Piezoelectric coupling in energy-harvesting fluttering flexible plates: linear stability analysis and conversion efficiency

This paper investigates the energy harvested from the flutter of a plate in an axial flow by making use of piezoelectric materials. The equations for fully coupled linear dynamics of the fluid–solid and electrical systems are derived. The continuous limit is then considered, when the characteristic length of the plate's deformations is large compared to the piezoelectric patches' length. The linear stability analysis of the coupled system is addressed from both a local and global point of view. Piezoelectric energy harvesting adds rigidity and damping on the motion of the flexible plate, and destabilization by dissipation is observed for negative energy waves propagating in the medium. This result is confirmed in the global analysis of fluttering modes of a finite-length plate. It is finally observed that waves or modes destabilized by piezoelectric coupling maximize the energy conversion efficiency.     

Dynamics of a pipe conveying fluid flexibly restrained at the ends

The subject of this paper is the study of dynamics and stability of a pipe flexibly supported at its ends and conveying fluid. First, the equation of motion of the system is derived via the extended form of Hamilton׳s principle for open systems. In the derivation, the effect of flexible supports, modelled as linear translational and rotational springs, is appropriately considered in the equation of motion rather than in the boundary conditions. The resulting equation of motion is then discretized via the Galerkin method in which the eigenfunctions of a free-free Euler–Bernoulli beam are utilized. Thus, a general set of second-order ordinary differential equations emerges, in which, by setting the stiffness of the end-springs suitably, one can readily investigate the dynamics of various systems with either classical or non-classical boundary conditions. Several numerical analyses are initially performed, in which the eigenvalues of a simplified system (a beam) with flexible end-supports are obtained and then compared with numerical results, so as to verify the equation of motion, in its simplified form. Then, the dynamics of a pinned-free pipe conveying fluid is systematically investigated, in which it is found that a pinned-free pipe conveying fluid is generally neutrally stable until it becomes unstable via a Hopf bifurcation leading to flutter. The next part of the paper is devoted to studying the dynamics of a pinned-free pipe additionally constrained at the pinned end by a rotational spring. A wide range of dynamical behaviour is seen as the mass ratio of the system (mass of the fluid to the fluid+pipe mass) varies. It is surprising to see that for a range of rotational spring stiffness, an increase in the stiffness makes the pipe less stable. Finally, a pipe conveying fluid supported only by a translational and a rotational spring at the upstream end is considered. For this system, the critical flow velocity is determined for various values of spring constants, and several Argand diagrams along with modal shapes of the unstable modes are presented. The dynamics of this system is found to be very complex and often unpredictable (unexpected).     

The dynamics of two-dimensional cantilevered plates with an additional spring support in axial flow

In this paper, the dynamics of two-dimensional cantilevered flexible plates in axial flow is investigated using a fluid–structure interaction model. An additional spring support of either linear or cubic type is installed at various locations on the plate; its presence qualitatively affects the dynamics of the fluid–structure system. Without the spring, the cantilevered plate loses stability by flutter when the flow velocity exceeds a critical value; as the flow velocity increases further, the system dynamics is qualitatively the same: the plate undergoes symmetric limit cycle oscillations with increasing amplitude. With a linear spring, a state of static buckling is added to the dynamics. Rich nonlinear dynamics can be observed when a cubic spring is considered; the plate may be stable and buckled, and it may undergo either symmetric or asymmetric limit cycle oscillations. Moreover, when the flow velocity is sufficiently high, the plate may exhibit chaotic motions via a period-doubling route.     

Interaction between a cantilevered-free flexible plate and ideal flow

We develop a new computational model of the linear fluid–structure interaction of a cantilevered flexible plate with an ideal flow in a channel. The system equation is solved via numerical simulations that capture transients and allow the spatial variation of the flow–structure interaction on the plate to be studied in detail. Alternatively, but neglecting wake effects, we are able to extract directly the system eigenvalues to make global predictions of the system behaviour in the infinite-time limit. We use these complementary approaches to conduct a detailed study of the fluid–structure system. When the channel walls are effectively absent, predictions of the critical velocity show good agreement with those of other published work. We elucidate the single-mode flutter mechanism that dominates the response of short plates and show that the principal region of irreversible energy transfer from fluid to structure occurs over the middle portion of the plate. A different mechanism, modal-coalescence flutter, is shown to cause the destabilisation of long plates with its energy transfer occurring closer to the trailing edge of the plate. This mechanism is shown to allow a continuous change to higher-order modes of instability as the plate length is increased. We then show how the system response is modified by the inclusion of channel walls placed symmetrically above and below the flexible plate, the effect of unsteady vorticity shed at the trailing edge of the plate, and the effect of a rigid surface placed upstream of the flexible plate. Finally, we apply the modelling techniques in a brief study of upper-airway dynamics wherein soft-palate flutter is considered to be the source of snoring noises. In doing so, we show how a time-varying mean flow influences the type of instability observed as flow speed is increased and demonstrate how localised stiffening can be used to control instability of the flexible plate.     

