Robust Characterization of Nonlinear Structural Dynamics in Extreme Environments
Abstract
The development of air-breathing hypersonic vehicles represents a perfect storm of challenges for the aerospace structures community. This is because they must be lightweight and slender, but able to sustain extreme thermal, aerodynamic, and mechanical loads. To analyze, design, and maintain a fleet of hypersonic vehicles there is therefore a need to achieve the following overarching goals: (1) advance the understanding of the dynamics of slender aerostructures, and (2) build accurate and fast predictive tools for design engineers. A specific challenge problem of interest is the interaction of buckling due to constrained thermal expansion of skin panels at the high temperatures that occur during high-speed flight, the associated effects on aerodynamic behavior, and the potential for violent snap-through response which may cause sudden damage or accelerated fatigue. This scenario provides a useful research test bed that pushes current prediction tools beyond their limits. This report describes three projects directed at achieving the overarching goals. The first project focuses on predicting internal stresses in skin panels during extreme nonlinear response. This is an important step predicting useful service life. The second project addresses issues in the development of Non-Linear Reduced Order Models (NLROMs), which have been an essential tool in unlocking the ability to simulate nonlinear structural dynamics but require some special considerations. Finally, the third project focuses on extending NLROMs to better capture local defects or features. This is an important step as NLROMs are not naturally suited to capturing fine characteristics, though these may be important in controlling damage and life-cycle.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 25, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1230450
Entities
People
- Richard Wiebe
Organizations
- University of Washington