Divergence and flutter of shear deformable aircraft swept wings subjected to roll angular velocity

Abstract

The aeroelastic modeling and instability of shear deformable swept wings under roll angular velocity is investigated. The structural wing model was originally developed by Librescu and consists of non-classical effects such as warping inhibition and transverse shear flexibility. This model is used to study divergence and flutter instabilities when the aircraft wing is subjected to a roll moment created during a maneuver. The aeroelastic governing equations and boundary conditions are determined via Hamilton’s variational principle. The resulting partial differential equations are transformed into a set of eigenvalue/boundary value equations through the Extended Galerkin approach and solved by numerical integration. The effects of roll angular velocity, sweep angle, and wing aspect ratio on divergence and flutter speed are presented for classic and shear deformable wings. Validations of selected results against the previous publications are also supplied. Results indicate that roll angular velocities have a significant influence on the static and dynamic aeroelastic instability region.