under different initial conditions. The figure of the Poincaré section also approves the previous conclusion.     

Stochastic nonlinear aeroelastic analysis of a supersonic lifting surface using an adaptive spectral method

An adaptive stochastic spectral projection method is deployed for the uncertainty quantification in limit-cycle oscillations of an elastically mounted two-dimensional lifting surface in a supersonic flow field. Variabilities in the structural parameters are propagated in the aeroelastic system which accounts for nonlinear restoring force and moment by means of hardening cubic springs. The physical nonlinearities promote sharp and sudden flutter onset for small change of the reduced velocity. In a stochastic context, this behavior translates to steep solution gradients developing in the parametric space. A remedy is to expand the stochastic response of the airfoil on a piecewise generalized polynomial chaos basis. Accurate approximation andaffordable computational costs are obtained using sensitivity-based adaptivity for various types of supersonic stochastic responses depending on the selected values of the Mach number on the bifurcation map. Sensitivity analysis via Sobol' indices shows how the probability density function of the peak pitch amplitude responds to combined uncertainties: e.g. the elastic axis location, torsional stiffness and flap angle. We believe that this work demonstrates the capability and flexibility of the approach for more reliable predictions of realistic aeroelastic systems subject to a moderate number of uncertainties.     

LIMIT CYCLE FLUTTER OF AIRFOILS IN STEADY AND UNSTEADY FLOWS

The limit cycle flutter of a two-dimensional wing with non-linear pitching stiffness is investigated. For modelling the aerodynamic forces of the wing steady linear and non-linear models as well as an unsteady model were used. The flutter speed was calculated using the harmonic balance method and by predicting Hopf bifurcation. Analytical solutions based on the centre manifold theory and normal forms were obtained as were results given by the harmonic balance method. The analytical solutions were compared with those obtained by numerical integration. The results show that the harmonic balance method can forecast flutter speed with a good accuracy while analytical solutions based on centre manifold theorem are accurate only in a small neighbourhood of the bifurcation point. The oscillation of the airfoil after flutter for two different models, linear and non-linear pitching stiffness were compared with each other and the flutter speeds for two linear steady and an unsteady aerodynamic model calculated. The obtained results show that flutter analysis based on the linear steady model is conservative only for the ratios of plunge frequency to pitch frequency lower than 1.     

Fluid-structure interactions with both structural and fluid nonlinearities

In this study, we consider a class of nonlinear aeroelastic stability problems, where geometric nonlinearities arising from large deflections and rotations in the structure interact with aerodynamic nonlinearities caused by moving shocks. Examples include transonic panel flutter and flutter of transonic wings of high aspect ratio, where the presence of both structural and aerodynamic nonlinearities can have a dramatic qualitative as well as quantitative effect on the flutter behavior. Both cases represent inherently nonlinear fluid-structure problems, where neglecting either the structural or the fluid nonlinearities can lead to completely erroneous stability predictions. The results presented in this paper illustrate the rich and in some cases surprising flutter behaviors of transonic wings, and the inherent limitations of the von Kármán nonlinear plate model in strongly nonlinear fluid-structure interaction problems of this type.     

AEROELASTIC OSCILLATIONS OF A SEESAW-TYPE OSCILLATOR UNDER STRONG WIND CONDITIONS

This paper is concerned with one-degree-of-freedom aeroelastic oscillations of a seesaw- type structure in a steady wind flow. Here it is assumed that strong wind conditions induce nonlinear aeroelastic stiffness forces that are of the same order of magnitude as the structural stiffness forces. As a model equation for the aeroelastic behaviour of the seesaw-type structure, a strongly nonlinear self-excited oscillator is obtained. The bifurcation and the stability of limit cycles for this equation are studied using a special perturbation method. Both the case with linear structural stiffness and the case with nonlinear structural stiffness are studied. For both cases is assumed a general cubic approximation to describe the aerodynamic coefficient. Conditions for the existence, the stability, and the bifurcation of limit cycles are given.     

