The presence of limit cycle oscillations within the flight envelopes of existing aircraft is well documented. Future air vehicle designs are also likely to encounter limit cycle oscillations under certain loading conditions. These steady-state constant amplitude oscillations are detrimental to mission effectiveness and lead to increased fatigue of aircraft structures. Previous efforts to suppress limit cycle oscillations have focused primarily on active control methods. These efforts have been effective but require significant measurement and control resources. In this study the investigators test a passive method for suppressing limit cycle behavior. A nonlinear energy sink, based on the principle of nonlinear energy pumping, is shown to be effective for increasing the stability threshold of a nonlinear two degree of freedom aeroelastic system.
Nomenclature
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.