Aeroelastic behavior of a flag in ground effect

The aeroelastic behavior of a flexible plate subjected to a uniform axial flow is investigated in the presence of a rigid plane set parallel to the plate. It is shown that the ground effect reduces the flutter inflow velocity and strengthens the possibility of using the flag for extracting energy from winds and currents. The numerical analysis is carried out assuming that both the unsteady potential incompressible flow and the plate can be described with 2D models, i.e., a lumped vortex panel method and a nonlinear Euler–Bernoulli beam model, respectively, without losing the essential features of the fluid–structure interaction. Asymmetry of post-critical behavior (limit-cycle oscillations) and sensitivity of the results to the main flag parameters (distance from the ground, mass ratio and damping) are also considered, including also the energy distribution over the identified proper orthogonal modes. The investigated reduction of the flutter velocity in ground effect has been also confirmed with experimental tests relative to a polypropylene flag with and without the rigid panel mimicking the presence of the ground.     

On bimodal flutter behavior of a flexible airfoil

The dynamic aeroelastic behavior of an elastically supported airfoil is studied in order to investigate the possibilities of increasing critical flutter speed by exploiting its chord-wise flexibility. The flexible airfoil concept is implemented using a rigid airfoil-shaped leading edge, and a flexible thin laminated composite plate conformally attached to its trailing edge. The flutter behavior is studied in terms of the number of laminate plies used in the composite plate for a given aeroelastic system configuration. The flutter behavior is predicted by using an eigenfunction expansion approach which is also used to design a laminated plate in order to attain superior flutter characteristics. Such an airfoil is characterized by two types of flutter responses, the classical airfoil flutter and the plate flutter. Analysis shows that a significant increase in the critical flutter speed can be achieved with high plunge and low pitch stiffness in the region where the aeroelastic system exhibits a bimodal flutter behavior, e.g., where the airfoil flutter and the plate flutter occur simultaneously. The predicted flutter behavior of a flexible airfoil is experimentally verified by conducting a series of systematic aeroelastic system configurations wind tunnel flutter campaigns. The experimental investigations provide, for each type of flutter, a measured flutter response, including the one with indicated bimodal behavior.     

High-frequency plate flutter

Earlier, using the global instability method, the stability of a strip plate in a supersonic gas flow was investigated. In addition to the classical (low-frequency) flutter developing upon the interaction between the plate oscillation modes, a novel (high-frequency) flutter type in which the oscillations are unimodal was detected. In the present study, the effect on the high-frequency flutter of the plate width (earlier only an asymptotic analysis for a width tending to infinity was performed), its damping characteristics, and the presence of a gas at rest on the side opposite the flow is investigated.     

The regions of flutter and divergence instability of a column subjected to Beck's generalized load, taking into account the torsional flexibility of the loaded end of the column

Investigations into a slender system subjected to Beck's generalized load taking into account two rotational springs situated at each end of the system are presented in the paper. One spring models the finite rigidity of the mounting, while the second restricts the rotation of the loaded end of the system. The regions of divergence and flutter instability of the considered system were determined using the kinetic criterion of the stability. The boundary value of the rigidity of the spring situated at the loaded end of the column was also determined. The boundary value of the rigidity separates the regions of divergence and flutter instability. In respect of the problem of vibrations, the characteristic curves in the plane: load - natural frequency were presented. All computations were carried out using the parameters of the considered system, including the rigidity of the springs and the follower coefficient of the load.     

Flutter of a rectangular plate

We address theoretically the linear stability of a variable aspect ratio, rectangular plate in a uniform and incompressible axial flow. The flutter modes are assumed to be two-dimensional but the potential flow is calculated in three dimensions. For different values of aspect ratio, two boundary conditions are studied: a clamped-free plate and a pinned-free plate. We assume that the fluid viscosity and the plate viscoelastic damping are negligible. In this limit, the flutter instability arises from a competition between the destabilising fluid pressure and the stabilising flexural rigidity of the plate. Using a Galerkin method and Fourier transforms, we are able to predict the flutter modes, their frequencies and growth rates. The critical flow velocity is calculated as a function of the mass ratio and the aspect ratio of the plate. A new result is demonstrated: a plate of finite span is more stable than a plate of infinite span.     

