An approach for increasing aeroelastic divergence dynamic pressure of wind-tunnel models
An approach for increasing the aeroelastic divergence dynamic pressure of wind-tunnel model support systems is presented. A study has been conducted to investigate the effect of increased flexibility of the forward portion of balances on the divergence pressure of wind-tunnel models. The study utilized prior divergence analyses completed for various models to be tested in NASA Langley Research Center's National Transonic Facility, the Engineering Analysis Language finite-element analysis code, and an in-house computer program which solves for divergence dynamic pressure utilizing a transfer-matrix method based on fourth-order Runge-Kutta integration. Analytical results for balance flexibility changes versus changes in divergence pressure were obtained and demonstrate that a significant increase in divergence pressure can be obtained from the increased flexibility of the balance's forward portion for many models and their support systems.