Experimental Passive Flutter Suppression Using a Linear Tuned Vibration Absorber

The current drive for increased efficiency in aeronautic structures such as aircraft, wind-turbine blades, and helicopter blades often leads to weight reduction. A consequence of this tendency can be increased flexibility, which in turn can lead to unfavorable aeroelastic phenomena involving large-amplitude oscillations and nonlinear effects such as geometric hardening and stall flutter. Vibration mitigation is one of the approaches currently under study for avoiding these phenomena. In the present work, passive vibration mitigation is applied to a nonlinear experimental aeroelastic system by means of a linear tuned vibration absorber. The aeroelastic apparatus is a pitch and flap wing that features a continuously hardening restoring torque in pitch and a linear restoring torque in flap. Extensive analysis of the system with and without absorber at precritical and postcritical airspeeds showed an improvement in flutter speed of around 36%, a suppression of a jump due to stall flutter, and a reduction in limit-cycle oscillation amplitude. Mathematical modeling of the experimental system is used to demonstrate that optimal flutter delay is achieved when two of the system modes flutter at the same flight condition. Nevertheless, even this optimal absorber quickly loses effectiveness as it is detuned. The wind-tunnel measurements showed that the tested absorbers were much slower to lose effectiveness than those of the mathematical predictions.