Aeroelastic system identification using transonic CFD data for a wing/store configuration

This paper is part of a study investigating the prediction of the aeroelastic behaviour of aircraft subjected to non-linear aerodynamic forces. The main objective of the work is the characterization of the dynamic response of aeroelastic models resulting from coupled Computational Fluid Dynamic and Finite Element calculations. Of interest here is the identification of the flight condition at which the response bifurcates to limited or divergent amplitude self-sustained oscillations without carrying out a comprehensive set of full, computationally expensive, time-marching calculations. The model treated in this work is a three-dimensional wing in a transonic flowfield. Short datasets of pre-bifurcation behaviour are analysed to determine the system’s stability and degree of non-linearity. It is found that the calculated responses on the run-up to a transonic Limit Cycle Oscillation show little or no evidence of non-linearity. The non-linearity appears abruptly at the bifurcation flight condition. The variation of the local Mach number over the wing’s surface in the steady-state case is used to demonstrate that the non-linearity is due to a shock wave that can move along the surface. At Mach numbers where this is not possible the system behaves in a linear manner and its stability can be analysed using linear methods.