Investigating the Effects of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Patches on Aeroelastic Characteristics of a Cantilever Wing in Supersonic Flow

Abstract

This work presents energy harvesting from the limit cycle oscillation of low aspect ratio rectangular cantilever wings in supersonic ow. The wing is modeled according to the classical plate theory with von-Karman strain-displacement relations for modeling large de ections due to mid-plane stretching. The aerodynamic pressure is evaluated based on the quasi-steady rst-order piston theory. Linear and nonlinear aeroelastic characteristics of the considered model are accurately examined and the e ects of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) energy harvesting on utter margin and limit cycle oscillation amplitudes are investigated. It is shown that the position of IPMC on the wing has a great e ect on the amount of harvested power. Since IPMC induces a high level of strain, it produces the static de ection of the wing. This static de ection produces sti ness hardening of the entire system, and, accordingly, can greatly reduce the amplitude of limit cycle oscillation. Obtained results show that the IPMC actuator has more in uence on the limit cycle oscillation of the wing, while its e ect on utter instability is negligible.