Spectrographic analysis for the modal testing of nonlinear aeroelastic systems

The spectrograph is a signal-processing tool often used for the frequency domain analysis of time-varying signals. When the signal to be analyzed is a function of time, the spectrograph represents the frequency content of the signal as a sequence of power spectra that change with time. In this paper, the usefulness of the technique is demonstrated in its application to the analysis of the time history response of a nonlinear aeroelastic system. The aeroelastic system is modelled analytically as a two-dimensional, rigid airfoil section free to move in both the bending and pitching directions and possessing a rigid flap. The airfoil is mounted by torsional and translational springs attached at the elastic axis, and the flap is used to provide the forcing input to the system. The nonlinear system is obtained by introducing a freeplay type of nonlinearity in the pitch degree-of-freedom restoring moment. The airfoil is immersed in an aerodynamic flow environment, modelled using incompressible thin airfoil theory for unsteady oscillatory motion. The equations of motion are solved using a fourth-order Runge–Kutta numerical integration technique to provide time-history solutions of the response of the airfoil in the pitch and plunge directions. Time-histories are obtained for the nonlinear responses of the linear and nonlinear aeroelastic systems to a sine-sweep input. The time-histories are analyzed using the spectrographic technique, and the frequency content of the response is plotted directly as a function of the input frequency. Results show that the combination of the sine-sweep input with the spectrographic analysis permits a unique insight into the behavior of the nonlinear system with a minimum of testing. It is shown that the frequency of the nonlinear system response is a function of the input frequency and one other characteristic frequency that can be associated with the limit cycle oscillations of the same nonlinear system subject to a transient input.     

Eigenvalue analysis for predicting the onset of multiple subcritical limit cycles of an airfoil with a control surface

Nonlinear Dynamics - The aeroelastic system of an airfoil with a control surface usually encounters non-smooth nonlinearities such as freeplay. Freeplay can have a significant influence on...     

Performance enhancement of wing-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvesting through freeplay nonlinearity

We investigate experimentally how controlled freeplay nonlinearity affects harvesting energy from a wing-based piezoaeroelastic energy harvesting system. This system consisits of a rigid airfoil which is supported by a nonlinear torsional spring (freeplay) in the pitch degree of freedom and a linear flexural spring in the plunge degree of freedom. By attaching a piezoelectric material (PSI-5A4E) to the plunge degree of freedom, we can convert aeroelastic vibrations to electrical energy. The focus of this study is placed on the effects of the freeplay nonlinearity gap on the behavior of the harvester in terms of cut-in speed and level of harvested power. Although the freeplay nonlinearity may result in subcritical Hopf bifurcations (catastrophic for real aircrafts), harvesting energy at low wind speeds is beneficial for designing piezoaeroelastic systems. It is demonstrated that increasing the freeplay nonlinearity gap can decrease the cut-in speed through a subcritical instability and gives the possibility to harvest energy at low wind speeds. The results also demonstrate that an optimum value of the load resistance exists, at which the level of the harvested power is maximized.     

The post-Hopf-bifurcation response of an airfoil in incompressible two-dimensional flow

A bifurcation analysis of a two-dimensional airfoil with a structural nonlinearity in the pitch direction and subject to incompressible flow is presented. The nonlinearity is an analytical third-order rational curve fitted to a structural freeplay. The aeroelastic equations-of-motion are reformulated into a system of eight first-order ordinary differential equations. An eigenvalue analysis of the linearized equations is used to give the linear flutter speed. The nonlinear equations of motion are either integrated numerically using a fourth-order Runge-Kutta method or analyzed using the AUTO software package. Fixed points of the system are found analytically and regions of limit cycle oscillations are detected for velocities well below the divergent flutter boundary. Bifurcation diagrams showing both stable and unstable periodic solutions are calculated, and the types of bifurcations are assessed by evaluating the Floquet multipliers. In cases where the structural preload is small, regions of chaotic motion are obtained, as demonstrated by bifurcation diagrams, power spectral densities, phase-plane plots and Poincaré sections of the airfoil motion; the existence of chaos is also confirmed via calculation of the Lyapunov exponents. The general behaviour of the system is explained by the effectiveness of the freeplay part of the nonlinearity in a complete cycle of oscillation. Results obtained using this reformulated set of equations and the analytical nonlinearity are in good agreement with previously obtained finite difference results for a freeplay nonlinearity.     

