Nonlinear aeroelastic analysis of the folding fin with freeplay under thermal environment

The nonlinear aeroelastic behavior of a folding fin in supersonic flow is investigated in this paper. The finite element model of the fin is established and the deployable hinges are represented by three torsion springs with the freeplay nonlinearity. The aerodynamic grid point is assumed to be at the center of each aerodynamic box for simplicity. The aerodynamic governing equation is given by using the infinite plate spline method and the modified linear piston theory. An improved fixed-interface modal synthesis method, which can reduce the rigid connections at the interface, is developed to save the problem size and computation time. The uniform temperature field is applied to create the thermal environment. For the linear flutter analyses, the flutter speed increases first and then decreases with the rise of the hinge stiffness due to the change of the flutter coupling mechanism. For the nonlinear analyses, a larger freeplay angle results in a higher vibration divergent speed. Two different types of limit cycle oscillations and a multiperiodic motion are observed in the wide range of airspeed under the linear flutter boundary. The linear flutter speed shows a slight descend in the thermal environment, but the effect of the temperature on the vibration divergent speed is different under different hinge stiffnesses when there exists freeplay.     

Nonlinear system identification framework of folding fins with freeplay using backbone curves

Due to wear and manufacturing tolerance, the freeplay is unavoidable in the hinges of folding fins, which exerts significant effects on the aerodynamic characteristics. This paper proposes a backbone-curve-based framework for the dynamical identification of folding fins containing the freeplay nonlinearity. With no need to measure the input force signal and the response signals of nonlinear related Degrees of Freedom(DOFs), the proposed method is more direct and elegant than most existing nonlin...     

Nonlinear flutter wind tunnel test and numerical analysis of folding fins with freeplay nonlinearities

The flutter characteristics of folding control fins with freeplay are investigated by numerical simulation and flutter wind tunnel tests. Based on the characteristics of the structures, fins with different freeplay angles are designed. For a 0° angle of attack, wind tunnel tests of these fins are conducted, and vibration is observed by accelerometers and a high-speed camera. By the expansion of the connected relationships, the governing equations of fit for the nonlinear aeroelastic analysis are established by the free-interface component mode synthesis method. Based on the results of the wind tunnel tests, the flutter characteristics of fins with different freeplay angles are analyzed. The results show that the vibration divergent speed is increased, and the divergent speed is higher than the flutter speed of the nominal linear system. The vibration divergent speed is increased along with an increase in the freeplay angle. The developed free-interface component mode synthesis method could be used to establish governing equations and to analyze the characteristics of nonlinear aeroelastic systems. The results of the numerical simulations and the wind tunnel tests indicate the same trends and critical velocities.