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Presenter: Ana Relvas
Supervisor:

Date: Thu, November 28, 2002
Time: 11:00:00 - 12:00:00
Place: EOW 430

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

Aeroelasticity results from the interactions between aerodynamic, inertial and elastic forces on flexible aircraft structures. The flow induced aerodynamic forces on an aircraft depend on thegeometric configuration of the structure. Conversely, the aerodynamic forces cause elastic deformations and displacements of the structure. Aeroelastic deformations may have severe consequences on stability, performance, manoeuvrability, and handling qualities of flight vehicles.

This thesis presents the development of a computational fluid-structure interaction methodology to study aeroelasticity of nonlinear structures with application to flexible aircraft. To that end, a staggered time marching method is used. The fluid flow is modelled using the unsteady vortex-ring method. The structure is modelled using the geometrically nonlinear corotational finite element theory. Lately, there has been a great interest in this theory because it allows the solution of nonlinear problems using formulations of linear finite elements already developed.

To demonstrate the applicability and validity of the developed formulation and code, a cantilevered square plate subjected to a low-speed fluid flow is studied. Both the linear and nonlinear fluid-structure interaction algorithms are used and compared. When using the linear theory, an exponential oscillatory growing motion is observed. However, when using the nonlinear theory, an oscillatory sustained motion is found. In other words, the linear fluid-structure interaction method predicted the onset of flutter while the nonlinear aeroelastic structure exhibited limit cy

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