Influence of friction and asymmetric freeplay on the limit cycle oscillation in aeroelastic system: An extended Hénon’s technique to temporal integration

Nonlinear effects such as friction and freeplay on the control surfaces can affect aeroelastic dynamics during flight. In particular, these nonlinearities can induce limit cycle oscillations (LCO), changing the system stability, and because of this it is essential to employ computational methods to predict this type of motion during the aircraft development cycle. In this context, the present article presents a matrix notation for describing the Hénon’s method used to reduce errors when considering piecewise linear nonlinearities in the numerical integration process. In addition, a new coordinate system is used to write the aeroelastic system of equations. The proposal defines a displacement vector with generalized and physical variables to simplify the computational implementation of the Hénon’s technique. Additionally, the article discusses the influence of asymmetric freeplay and friction on the LCO of an airfoil with control surface. The results show that the extended Hénon’s technique provides more accurate LCO predictions, that friction can change the frequency and amplitude of these motions, and the asymmetry of freeplay is important to determine the LCO behavior.     

Aeroelastic suppression of an airfoil with control surface using nonlinear energy sink

Aeroelasticity exists in airfoil with control surface freeplay, which may induce instability in an incompressible flow. In this paper, a nonlinear energy sink (NES) is used to suppress the aeroelasticity of an airfoil with a control surface. The freeplay and cubic nonlinearity in pitch are taken into account. The harmonic balance method is used to analytically determine the limit cycle oscillations (LCOs) amplitudes of the airfoil–NES system. Linear and nonlinear flutter speeds are detected from the airfoil with control surface freeplay. When NES is attached, both the linear flutter speed of airfoil without freeplay and the nonlinear flutter speed of airfoil with a freeplay are increased. Moreover, the LCO amplitude of airfoil is decreased due to NES. Then, the influences of NES parameters on the increase in flutter boundary of airfoil are carefully studied.     

Aeroelastic response of an airfoil to gusts: Prediction and control strategies from computed energy maps

A method to predict the aeroelastic pitch response of an airfoil to gusts is presented. The prediction is based on energy maps generated by high-fidelity fluid dynamic simulations of the airfoil with prescribed pitch oscillations. The energy maps quantify the exchange of energy between the pitching airfoil and the flow, and serve as manifolds over which the dynamical states of aeroelastic airfoil system grow, decay and attain stationary states. This method allows us to study the full nonlinear response of the system to large gusts, and predict the growth and saturation of aeroelastic pitch instabilities. We also show that the manifold topology in these maps can be used to make informed modifications to the system parameters in order to control the response to gusts.     

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.     

Analytical formulation of 2-D aeroelastic model in weak ground effect

This paper deals with the aeroelastic modeling and analysis of a 2-D oscillating airfoil in ground effect, elastically constrained by linear and torsional springs and immersed in an incompressible potential flow (typical section) at a finite distance from the ground. This work aims to extend Theodorsen theory, valid in an unbounded flow domain, to the case of weak ground effect, i.e., for clearances above half the airfoil chord. The key point is the determination of the aerodynamic loads, first in the frequency domain and then in the time domain, accounting for their dependence on the ground distance. The method of images is exploited in order to comply with the impermeability condition on the ground. The new integral equation in the unknown vortex distribution along the chord and the wake is solved using asymptotic expansions in the perturbation parameter defined as the inverse of the non-dimensional ground clearance of the airfoil. The mathematical model describing the aeroelastic system is transformed from the frequency domain into the time domain and then in a pure differential form using a finite-state aerodynamic approximation (augmented states). The typical section, which the developed theory is applied to, is obtained as a reduced model of a wing box finite element representation, thus allowing comparison with the corresponding aeroelastic analysis carried out by a commercial solver based on a 3-D lifting surface aerodynamic model. Stability (flutter margins) and response of the airfoil both in frequency and time domains are then investigated. In particular, within the developed theory, the solution of the Wagner problem can be directly achieved confirming an asymptotic trend of the aerodynamic coefficients toward the steady-state conditions different from that relative to the unbounded domain case. The dependence of flutter speed and the frequency response functions on ground clearance is highlighted, showing the usefulness of this approach in efficiently and robustly accounting for the presence of the ground when unsteady analysis of elastic lifting surfaces in weak ground effect is required.     

