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Flight-Test Evaluation of Flutter-Prediction MethodsThe flight-test community routinely spends considerable time and money to determine a range of flight conditions, called a flight envelope, within which an aircraft is safe to fly. The cost of determining a flight envelope could be greatly reduced if there were a method of safely and accurately predicting the speed associated with the onset of an instability called flutter. Several methods have been developed with the goal of predicting flutter speeds to improve the efficiency of flight testing. These methods include (1) data-based methods, in which one relies entirely on information obtained from the flight tests and (2) model-based approaches, in which one relies on a combination of flight data and theoretical models. The data-driven methods include one based on extrapolation of damping trends, one that involves an envelope function, one that involves the Zimmerman-Weissenburger flutter margin, and one that involves a discrete-time auto-regressive model. An example of a model-based approach is that of the flutterometer. These methods have all been shown to be theoretically valid and have been demonstrated on simple test cases; however, until now, they have not been thoroughly evaluated in flight tests. An experimental apparatus called the Aerostructures Test Wing (ATW) was developed to test these prediction methods.
Document ID
20110023999
Acquisition Source
Armstrong Flight Research Center
Document Type
Other - NASA Tech Brief
External Source(s)
http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/1341
Authors
Lind, RIck (NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, CA, United States)
Brenner, Marty (NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: NASA Tech Briefs, December 2003
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Report/Patent Number
DRC-01-57
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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IDRelationTitle20110023998Collected WorksNASA Tech Briefs, December 2003
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