2025/05/05 by Michael Candon, Vincenzo Muscarello, Candon, Michael +5
Engineering · Environmental Science · #70K99 76H05 #Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics Research #Data Analysis #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Fluid Dynamics and Vibration Analysis #Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an) #Wind and Air Flow Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2505.02412
openalex publication_date 2025/05/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Transonic shock buffet is a nonlinear, unsteady aerodynamic phenomenon characterized by self-sustained, periodic shock oscillations that can critically affect aircraft structural integrity. While the aerodynamic aspects of shock buffet have been widely studied, its interaction with nonlinear structural dynamics remains largely unexplored. This paper presents, for the first time, a numerical investigation of aeroelastic interactions arising from the coupling of shock buffet with a nonlinear structural model featuring pitch freeplay. Using unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations coupled with a two-degree-of-freedom heave-pitch airfoil model, the study reveals that structural nonlinearity can induce aerodynamic lock-in to superharmonics of the heave natural frequency, resulting in 2:1 and 3:1 resonance mechanisms and large-amplitude heave limit cycles. These newly identified resonance behaviors expand the current understanding of transonic aeroelastic instabilities. The influence of key parameters such as structural-to-fluid mass ratio and structural damping on these phenomena is also systematically examined. This work introduces a novel class of aeroelastic lock-in mechanisms with significant implications for transonic flight dynamics and aircraft design.