An expert system for predicting nonlinear aeroelastic behavior of an airfoil

In this paper we present an expert system to perform steady-state response predictions. We consider an aeroelastic model simulating a two degree-of-freedom airfoil oscillating in pitch and plunge with a freeplay nonlinearity in the pitch degree-of-freedom. In the proposed data-driven methodology, a freeplay is first confirmed, and then the locations of the switching points are determined. A state-space formulation is constructed to model the piece-wise linear system. The parameters of the system are estimated using the Kalman filter and the expectation maximization algorithm. The attractive feature of the present approach is its ability to accurately predict the steady-state behavior of the nonlinear aeroelastic system with freeplay, using only a limited amount of transient input data. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, we present applications to freeplay aeroelastic data arising from wind tunnel experiments and numerical simulations.     

Modeling and identification of freeplay nonlinearity

A nonlinear analysis is performed for the purpose of identification of the pitch freeplay nonlinearity and its effect on the type of bifurcation of a two degree-of-freedom aeroelastic system. The databases for the identification are generated from experimental investigations of a pitch-plunge rigid airfoil supported by a nonlinear torsional spring. Experimental data and linear analysis are performed to validate the parameters of the linearized equations. Based on the periodic responses of the experimental data which included the flutter frequency and its third harmonics, the freeplay nonlinearity is approximated by a polynomial expansion up to the third order. This representation allows us to use the normal form of the Hopf bifurcation to characterize the type of instability. Based on numerical integrations, the coefficients of the polynomial expansion representing the freeplay nonlinearity are identified.     

Chaos and chaotic transients in an aeroelastic system

Chaotic motions of a two dimensional airfoil with coupled structural nonlinearities, both in pitch as well as plunge degrees of freedom, are investigated via a numerical integration method. The original system of coupled integro-differential equations governing the motion of the present aeroelastic model is transformed into a simple system of six ordinary differential equations (ODEs), rather than the previously frequently used eight ODEs. Complex dynamical behaviors are revealed and identified through the means of bifurcation diagrams, the phase portraits, the amplitude spectra and the Poincare maps. Besides, a more quantitative method, namely that of observing the evolution of the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) is also applied to diagnose the motions. Two peculiar phenomena, namely, long (perhaps super-persistent) chaotic transients, and fluctuating Lyapunov exponents, are observed; in the two such cases the LLE method fails to work. In addition, the effects of various system parameters, namely, the position of the elastic axis, the frequency ratio, the airfoil/air mass ratio, the viscous damping ratios, and the location of the center of mass, on the response of the aeroelastic system, are investigated.     

带有结构非线性的跨音速翼型颤振特性研究

以非定常N-S方程为主管方程,采用时间推进的方法,计算翼型振荡的瞬态非定常气动力,并与带有结构非线性的颤振方程耦合求解,计算了带有结构刚度非线性(间隙型,三次型刚度非线性)和结构阻尼非线性(三次型阻尼非线性)的结构响应特性和颤振特性.计算研究表明,由于同时具有结构和气动非线性,振荡极限环和气动力极为复杂.     

Nonlinear analysis and enhancement of wing-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvesters

We investigate the level of harvested power from aeroelastic vibrations for an elastically mounted wing supported by nonlinear springs. The energy is harvested by attaching a piezoelectric transducer to the plunge degree of freedom. The considered wing has a low-aspect ratio and hence three dimensional aerodynamic effects cannot be neglected. To this end, the three dimensional unsteady vortex lattice method for the prediction of the unsteady aerodynamic loads is developed. A strong coupling scheme that is based on Hamming's fourth-order predictor–corrector method and accounts for the interaction between the aerodynamic loads and the motion of the wing is employed. The effects of the electrical load resistance, nonlinear torsional spring and eccentricity between the elastic axis and the gravity axis on the level of the harvested power, pitch and plunge amplitudes are investigated for a range of operating wind speeds. The results show that there is a specific wind speed beyond which the pitch motion does not pick any further energy from the incident flow. As such, the displacement in the plunge direction grows significantly and causes enhanced energy harvesting. The results also show that the nonlinear torsional spring plays an important role in enhancing the level of the harvested power. Furthermore, the harvested power can be increased by an order of magnitude by properly choosing the eccentricity and the load resistance. This analysis is helpful in designing piezoaeroelastic energy harvesters that can operate optimally at specific wind speeds.     

