This paper describes the use of a quadratic manifold for the model order reduction of structural dynamics problems featuring geometric nonlinearities. The manifold is tangent to a subspace spanned by the most relevant vibration modes, and its curvature is provided by modal derivatives obtained by sensitivity analysis of the eigenvalue problem, or its static approximation, along the vibration modes. The construction of the quadratic manifold requires minimal computational effort once the vibration modes are known. The reduced order model is then obtained by Galerkin projection, where the configurationdependent tangent space of the manifold is used to project the discretized equations of motion.

In this paper, a generalization of a quadratic manifold approach for the reduction of geometrically nonlinear structural dynamics problems is presented. This generalization is constructed by a linearization of the static force with respect to the generalized coordinates, resulting in a shift of the quadratic behavior from the force to the manifold. In this framework, static derivatives emerge as natural extensions to modal derivatives for displacement fields other than the vibration modes, such as the Krylov subspace vectors. Here the dynamic problem is projected onto the tangent space of the quadratic manifold, allowing for a much less number of generalized coordinates compared to linear basis methods. The potential of the quadratic manifold approach is investigated in a numerical study, where several variations of the approach are compared on different examples, indicating a clear pattern where the proposed approach is applicable.

We apply two recently formulated mathematical techniques, Slow-Fast Decomposition (SFD) and Spectral Submanifold (SSM) reduction, to a von Kármán beam with geometric nonlinearities and viscoelastic damping. SFD identifies a global slow manifold in the full system which attracts solutions at rates faster than typical rates within the manifold. An SSM, the smoothest nonlinear continuation of a linear modal subspace, is then used to further reduce the beam equations within the slow manifold. This two-stage, mathematically exact procedure results in a drastic reduction of the finite-element beam model to a one-degree-of freedom nonlinear oscillator. We also introduce the technique of spectral quotient analysis, which gives the number of modes relevant for reduction as output rather than input to the reduction process.

Nonlinear normal modes (NNMs) offer a solid theoretical framework for interpreting a wide class of nonlinear dynamic phenomena. However, the computation of NNMs for large-scale models can be time consuming, particularly when nonlinearities are distributed across the degrees of freedom. In this paper, the NNMs of systems featuring distributed geometric nonlinearities are computed from reduced-order models comprising linear normal modes and modal derivatives. Modal derivatives stem from the differentiation of the eigenvalue problem associated with the underlying linearised vibrations and can therefore account for some of the distortions introduced by nonlinearity. The cases of the Roorda's frame model, a doubly-clamped beam, and a shallow arch discretised with planar beam finite elements are investigated. A comparison between the NNMs computed from the full and reduced-order models highlights the capability of the reduction method to capture the essential nonlinear phenomena, including low-order modal interactions.

An effective reduction technique is presented for flexible multibody systems, for which the elastic deflection could not be considered small. We consider here the planar beam systems undergoing large elastic rotations, in the floating frame description. The proposed method enriches the classical linear reduction basis with modal derivatives stemming from the derivative of the eigenvalue problem. Furthermore, the Craig-Bampton method is applied to couple the different reduced components. Based on the linear projection, the configuration-dependent internal force can be expressed as cubic polynomials in the reduced coordinates. Coefficients of these polynomials can be precomputed for efficient runtime evaluation. The numerical results show that the modal derivatives are essential for the correct approximation of the nonlinear elastic deflection with respect to the body reference. The proposed reduction method constitutes a natural and effective extension of the classical linear modal reduction in the floating frame.

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The design, modeling, and testing of a morphing wing for flight control of an uninhabited aerial vehicle is detailed. The design employed a new type of piezoelectric flight control mechanism which relied on axial precompression to magnify control deflections and forces simultaneously. This postbuckled precompressed bending actuator was oriented in the plane of the 12% thick wing and mounted between the end of a tapered D-spar at the 40% chord and a trailing-edge stiffener at the 98% chord. Axial precompression was generated in the piezoelectric elements by an elastic skin which covered the outside of the wing and served as the aerodynamic surface over the aft 70% of the wing chord. A two-dimensional semi-analytical model based on the Rayleigh-Ritz method of assumed modes was used to predict the static and dynamic trailing-edge deflections as a function of the applied voltage and aerodynamic loading. It was shown that static trailing-edge deflections of 3:1 deg could be attained statically and dynamically through 34 Hz, with excellent correlation between theory and experiment. Wind tunnel and flight tests showed that the postbuckled precompressed morphing wing increased roll control authority on a 1.4 meter span uninhabited aerial vehicle while reducing weight, slop, part-count, and power consumption. Nomenclature A = extensional stiffness matrix or aspect ratio B = coupled laminate stiffness matrix b = span C L , C l = three-dimensional, section lift coefficient c = chord D = bending laminate stiffness E = total energy F a = aerodynamic force F 0 = precompression force f = frequency K = structural stiffness K = stiffness matrix k = spring stiffness L = actuator length M = applied moment vector M = mass matrix m = mass N = applied force vector n = number of shape functions P = lift force p = pressure q = amplitude T = kinetic energy t = thickness or time U = internal energy or velocity u = horizontal displacement V = potential energy or voltage w = vertical displacement = angle of attack = trailing-edge deflection = normal strain = trailing-edge end rotation = curvature = unloaded actuator strain = potential energy = density = normal stress = velocity potential = disturbed velocity potential = shape function Subscripts a = actuator b = bonding layer c = circulatory ex = external h = hinge point l = laminate m = morphing part nc = noncirculatory sp = negative spring rate t = thermal

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