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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Development, simulation validation, and wind tunnel testing of a digital controller system for flutter suppression

Flutter suppression (FS) is one of the active control concepts being investigated by the AFW program. The design goal for FS control laws was to increase the passive flutter dynamic pressure by 30 percent. In order to meet this goal, the FS control laws had to be capable of suppressing both symmetric and antisymmetric flutter instabilities simultaneously. In addition, the FS control laws had to be practical and low-order, robust and capable of real time execution within the 200 hz. sampling time. The purpose here is to present an overview of the development, simulation validation, and wind tunnel testing of a digital controller system for flutter suppression.

Hoadley, Sherwood Tiffany↗
NASA NTRS1991

An analytical and experimental study to investigate flutter suppression via piezoelectric actuation

The objective was to analytically and experimentally study the capabilities of adaptive material plate actuators for suppressing flutter. The validity of analytical modeling techniques for piezoelectric materials was also investigated. Piezoelectrics are materials which are characterized by their ability to produce voltage when subjected to a mechanical strain. The converse piezoelectric effect can be utilized to actuate a structure by applying a voltage. For this investigation, a two degree of freedom wind tunnel model was designed, analyzed, and tested. The model consisted of a rigid airfoil and a flexible mount system which permitted a translational and a rotational degree of freedom. It was designed such that flutter was encounted within the testing envelope of the wind tunnel. Actuators, made of piezoelectric material were affixed to leaf springs of the mount system. Each degree of freedom was controlled by a separate leaf spring. Command signals, applied to the piezoelectric actuators, exerted control over the damping and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed using finite element methods, laminated plate theory, and aeroelastic analysis tools. Plant characteristics were determined from this model and verified by open loop experimental tests. A flutter suppression control law was designed and implemented on a digital control computer. Closed loop flutter testing was conducted. The experimental results represent the first time that adaptive materials have been used to actively suppress flutter. It demonstrates that small, carefully placed actuating plates can be used effectively to control aeroelastic response.

Heeg, Jennifer↗
NASA NTRS1993

Analytical and experimental investigation of flutter suppression by piezoelectric actuation

The objective of this research was to analytically and experimentally study the capabilities of piezoelectric plate actuators for suppressing flutter. Piezoelectric materials are characterized by their ability to produce voltage when subjected to a mechanical strain. The converse piezoelectric effect can be utilized to actuate a structure by applying a voltage. For this investigation, a two-degree-of-freedom wind tunnel model was designed, analyzed, and tested. The model consisted of a rigid wing and a flexible mount system that permitted a translational and a rotational degree of freedom. The model was designed such that flutter was encountered within the testing envelope of the wind tunnel. Actuators made of piezoelectric material were affixed to leaf springs of the mount system. Command signals, applied to the piezoelectric actuators, exerted control over the damping and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed by using finite element methods, laminated plate theory, and aeroelastic analysis tools. Plant characteristics were determined from this model and verified by open loop experimental tests. A flutter suppression control law was designed and implemented on a digital control computer. Closed loop flutter testing was conducted. The experimental results represent the first time that adaptive materials have been used to actively suppress flutter. They demonstrate that small, carefully placed actuating plates can be used effectively to control aeroelastic response.

Heeg, Jennifer↗
NASA NTRS1992

An analytical and experimental investigation of flutter suppression via piezoelectric actuation

The objective of this research was to analytically and experimentally study the capabilities of adaptive material plate actuators for suppressing flutter. Piezoelectrics are materials which are characterized by their ability to produce voltage when subjected to a mechanical strain. The converse piezoelectric effect can be utilized to actuate a structure by applying a voltage. For this investigation, a two degree of freedom wind-tunnel model was designed, analyzed, and tested. The model consisted of a rigid wing and a flexible mount system which permitted translational and rotational degrees of freedom. Actuators, made of piezoelectric material were affixed to leaf springs on the mount system. Command signals, applied to the piezoelectric actuators, exerted control over the closed-loop damping and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed using finite element and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed using finite element methods, laminated plate theory, and aeroelastic analysis tools. A flutter suppression control law was designed, implemented on a digital control computer, and tested to conditions 20 percent above the passive flutter speed of the model. The experimental results represent the first time that adaptive materials have been used to actively suppress flutter. It demonstrates that small, carefully-placed actuating plates can be used effectively to control aeroelastic response.