Aeroelastic dynamic response and control of an airfoil section with control surface nonlinearities

Nonlinearities in aircraft mechanisms are inevitable, especially in the control system. It is necessary to investigate the effects of them on the dynamic response and control performance of aeroelastic system. In this paper, based on the state-dependent Riccati equation method, a state feedback suboptimal control law is derived for aeroelastic response and flutter suppression of a three degree-of-freedom typical airfoil section. With the control law designed, nonlinear effects of freeplay in the control surface and time delay between the control input and actuator are investigated by numerical approach. A cubic nonlinearity in pitch degree is adopted to prevent the aeroelastic responses from divergence when the flow velocity exceeds the critical flutter speed. For the system with a freeplay, the responses of both open- and closed-loop systems are determined with Runge-Kutta algorithm in conjunction with Henon’s method. This method is used to locate the switching points accurately and efficiently as the system moves from one subdomain into another. The simulation results show that the freeplay leads to a forward phase response and a slight increase of flutter speed of the closed-loop system. The effect of freeplay on the aeroelastic response decreases as the flow velocity increases. The time delay between the control input and actuator may impair control performance and cause high-frequency motion and quasi-periodic vibration.     

Stochastic collocation method for secondary bifurcation of a nonlinear aeroelastic system

A stochastic collocation method is proposed to investigate the secondary bifurcation of a two-dimensional aeroelastic system with structural nonlinearity represented by cubic restoring forces, and uncertainties expressed by random parameters in the cubic stiffness coefficient and in the initial pitch angle. The accuracy of the stochastic collocation method is improved by incorporating higher order schemes, such as piecewise cubic interpolation and piecewise cubic spline interpolation, instead of a piecewise linear interpolation formula. For an aeroelastic problem with the uncertainty expressed by a time dependent combination of five random variables, an efficient collocation method is developed using a sparse grid approach with a dimension adaptive strategy. Numerical simulations are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for long term computation and discontinuous problems.     

AEROELASTIC FLUTTER OF CIRCULAR ROTATING DISKS: A SIMPLE PREDICTIVE MODEL

This paper is an attempt to predict aeroelastic flutter of a rotating disk in an unbounded fluid. In the first part of the paper, the linear vibration of a rotating, potential fluid driven by transverse, harmonic motion of a rotating disk is solved. We extend the existing solution for a rigid disk to include flexible disks and compare alternative numerical evaluation schemes. Our principal interest in this problem is the identification of possible physical mechanisms for aeroelastic flutter. In the forced vibration problem considered here, fluid rotation renders the governing equations hyperbolic for low-frequency oscillation. As a result, the fluid motion may be discontinuous along the two characteristics that emanate from the rim of the disk. These discontinuities suggest the presence of previously unrecognized boundary layers near the rim of the disk that may be important for aeroelastic flutter. This idea is used to develop a simple mathematical model for predicting aeroelastic flutter. The model and its dependence on the dimensionless parameters describing the system are derived from first principles except for the compressible boundary layer, which is described by a simple function whose magnitude is empirically determined by fitting experimental data. Although the model is simple, its predictions are quantitatively similar to the experimental evidence and gives analytic predictions of aeroelastic flutter that are within an order of magnitude of the experimental values.     

Nonlinear flutter analysis of stiffened composite panels in super-sonic flow

The flutter instability of stiffened composite panels subjected to aerodynamic forces in the supersonic flow is investigated. Based on Hamilton's principle,the aeroelastic model of the composite panel is established by using the von Karman large deflection plate theory,piston theory aerodynamics and the quasi-steady thermal stress theory. Then,using the finite element method along with Bogner-Fox-Schmit elements and three-dimensional beam elements,the nonlinear equations of motion are derived. The effect of...     

An application of system identification to flutter testing

It is shown that the equations of motion of an aeroelastic system may be derived from measured response data. The structural and aerodynamic terms are separated by analyzing response measurements at two values of kinetic pressure; the derived equations can then be used to calculate dynamic characteristics of the system at any chosen values of kinetic pressure. Two examples of the application of the analysis to the prediction of flutter characteristics are given.     