Nonlinear dynamics of an aeroelastic airfoil with free-play in transonic flow

Nonlinear dynamic behaviors of an aeroelastic airfoil with free-play in transonic air flow are studied. The aeroelastic response is obtained by using time-marching approach with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and reduced order model (ROM) techniques. Several standardized tests of transonic flutter are presented to validate numerical approaches. It is found that in time-marching approach with CFD technique, the time-step size has a significant effect on the calculated aeroelastic response, especially for cases considering both structural and aerodynamic nonlinearities. The nonlinear dynamic behavior for the present model in transonic air flow is greatly different from that in subsonic regime where only simple harmonic oscillations are observed. Major features of the responses in transonic air flow at different flow speeds can be summarized as follows. The aeroelastic responses with the amplitude near the free-play are dominated by single degree of freedom flutter mechanism, and snap-though phenomenon can be observed when the air speed is low. The bifurcation diagram can be captured by using ROM technique, and it is observed that the route to chaos for the present model is via period-doubling, which is essentially caused by the free-play nonlinearity. When the flow speed approaches the linear flutter speed, the aeroelastic system vibrates with large amplitude, which is dominated by the aerodynamic nonlinearity. Effects of boundary layer and airfoil profile on the nonlinear responses of the aeroelastic system are also discussed.     

Effects of multiple structural nonlinearities on limit cycle oscillation of missile control fin

Aeroelastic analyses are performed for a 2-D typical section model with multiple nonlinearities. The differences between a system with multiple nonlinearities in its pitch and plunge spring and a system with a single nonlinearity in its pitch are thoroughly investigated. The unsteady supersonic aerodynamic forces are calculated by the doublet point method (DPM). The iterative V-g method is used for a multiple-nonlinear aeroelastic analysis in the frequency domain and the freeplay nonlinearity is linearized using a describing function method. In the time domain, the DPM unsteady aerodynamic forces, which are based on a function of the reduced frequency, are approximated by the minimum state approximation method. Consequently, multiple structural nonlinearities in the 2-D typical wing section model are influenced by the pitch to plunge frequency ratio. This result is important in that it demonstrates that the flutter speed is closely connected with the frequency ratio, considering that both pitch and plunge nonlinearities result in a higher flutter speed boundary than a conventional aeroelastic system with only one pitch nonlinearity. Furthermore, the gap size of the freeplay affects the amplitude of the limit cycle oscillation (LCO) to gap size ratio.     

Analysis of limit cycle oscillations of a typical airfoil section with freeplay

A typical airfoil section system with freeplay is investigated in the paper. The classic quasi-steady flow model is applied to calculate the aerodynamics, and a piecewise-stiffness model is adopted to characterize the nonlinearity of the airfoil section’s freeplay. There are two critical speeds in the system, i.e., a lower critical speed, above which the system might generate limit cycle oscillation, and an upper critical one, above which the system will flutter. Then a Poincaré map is constructed for the limit cycle oscillations by using piecewise-linear solutions with and without contact in the system. Through analysis of the Poincaré map, a series of equations which can determine the frequencies of period-1 limit cycle oscillations at any flight velocity are derived. Finally, these analytic results are compared to the results of numerical simulations, and a good agreement is found. The effects of freeplay value and contact stiffness ratio on the limit cycle oscillation are also analyzed through numerical simulations of the original system. Moreover, there exist multi-periods limit cycle oscillations and even complicated "chaotic" oscillations may occur, which are usually found in smooth nonlinear dynamic systems.     

