Analysis and suppression of vibrations in aircraft wing spars in flutter scenarios

Abstract

This research project aims to investigate the mitigation of vibrations of aeronautical wing spars in flutter scenarios. In this sense, aeroelasticity is addressed, defined as the discipline concerned with the mutual interaction between elastic, aerodynamic and inertial forces in a body subjected to aerodynamic flow. Among aeroelastic phenomena, flutter can be defined as the self-excited interaction of two or more vibration modes in a suitably altered system, supported by the flow of a fluid, potentially resulting in catastrophic failure at certain flutter speeds.

In this context, an analytical method based on the equation of motion for a typical section with two degrees of freedom - torsion and bending - was developed. The determination of the flutter speed for the studied aircraft was performed through the analysis of stiffness and mass matrices, resulting in the construction of a V-f diagram and the derivation of damping values as a function of speed V.

Finally, an additional degree of freedom was added to the system, corresponding to a Tuned Mass Damper (TMD), aiming to increase the flutter speed to expand the aircraft's operational speed range.