Flight Flutter Test Techniques at ARL

Abstract

Good design of an aircraft ensures that its flutter speed lies beyond its maximum operating speed; however, modification of the aircraft, such as the attachment of external stores to the wings, can lower the flutter speed significantly. In this case it may be necessary to determine experimentally the new flutter speed by means of a series of flight flutter trials. During such trails the aircraft is excited in flight and the measured response analysed to obtain estimates of the structural natural frequencies and damping ratios. This paper describes some of the methods which have been used in Australia to excite aircraft in flight flutter trials, together with the analytical techniques used to reduce the resulting data. Typical results from trials are presented. Keywords: Flutter, Flutter simulators, External stores, Aircraft design, Australia.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA227754

Entities

People

  • P. A. Farrell
  • T. G. Ryall

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Australia
  • Computer Programs
  • Control Systems
  • Data Analysis
  • Engineering
  • External Stores
  • Frequency
  • Instrumentation
  • Mach Number
  • Measurement
  • Military Aircraft
  • Resonant Frequency
  • Sea Level
  • Telemetry Equipment
  • Transfer Functions
  • Vibration

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics.
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Systems Analysis and Design