Camber effects in the dynamic aeroelasticity of compliant airfoils

This paper numerically investigates the effect of chordwise flexibility on the dynamic stability of compliant airfoils. A classical two-dimensional aeroelastic model is expanded with an additional degree of freedom to capture time-varying camber deformations, defined by a parabolic bending profile of the mean aerodynamic chord. Aerodynamic forces are obtained from unsteady thin airfoil theory and the corresponding compliant-airfoil inertia and stiffness from finite-element analysis. V–g and state-space stability methods have been implemented in order to compute flutter speeds. The study looks at physical realizations with an increasing number of degrees of freedom, starting with a camber-alone system. It is shown that single camber leads to flutter, which occurs at a constant reduced frequency and is due to the lock in between the shed wake and the camber motion. The different combinations of camber deformations with pitch and plunge motions are also studied, including parametric analyses of their aeroelastic stability characteristics. A number of situations are identified in which the flutter boundary of the compliant airfoil exhibits a significant dip with respect to the rigid airfoil models. These results can be used as a first estimation of the aeroelastic stability boundaries of membrane-wing micro air vehicles.     

Stability and Hopf bifurcation of a two-dimensional supersonic airfoil with a time-delayed feedback control surface

The time-delayed feedback control for a supersonic airfoil results in interesting aeroelastic behaviors. The effect of time delay on the aeroelastic dynamics of a two-dimensional supersonic airfoil with a feedback control surface is investigated. Specifically, the case of a 3-dof system is considered in detail, where the structural nonlinearity is introduced in the mathematical model. The stability analysis is conducted for the linearized system. It is shown that there is a small parameter region for delay-independently stability of the system. Once the controlled system with time delay is not delay-independently stable, the system may undergo the stability switches with the variation of the time delay. The nonlinear aeroelastic system undergoes a sequence of Hopf bifurcations if the time delay passes the critical values. Using the normal form method and center manifold theory, the direction of the Hopf bifurcation and stability of Hopf-bifurcating periodic solutions are determined. Numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the obtained results.     

Effects of actuator nonlinearity on aeroelastic characteristics of a control fin

The influences of actuator nonlinearities on actuator dynamics and the aeroelastic characteristics of a control fin were investigated by using iterative V-g methods in subsonic flows; in addition, the doublet-hybrid method (DHM) was used to calculate unsteady aerodynamic forces. The changes of actuator dynamics induced by nonlinearities, such as backlash or freeplay, and the variations of flutter boundaries due to the changes of actuator dynamics were observed. Results show that the aeroelastic characteristics can be significantly dependent on actuator dynamics. Thus, the actuator nonlinearities may play an important role in the nonlinear aeroelastic characteristics of an aeroelastic system. The present results also indicate that it is necessary to seriously consider the influence of actuator dynamics on the flutter characteristics at the design stage of actuators to prevent aeroelastic instabilities of aircraft or missiles.     

Nonlinear aeroelastic analysis of an airfoil-store system with a freeplay by precise integration method

The aeroelastic system of an airfoil-store configuration with a pitch freeplay is investigated using the precise integration method (PIM). According to the piecewise feature, the system is divided into three linear sub-systems. The sub-systems are separated by switching points related to the freeplay nonlinearity. The PIM is then employed to solve the sub-systems one by one. During the solution procedures, one challenge arises when determining the vibration state passing the switching points. A predictor-corrector algorithm is proposed based on the PIM to tackle this computational obstacle. Compared with exact solutions, the PIM can provide solutions to the precision in the order of magnitude of 10⁻¹². Given the same step length, the PIM results are much more accurate than those of the Runge–Kutta (RK) method. Moreover, the RK method might falsely track limit cycle oscillations (LCOs), bifurcation charts or chaotic attractors; even the step length is chosen much smaller than that for the PIM. Bifurcations and LCOs are obtained and analyzed by the PIM in detail. Interestingly, it is found that multiple LCOs and chaotic attractors can exist simultaneously. With this magnitude of precision and efficiency, the PIM could become a solution technique with excellent potential for piecewise nonlinear aeroelastic systems.     

