MINISTRY OF SUPPLY

R. & M. No. 2825

(13,063)
A.R.C. Technical Report
, ) , ' ~ $ . .
AERONAUTI CAL RES EARCH COUNCI L
REP ORTS AND MEMORANDA
) . . , :
Criteria for the Prevention of.Flutter
of Tab Systems
By
H. WITTMEYEI% Dr.Ing.,
and
H. TEMPLETON, B.Sc.
LONDON H E R
Crown Copyri ght Reserved
OFFI CE MAJ ESTY' S S TATI ONERY
1956
PRI CE 12S. 6d. NET
r j- *=
Criteria for the Prevention of Flutter
of Tab Systems
By
H. WlTTMEYER, Dr. Ing. and H. TE~PLETOI% B.Sc.
COMMUNICATED ~Y T~tE P~INClVAL DIRECTOR Or SCIenTIFIC RESEA~Ct~ (An~),
MI NI STRY o r SUPPLY
Reports and Memor anda No. 2 8 2 5"
J anuar y,. 19 5 o
Summary.--An i nvest i gat i on has been made i nt o t he f l ut t er char act er i st i cs of an i deal i sed t ab s ys t em in whi ch
t he t hr ee degrees of f r eedom nor mal t r ansl at i on of t he l i ft i ng surface, r ot at i on of t he cont r ol surface, and r ot at i on
of t he t ab are r epr esent ed. Specific cases of t hi s i deal i sed s ys t e m r epr esent si mi l ar i deal i sed f or ms of t he s t andar d
t r i mmi ng, spri ng, servo, and gear ed t ab syst ems. Fr om a consi derat i on of tile r el at i onshi ps exi st i ng bet ween t he
syst ems, cri t eri a for f l ut t er pr event i on have been devel oped f r om t he cri t eri a evol ved earl i er for t r i mmi ng t abs 1.
As i ni t i al l y deri ved, t he cri t eri a are appl i cabl e t o t he st i ck- f i xed condi t i on (in t he case of spri ng and ser vo- t abs) , t o
t he case wi t h no aer odynami c bal ance on ei t her cont r ol surface or t ab, and t o tile case where t he cont r ol surface is
st at i cal l y bal anced about i t s hinge.
Compar i son is made bet ween t he cri t eri a for spr i ng- t abs and tile exi st i ng Col l ar-Sharpe criteria~, ~ . Desi gn
i mpl i cat i ons ar e deduced f r om t he cri t eri a for spr i ng- t abs, and t he general appl i cat i on of t he cri t eri a t o act ual
s ys t ems is consi dered in some detail.
A compr ehensi ve s ur vey of t he resul t s is gi ven in sect i on 11. Poi nt s of maj or i mpor t ance are as f ol l ows : - -
(a) The cri t eri a ar e l i ber al l y pr ovi ded wi t h general i sed const ant s whose val ues can if necessar y be adj ust ed in
t he l i ght of pr act i cal experi ence.
(b) The backwar d l i mi t set t o t he t ab cent r e of gr a vi t y will nor mal l y be less severe t han in t he case of t he Collar-
Shar pe cri t eri on.
(c) Sat i sf yi ng t he cri t eri a of t hi s r epor t is l i kel y t o be mos t di ffi cul t wi t h el evat or s car r yi ng a t ab on one side
only, and f r om a f l ut t er poi nt of vi ew such s ys t ems shoul d be avoi ded if possible.
1. I r ~ t r o d u c t i o r ~ . - - S p e c i f i c t ypes of t ab deal t wi t h in t hi s report are t he spri ng-t ab, t he servo-t ab,
t he geared-tab, and t he t ri mmi ng-t ab. These t erms are general l y accepted; but t o avoi d any
mi sunder st andi ng t hey are defined precisely in section 3.
Because of t hei r rel at i vel y great er suscept i bi l i t y to fl ut t er, spring and servo-t abs have received
most at t ent i on. Ear l y i nvest i gat i ons i nt o t he fl ut t er charact eri st i cs of spri ng-t ab syst ems
est abl i shed cert ai n features of t he phenomenon and provi ded t he backgr ound for t he first
syst emat i c approach to t he probl em by Collar and Sharpe 2,~ . More recent l y i t has been shown
t ha t t he bi nar y syst em (control-surface r ot at i on fl, t ab r ot at i on y) on whi ch t he Collar-Sharpe
criterion was ori gi nal l y based is i nadequat e and t hat i t is necessary t o include mot i on of t he
mai n lifting surface (wing, t ai l pl ane, or fin). Current recommendat i ons ~ for t he pr event i on of
spri ng-t ab fl ut t er represent an ext ensi on of t he Collar-Sharpe criterion, on a somewhat
approxi mat e basis, t o t he t er nar y (z, fl, y) case, z represent i ng nor mal t r ansl at i on of t he l i ft i ng
surface.
