Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering

Department

Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Dr. Habib Eslami

Committee Member

Dr. Jean-Michell Dhainaut

Committee Member

Dr. James Ladesic

Abstract

The goal of this thesis is to study the flutter characteristics of a metallic high-aspect ratio wing, with linearly varying chord across the semis-span, and a simulated elastic foundation. The general planform of the wing is similar to the one found in a High- Altitude Long-Endurance Uninhabited Aerial Surveillance Vehicle (HALE USAV).

The problem is studied using a simplified aerodynamic loading based on thin-airfoil theory, which is then combined with a Lagrangian formulation to solve the system as stationary. The wing has no control surfaces or external stores, and is modeled as a uniform beam with known mechanical properties, being attached to a combination of torsion springs at the root to reproduce the elastic foundation.

The analysis of the problem includes the development of a Matlab code, which permits different root conditions to be defined, and computes the flutter speed and frequency, outputting information in the form of plots and data lists, making the analysis easy to follow.

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