Heeg, Jennifer↗
NASA NTRS1975

Development and demonstration of a flutter-suppression system using active controls

The application of active control technology to suppress flutter was demonstrated successfully in the transonic dynamics tunnel with a delta-wing model. The model was a simplified version of a proposed supersonic transport wing design. An active flutter suppression method based on an aerodynamic energy criterion was verified by using three different control laws. The first two control laws utilized both leading-edge and trailing-edge active control surfaces, whereas the third control law required only a single trailing-edge active control surface. At a Mach number of 0.9 the experimental results demonstrated increases in the flutter dynamic pressure from 12.5 percent to 30 percent with active controls. Analytical methods were developed to predict both open-loop and closed-loop stability, and the results agreed reasonably well with the experimental results.

Sandford, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Control surface spanwise placement in active flutter suppression systems

A method is developed that determines the placement of an active control surface for maximum effectiveness in suppressing flutter. No specific control law is required by this method which is based on the aerodynamic energy concept. It is argued that the spanwise placement of the active controls should coincide with the locations where maximum energy per unit span is fed into the system. The method enables one to determine the distribution, over the different surfaces of the aircraft, of the energy input into the system as a result of the unstable fluttering mode. The method is illustrated using three numerical examples.

Nissim, E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An analytical and experimental investigation of flutter suppression via piezoelectric actuation

The feasibility of using piezoelectric material actuators to suppress flutter was investigated analytically and experimentally. For this purpose, a two-degree of freedom wind-tunnel model was designed, analyzed, and tested. A digital control law was designed and implemented based on a discretized model. Experiments consisted of open- and closed-loop flutter tests. It is shown that analytical predictions agree well with experimental results. The open-loop flutter velocity prediction was 3.5 percent conservative, while the closed-loop prediction was 7.6 percent conservative. Results of the analysis showed that the flutter velocity would be increased by 15.7 percent with the control law, while 20 percent improvement was observed experimentally.

Heeg, Jennifer↗
NASA NTRS1974

A wind-tunnel investigation of a B-52 model flutter suppression system

Flutter modeling techniques have been successfully extended to the difficult case of the active suppression of flutter. The demonstration was conducted in a transonic dynamics tunnel using a 1/30 scale, elastic, dynamic model of a Boeing B-52 control configured vehicle. The results from the study show that with the flutter suppression system operating there is a substantial increase in the damping associated with the critical flutter mode. The results also show good correlation between the damping characteristics of the model and the aircraft.

Redd, L. T.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Design and test of three active flutter suppression controllers

Three flutter suppression control law design techniques are presented. Each uses multiple control surfaces and/or sensors. The first uses linear combinations of several accelerometer signals together with dynamic compensation to synthesize the modal rate of the critical mode for feedback to distributed control surfaces. The second uses traditional tools (pole/zero loci and Nyquist diagrams) to develop a good understanding of the flutter mechanism and produce a controller with minimal complexity and good robustness to plant uncertainty. The third starts with a minimum energy Linear Quadratic Gaussian controller, applies controller order reduction, and then modifies weight and noise covariance matrices to improve multi-variable robustness. The resulting designs were implemented digitally and tested subsonically on the Active Flexible Wing (AFW) wind tunnel model. Test results presented here include plant characteristics, maximum attained closed-loop dynamic pressure, and Root Mean Square control surface activity. A key result is that simultaneous symmetric and antisymmetric flutter suppression was achieved by the second control law, with a 24 percent increase in attainable dynamic pressure.

Christhilf, David M.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Passive wing/store flutter suppression

Passive flutter-suppression system has been developed to increase flutter speed of aircraft wings that are adversely affected by addition of large masses (stores) to the wings, such as external fuel tanks. Important features of system are its effectiveness for large variations in mass of store as well as unsensitivity of system to large change in location of store center-of-gravity.

Foughner, J. T., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A transonic study of active flutter suppression based on an aerodymamic energy concept

The application of active control technology to the suppression of flutter has been successfully demonstrated in the Langley transonic dynamics tunnel. This study involved the implementation of an aerodynamic-energy criterion to suppress flutter of a simplified delta-wing model. Use of this technique with both leading- and trailing-edge active controls has resulted in an increase in dynamic pressure of 22% above the basic wing flutter point and with only a trailing-edge active control has resulted in an increase in dynamic pressure of 30% above the basic wing flutter point at a Mach number of 0.9. Analytical methods used to predict the open- and closed-loop behavior of the model are also discussed.

Sandford, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Control surface spanwise placement in active flutter suppression systems

All flutter suppression systems require sensors to detect the movement of the lifting surface and to activate a control surface according to a synthesized control law. Most of the work performed to date relates to the development of control laws based on predetermined locations of sensors and control surfaces. These locations of sensors and control surfaces are determined either arbitrarily, or by means of a trial and error procedure. The aerodynamic energy concept indicates that the sensors should be located within the activated strip. Furthermore, the best chordwise location of a sensor activating a T.E. control surface is around the 65 percent chord location. The best chordwise location for a sensor activating a L.E. surface is shown to lie upstream of the wing (around 20 percent upstream of the leading edge), or alternatively, two sensors located along the same chord should be used.

