Nonclassical effects on divergence and flutter of anisotropic swept aircraft wings

Abstract

A refined structural model of swept aircraft wings is presented and used to study the associated flutter and divergence instability in an incompressible gas flow. The structural model incorporates nonclassical effects such as anisotropy, heterogeneity, transverse shear, and warping inhibition. An exact solution methodology appropriate for parametric studies is used to specifically determine the effects of transverse shear and warping restraint on aeroelastic instabilities. The results reveal strong quantitative and qualitative implications for instability predictions. The solution methodology yields results that are in excellent agreement with an exact approach devised for a special case and provides a high-efficiency mathematical tool for dealing with flutter and divergence instability problems.