Aeroelastic dynamics stability of rotating sandwich annular plate with viscoelastic core layer

A dynamic model for a rotating sandwich annular plate with a viscoelastic core layer is developed. All fundamental equations and boundary conditions are established based on Hamilton’s principle, and the rotation effect and viscoelastic properties of the sandwich structure are taken into account. The aerodynamics force acting on the plate is described by a rotating damping model, and the constitutive behavior of the viscoelastic core layer is formulated by the frequency-dependent complex modulus. The effects of geometrical and material parameters on frequencies and damping of forward and backward traveling waves and the dynamic stability for the rotating sandwich plate are numerically analyzed by means of Galerkin’s method. The results show that the critical and flutter speeds of the rotating plate can be increased at some certain parameters of the viscoelastic core layer.     

Three routes to chaos for a three-degree-of-freedom articulated cylinder system subjected to annular flow and impacting on the outer pipe

In this paper, the dynamics of a cantilevered articulated system of rigid cylinders interconnected by rotational springs, within a pipe containing fluid flow is studied. Although the formulation is generalized to any number of degrees-of-freedom (articulations), the present work is restricted to three-degree-of-freedom systems. The motions are considered to be planar, and the equations of motion, apart from impacting terms, are linearized. Impacting of the articulated cylinder system on the outer pipe is modelled by either a cubic spring (for analytical convenience) or, more realistically, by a trilinear spring model. The critical flow velocities, for which the system loses stability, by flutter (Hopf bifurcation) or divergence (pitchfork bifurcation) are determined by an eigenvalue analysis. Beyond these first bifurcations, it is shown that, for different values of the system parameters, chaos is obtained through three different routes as the flow is incremented: a period-doubling cascade, the quasiperiodic route, and type III intermittency. The dynamical behaviour of the system and differing routes to chaos are illustrated by phase-plane portraits, bifurcation diagrams, power spectra, Poincaré sections, and Lyapunov exponent calculations.     

Limit-cycle oscillations of a pre-tensed membrane strip

The paper presents a computational and experimental study of the nonlinear aeroelastic response of a pre-tensed, high aspect-ratio, thin membrane strip. The goal of the study is to derive and validate a computational model that can be used for analysis and design of membrane strips, for the purpose of energy harvesting from flutter at low airspeeds. The mathematical model is based on a pre-tensed-beam model, accounting for bending and torsional stiffening effects due to pretension and large deformations. The aerodynamic model is a potential flow model. The equations of motion are written as a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations, using Galerkin’s method, and are simulated numerically. The nonlinear aeroelastic model is used to study the oscillation characteristics of the membrane strip in the various stability regions. The effects of the initial pretension and non-linear stiffening on the energy-harvesting potential of the system are studied. The combined effect of the preload on the flutter onset speed, on the flutter frequency and amplitude, and on the loss of orbital stability, indicate that an optimal preload can be determined based on the intended airspeed range for energy harvesting. A series of wind tunnel tests are conducted, in which the flutter onset velocity, and the post-flutter frequencies and amplitudes are measured. Good agreement between the experimental data and computational results validate the computational model.     

Parametric studies on relationships between flutter derivatives of slender bridge (Ⅱ)

Based on curve fitting of coefficients of three component forces of the Messina Straits Bridge, and the previously proposed semi-analytical expressions of flutter deriva-tives of flexible structure, the change of flutter derivatives of slender bridge cross-section with respect to its aerodynamic center, rotational speed and angle variation is studied using a parametric method. The calculated results are compared with the measured ones, and expressions of flutter derivatives of the Messina Straits Bridge are derived. The in-trinsic relationships existing in flutter derivatives are validated again. It is shown that the influence of the rotational speed on flutter derivatives is not negligible. Therefore, it provides an additional semi-analytical approach for analyzing flutter derivatives of the bridge with streamlined cross-section to get its aerodynamic information.     

Parametric studies on relationships between flutter derivatives of slender bridge （Ⅱ）

Based on curve fitting of coefficients of three component forces of the Messina Straits Bridge, and the previously proposed semi-analytical expressions of flutter derivatives of flexible structure, the change of flutter derivatives of slender bridge cross-section with respect to its aerodynamic center, rotational speed and angle variation is studied using a parametric method. The calculated results are compared with the measured ones, and expressions of flutter derivatives of the Messina Straits Bridge are derived. The intrinsic relationships existing in flutter derivatives are validated again. It is shown that the influence of the rotational speed on flutter derivatives is not negligible. Therefore, it provides an additional semi-analytical approach for analyzing flutter derivatives of the bridge with streamlined cross-section to get its aerodynamic information.     