Nissim, E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Design, test, and evaluation of three active flutter suppression controllers

Three control law design techniques for flutter suppression are presented. Each technique uses multiple control surfaces and/or sensors. The first method uses traditional tools (such as pole/zero loci and Nyquist diagrams) for producing a controller that has minimal complexity and which is sufficiently robust to handle plant uncertainty. The second procedure uses linear combinations of several accelerometer signals and dynamic compensation to synthesize the model rate of the critical mode for feedback to the distributed control surfaces. The third technique starts with a minimum-energy linear quadratic Gaussian controller, iteratively modifies intensity matrices corresponding to input and output noise, and applies controller order reduction to achieve a low-order, robust controller. The resulting designs were implemented digitally and tested subsonically on the active flexible wing wind-tunnel model in the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. Only the traditional pole/zero loci design was sufficiently robust to errors in the nominal plant to successfully suppress flutter during the test. The traditional pole/zero loci design provided simultaneous suppression of symmetric and antisymmetric flutter with a 24-percent increase in attainable dynamic pressure. Posttest analyses are shown which illustrate the problems encountered with the other laws.

Adams, William M., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Comparison of analysis and flight test data for a drone aircraft with active flutter suppression

A drone aircraft equipped with an active flutter suppression system is considered with emphasis on the comparison of modal dampings and frequencies as a function of Mach number. Results are presented for both symmetric and antisymmetric motion with flutter suppression off. Only symmetric results are given for flutter suppression on. Frequency response functions of the vehicle are presented from both flight test data and analysis. The analysis correlation is improved by using an empirical aerodynamic correction factor which is proportional to the ratio of experimental to analytical steady-state lift curve slope. The mathematical models are included and existing analytical techniques are described as well as an alternative analytical technique for obtaining closed-loop results.

Newsom, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Design and experimental validation of a flutter suppression controller for the active flexible wing

The synthesis and experimental validation of an active flutter suppression controller for the Active Flexible Wing wind tunnel model is presented. The design is accomplished with traditional root locus and Nyquist methods using interactive computer graphics tools and extensive simulation based analysis. The design approach uses a fundamental understanding of the flutter mechanism to formulate a simple controller structure to meet stringent design specifications. Experimentally, the flutter suppression controller succeeded in simultaneous suppression of two flutter modes, significantly increasing the flutter dynamic pressure despite modeling errors in predicted flutter dynamic pressure and flutter frequency. The flutter suppression controller was also successfully operated in combination with another controller to perform flutter suppression during rapid rolling maneuvers.

Waszak, Martin R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Active flutter suppression - Control system design and experimental validation

The synthesis and experimental validation of an active flutter suppression controller for the Active Flexible Wing wind-tunnel model is presented. The design is accomplished with traditional root locus and Nyquist methods using interactive computer graphics tools and with extensive use of simulation-based analysis. The design approach uses a fundamental understanding of the flutter mechanism to formulate a simple controller structure to meet stringent design specifications. Experimentally, the flutter suppression controller succeeded in simultaneous suppression of two flutter modes, significantly increasing the flutter dynamic pressure despite errors in flutter dynamic pressure and flutter frequency in the mathematical model. The flutter suppression controller was also successfully operated in combination with a roll maneuver controller to perform flutter suppression during rapid rolling maneuvers.

Waszak, Martin R.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Active external store flutter suppression in the YF-17 flutter model

A single activated trailing-edge (T.E.) control system (spanning 7% of each wing) is applied to the YF-17 flutter model with the object of suppressing the external store flutter of three different store configurations. The control law is derived by the use of the aerodynamic energy concept and its gains are maintained constant for all three configurations. The results obtained show that the activated T.E. control system leads to very significant increases in the flutter dynamic pressures Q(DF) of all three configurations; these increases range between 160-240% increase in Q(DF). These increases in Q(DF) are maintained over a very wide range of flight altitudes and flight velocities.

Nissim, E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Robust control design techniques for active flutter suppression

In this paper, an active flutter suppression problem is studied for a thin airfoil in unsteady aerodynamics. The mathematical model of this system is infinite dimensional because of Theodorsen's function which is irrational. Several second order approximations of Theodorsen's function are compared. A finite dimensional model is obtained from such an approximation. We use H infinity control techniques to find a robustly stabilizing controller for active flutter suppression.

Ozbay, Hitay↗