大展弦比气弹机翼柔性非线性变形的气动力效应分析与风洞试验

从飞行器刚弹耦合动力学模型出发，引入柔性机翼准定常假设，建立大柔性飞行器非线性静气动弹性气动力方程，利用非线性迭代求解思路模拟了柔性飞行器的静气动弹性响应行为，开展了大展弦比飞机静气动弹性风洞试验验证，采用气动力有限基本解与机翼的耦合计算，发现了大柔性飞机大变形状态下载荷及结构变形形式随风速的变化规律.传统基于小变形假设的线性分析方法和刚体分析由于无法考虑气动面随结构变形的曲面气动力因素和结构变形后的非线性刚度特性，均与风洞试验存在一定的误差.对于大展弦比柔性飞机的非线性静气动弹性分析十分必要.      

Aeroelastic analysis and nonlinear dynamics of an elastically mounted wing

The response of an elastically mounted wing that is free to plunge and pitch, supported by nonlinear translational and torsional springs, and interacting with an incoming stream is analyzed. A tightly coupled model of the wing flow interaction is developed. A three-dimensional code based on the unsteady vortex lattice method is used for the prediction of the unsteady aerodynamic loads. The response of the wing shows a sequence of static and dynamic bifurcations and chaotic motions when increasing the flow speed. Pairs of stable solutions are observed over the different response regimes. The effects of the gust and structural nonlinearity on the wing's response are also investigated. The results show that gust may lead to jumps between the pairs of solutions for static and dynamic equilibrium responses without impacting the boundaries of the different response regimes. As for the effect of the structural nonlinearity, increasing the nonlinear coefficient of the stiffness of the torsional spring yields lower static deflections and amplitudes of the limit cycle oscillations.     

Active aeroelastic control of aircraft composite wings impacted by explosive blasts

In this paper, the dynamic aeroelastic response and the related robust control of aircraft swept wings exposed to gust and explosive type loads are examined. The structural model of the wing is in the form of a thin/thick-walled beam and incorporates a number of non-standard effects, such as transverse shear, material anisotropy, warping inhibition, the spanwise non-uniformity of the cross-section, and the rotatory inertias. The circumferentially asymmetric stiffness lay-up configuration is implemented to generate preferred elastic couplings, and in this context, the implications of the plunging–twist elastic coupling and of warping inhibition on the aeroelastic response are investigated. The unsteady incompressible aerodynamic theory adopted in this study is that by von-Kármán and Sears, applicable to arbitrary small motion in the time domain. The considered control methodology enabling one to enhance the aeroelastic response in the subcritical flight speed range and to suppress the occurrence of the flutter instability is based on a novel control approach that is aimed to improve the robustness to modeling uncertainties and external disturbances. To this end, a combined control based on Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller coupled with the Sliding Mode Observer (SMO) is designed and its high efficiency is put into evidence.     

Nonlinear dynamics of galloping-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvesters

The normal form is proposed as a tool to analyze the performance and reliability of galloping-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvesters. Two different harvesting systems are considered. The first system consists of a tip mass prismatic structure (isosceles 30° or square cross-section geometry) attached to a multilayered cantilever beam. The only source of nonlinearity in this system is the aerodynamic nonlinearity. The second system consists of an equilateral triangle cross-section bar attached to two cantilever beams. This system is designed to have structural and aerodynamic nonlinearities. The coupled governing equations for the structure’s transverse displacement and the generated voltage are derived and analyzed for both systems. The effects of the electrical load resistance and the type of harvester on the onset speed of galloping are quantified. The results show that the onset speed of galloping is strongly affected by the load resistance for both types of harvesters. The normal form of the dynamic system near the onset of galloping (Hopf bifurcation) is then derived. Based on the nonlinear normal form, it is demonstrated that smaller levels of generated voltage or power are obtained for higher absolute values of the effective nonlinearity. For the first harvesting system, the results show a supercritical Hopf bifurcation for both isosceles 30° or square cross-section geometries. The nonlinear normal form shows that the isosceles triangle section (30°) is more efficient than the square section. For the second harvesting system, the normal form is used to identify the values of the nonlinear torsional spring which changes the harvester’s instability. It is demonstrated that this critical value of the nonlinear torsional spring depends strongly on the load resistance.