The effect of inertial inhomogeneity on the flutter of a cantilevered flexible plate

We study the effect of adding discrete structural mass on the linear stability of an otherwise homogeneous cantilevered-free flexible plate immersed in uniform axial flow. The methods of Howell et al. that mixed numerical simulation with eigenvalue analysis are simply extended for the present study. An ideal two-dimensional flow is assumed wherein the rotationality of the boundary-layers is modelled by vortex elements on the solid-fluid interface and the imposition of the Kutta condition at the plate's trailing edge. The Euler-Bernoulli beam model is used for the structural dynamics. It is shown that addition of mass to the plate can be either stabilising or destabilising, depending upon the location of the added mass, and how its inclusion modifies the energy exchanges of the corresponding homogeneous structure. Our results therefore suggest a straightforward means by which the critical flow speed at which low-amplitude flutter sets in can be passively controlled in engineering applications.     

VIBRATION AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF CANTILEVERED TWO-PIPE SYSTEMS CONVEYING DIFFERENT FLUIDS

This paper considers the dynamic stability of plane transverse oscillations of two cantilevered pipes interconnected along their outer radii and conveying different fluids with different flow speeds. Stability curves depicting the relation between the two flow speeds at the stability boundary are shown for a number of fluid-structure mass ratios. One fluid flow may dissipate energy delivered to the system by the other, if the speed of the first one is not too large. One pipe can thus be thought of as a stabilizer to the other, with the aim of increasing the critical speed of the primary flow. The stabilizing effect of one fluid on the other is clarified through considerations of an energy equation together with flutter oscillation shapes. The energy equation is also used to derive a relation between the two flow speeds and the phase speed of the flow-induced travelling bending wave.     

FLUTTER OF AN AIRFOIL WITH A CUBIC RESTORING FORCE

In this paper, the effect of a cubic structural restoring force on the flutter characteristics of a two-dimensional airfoil placed in an incompressible flow is investigated. The aeroelastic equations of motion are written as a system of eight first-order ordinary differential equations. Given the initial values of plunge and pitch displacements and their velocities, the system of equations is integrated numerically using a fourth order Runge-Kutta scheme. Results for soft and hard springs are presented for a pitch degree-of-freedom nonlinearity. The study shows the dependence of the divergence flutter boundary on initial conditions for a soft spring. For a hard spring, the nonlinear flutter boundary is independent of initial conditions for the spring constants considered. The flutter speed is identical to that for a linear spring. Divergent flutter is not encountered, but instead limit-cycle oscillation occurs for velocities greater than the flutter speed. The behaviour of the airfoil is also analysed using analytical techniques developed for nonlinear dynamical systems. The Hopf bifurcation point is determined analytically and the amplitude of the limit-cycle oscillation in post-Hopf bifurcation for a hard spring is predicted using an asymptotic theory. The frequency of the limit-cycle oscillation is estimated from an approximate method. Comparisons with numerical simulations are carried out and the accuracy of the approximate method is discussed. The analysis can readily be extended to study limit-cycle oscillation of airfoils with nonlinear polynomial spring forces in both plunge and pitch degrees of freedom.     

Vibration characteristics and flutter analysis of a composite laminated plate with a store

The effects of an external store on the flutter characteristics of a composite laminated plate in a supersonic flow are investigated. The Dirac function is used to formulate the interaction between the plate and the store. The first-order piston theory is used to describe the aerodynamic load. The governing equation of the composite laminated plate with an external store is established based on the Hamilton principle. The mode shapes are constructed by the admissible functions which are a set of characteristic orthogonal polynomials generated directly by the Gram-Schmidt process, and the boundary constraint is modeled as the artificial springs. The frequency and mode shapes of the plate under different boundaries are determined by the Rayleigh-Ritz method. The validity of the proposed approach is confirmed by comparing the results with those obtained from the finite element method (FEM). The effects of the mounting position, the center of gravity position and the mounting points spacing of the external store on the flutter boundary are discussed for both the simply supported and cantilever plates, respectively, which correspond to the two installation sites of the external store, i.e., the belly and wings of the aircraft.     

浮筏隔振系统功率流特性分析

针对工程实际中浮筏隔振装置，建立了柔性基础上机组多支承弹性浮筏耦合隔振系统动力学普遍模型，提出了子系统动态特性综合分析法，给出了耦合系统动态传递方程及功率流表达式。根据工程中两机组浮筏隔振系统功率流理论计算结果，着重探讨安装频率与支承结构柔性耦合作用及其对隔振效果影响。研究结果表明：合理设计安装频率，可有效控制振动能量传输。