Nonlinear characteristics of randomly excited transonic flutter

The paper describes the effects of random external excitations on the onset and dynamical characteristics of transonic flutter (i.e. large-amplitude, self-sustained oscillations) for a high aspect ratio wing. Wind tunnel experiments performed at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) in Japan have shown that the self-sustained oscillations arise in a subcritical Hopf bifurcation. However, analysis of the experimental data also reveals that this bifurcation is modified in various ways. We present an outline of the construction of a 6 DOF model of the aeroelastic behavior of the wing structure. When this model is extended by the introduction of nonlinear terms, it can reproduce the subcritical Hopf bifurcation. We hereafter consider the effects of subjecting simplified versions of the model to random external excitations representing the fluctuations present in the airflow. These models can reproduce several of the experimentally observed modifications of the flutter transition. In particular, the models display the characteristic phenomena of coherence resonance.