翼型厚度对气动弹性特性的影响

结合基于$k$-$\omega$的SST两方程湍流模型,求解雷诺平 均Navier-Stokes方程获得定常和非定常气动力,耦合翼型弹性运动方程,在时间 域内模拟了不同厚度对称翼型在不同迎角下的气动弹性动态过程, 并重点研究了较大迎角下的不同厚度翼型流场特征和气动弹性的性质,研究结果表明：在论 文所涉及的参数情况下,对于迎角从零到大迎角范围,翼型颤振临界速度随迎角的变化不是 单调的. 翼型颤振临界速度迅速下降的起始迎角比最大升力系数对应的迎角小很多.     

Response analysis of a pitch–plunge airfoil with structural and aerodynamic nonlinearities subjected to randomly fluctuating flows

This study focuses on numerically investigating the response dynamics of a pitch–plunge airfoil with structural nonlinearity under dynamic stall conditions. The aeroelastic responses are investigated for both deterministic and randomly time varying flow conditions. To that end, a pitch–plunge airfoil under dynamic stall condition is considered and the nonlinear aerodynamic loads are computed using a Leishman–Beddoes formulation. It is shown that the presence of structural nonlinearities can give rise to a variety of dynamical responses in the pre-flutter regime. Next, a response analysis under the presence of a randomly fluctuating wind is carried out. It is demonstrated that the route to flutter occurs via a regime of pre-flutter oscillations called intermittency. Finally, the manifestation of these stochastic responses is characterized by invoking stochastic bifurcation concepts. The route to flutter via intermittency is presented in terms of topological changes occurring in the joint-probability density function of the state variables.     

大长细比导弹的气动弹性降阶模型

对于大长细比导弹,需要在设计阶段准确计算气动弹性/气动伺服弹性,但其复杂的气动力给计算带来困难,因此气动力降阶模型是突破大长细比导弹跨音速气动弹性分析与控制瓶颈的关键技术.虽然气动力模型降阶方法已在预测二维机翼结构的气动弹性方面取得重要进展,但几乎未见关于全机模型的气动力降阶模型研究报道.本文基于递归Wiener模型的气动力降阶方法,利用CFD计算的气动力作为模型辨识数据,用鲁棒子空间和Levenberg-Marquardt算法辨识降阶模型参数,建立了大长细比导弹气动力降阶模型.在此基础上与大长细比导弹有限元模型相结合,构造出气动弹性降阶模型,并在数值仿真中测试气动弹性降阶模型在不同马赫数下的适用性.数值仿真结果表明,该气动弹性降阶模型能够精确预测导弹模型在不同飞行条件下的非定常气动力和导弹模型的气动弹性频率响应特性.     

Frequency lock-in phenomenon for oscillating airfoils in buffeting flows

Navier-Stokes based computer simulations are conducted to determine the aerodynamic flow field response that is observed for a NACA0012 airfoil that undergoes prescribed harmonic oscillation in transonic buffeting flows, and also in pre-buffet flow conditions. Shock buffet is the term for the self-sustained shock oscillations that are observed for certain combinations of Mach number and steady mean flow angle of attack even in the absence of structural motion. The shock buffet frequencies are typically on the order of the elastic structural frequencies, and therefore may be a contributor to transonic aeroelastic response phenomena, including limit-cycle oscillations. Numerical simulations indicate that the pre-shock-buffet flow natural frequency increases with mean angle of attack, while the flow damping decreases and approaches zero at the onset of buffet. Airfoil harmonic heave motions are prescribed to study the interaction between the flow fields induced by the shock buffet and airfoil motion, respectively. At pre-shock-buffet conditions the flow response is predominantly at the airfoil motion frequency, with some smaller response at multiplies of this frequency. At shock buffet conditions, a key effect of prescribed airfoil motions on the buffeting flow is to create the possibility of a lock-in phenomenon, in which the shock buffet frequency is synchronized to the prescribed airfoil motion frequency for certain combinations of airfoil motion frequencies and amplitudes. Aerodynamic gain-phase models for the lock-in region, as well as for the pre-shock-buffet conditions are suggested, and also a possible relationship between the lock-in mechanism and limit-cycle oscillation is discussed.