Bifurcation analysis of a wing undergoing stall flutter oscillations in a wind tunnel

Stall flutter is a Limit Cycle Oscillation (LCO) caused by the periodic separation of the flow around a wing immersed in a uniform fluid flow. The separation could be either partial or complete [1]. The work presented focuses on a wing undergoing stall flutter in the pitch degree of freedom. The phenomenon is analyzed from the structural and aerodynamic response perspectives. The objective of this study is to promote the understanding of stall flutter by characterizing the complete bifurcation behavior of the selected system. The wing section chosen for this study is NACA 0018 profile applied to a rectangular wing. The tests are carried out at different airspeeds and angles of attack. The measured aeroelastic responses are analyzed and the behavior of the dynamic system is characterized by fully describing its bifurcation. Structural accelerations as well as unsteady pressures around the mid-span point of the wing are measured and examined. Furthermore, flow field visualization by means of the Particle Image Velocimetry technique is used to demonstrate aspects of the unsteady flow field, such as the manifestation of separation and vortices.