A pragmatic approach to including complex natural modes of vibration in aeroelastic analysis

Abstract

Aeroelasticity is often described as the study of the interaction of inertial, elastic and aerodynamic forces that occur when an elastic body is exposed to a fluid flow (Wikipedia). The aim of a flutter analysis is to determine the speed above which structural vibrations will grow exponentially and potentially cause structural failure. On the one hand it is necessary to model how the structure would respond to forces applied to it, and on the other hand it is necessary to model what aerodynamic forces would be generated due to the movement of the structure. This presentation concerns mainly the structural dynamic component of the aeroelastic problem, and specifically the structural damping forces (which is usually not mentioned in the definition of aeroelasticity).