* R. A. E. Re por t St r uct ur es 57, recei ved l gt h April, 1950.
!
Tr i mmi ng and geared-t abs have on t he whole been considered much less seriously. Compar ed
wi t h spri ng-t abs, t hey have been regarded as havi ng no separat e degree of freedom and current
design requi rement s st i pul at e mass-bal anci ng onl y above 350 m. p. h. ~..A.s. and of course t he
avoi dance of backl ash. I n act ual fact, however, t he difference bet ween t r i mmi ng and geared-t abs
on t he one hand and spri ng-t abs on t he ot her is one of degree only. The design requi rement s for
t r i mmi ng and geared-t abs rel y i n effect upon t he stiffness of t hei r connect i ons bei ng r easonabl y
hi gh; and if t hi s is not so f l ut t er may in fact occur. A recent i nvest i gat i on by Wi t t meyer 1
i nt o t he f l ut t er charact eri st i cs of t r i mmi ng- t ab syst ems est abl i shed a criterion for t he t er nar y
(z, /~, ;~) case. Thi s criterion, even allowing for t he assumpt i ons i nvol ved, is t he most compre-
hensi ve f l ut t er cri t eri on t ha t has yet been evolved for any t ype of t ab syst em ; and i t has in
fact demonst r at ed t he need for si mi l ar cri t eri a applicable to ot her t ab syst ems, especially spri ng
and servo-tabs.
The cri t eri on for t r i mmi ng- t abs (which is r e- st at ed in section 2 below) was evolved from a
syst emat i c anal ysi s of a series of t heoret i cal cal cul at i ons in whi ch t he r el evant par amet er s were
vari ed appropri at el y. Criteria for t he ot her t ypes of t ab syst em could be evolved by t he same
di rect met hod, but t he l abour i nvol ved would be considerable. In t he present report an at t empt
is made to reduce t he l abour by a process of i nduct i on.
On t he pri nci pl e t ha t t he several t ab syst ems considered may be regarded as specific cases of a
single generalised t ab syst em (hereafter referred to as t he S-system), i t is reasonabl e to suppose
t ha t t he cri t eri on al ready deri ved for t r i mmi ng t abs shoul d bear some rel at i on to t he cri t eri a
t ha t woul d be deri ved for ot her t ypes of t ab following t he same met hod and assumpt i ons. I t
is t herefore proposed to use t he resul t s al ready obt ai ned for t r i mmi ng- t abs and from t hese
resul t s alone, as far as t hey are applicable, to derive cri t eri a appropri at e to t he ot her t ab syst ems
based on a compari son bet ween t he t r i mmi ng- t ab syst em and t he generalised S-syst em. I t
cannot be expected, of course, t ha t t he cri t eri a deri ved in t hi s way shoul d necessari l y be as
comprehensi ve as cri t eri a deri ved by t he direct met hod, and as will appear l at er t he cri t eri a
can i n fact be proved to ensure freedom from cert ai n t ypes of f l ut t er only. I nt ui t i on suggests
however t hat t he cri t eri a shoul d in pract i ce pr event ot her t ypes of f l ut t er as well, and i t is
reasonabl e to expect t ha t t he cri t eri a should prove superior to any t hat have been est abl i shed
so far.
I t is appropri at e here to r ecapi t ul at e t he assumpt i ons upon whi ch t he earlier work on t r i mmi ng-
t abs was based, since t he cri t eri a evolved in t he present report will be aut omat i cal l y subi ect
to t he same assumpt i ons. The syst em considered has a simple geomet ri cal pl an form (see l at er
in section 3) and is allowed to have t he t hree simple degrees of freedom specified (see also section
3). Appl i cat i on of t he cri t eri a to act ual syst ems for whi ch t hese geomet ri c and modal
assumpt i ons ma y not be val i d is discussed in section 10.
The f l ut t er anal ysi s is based on t he t heor y of smM1 oscillations, and t he air forces have been
cal cul at ed by st r i p- t heor y using t he val ues of Di et ze for t he case of a t hi n aerofoil wi t h two
hi nged flaps i n t andem in an i ncompressi bl e medi um. No aerodynami c bal ance has been t aken
on ei t her cont rol surface or t ab.
2. Th e T r i m m i n g - T a b Cr i t e r i on al r eady D e r i v e d . - - I t is useful to re-st at e here t he criterion
deri ved for t r i mmi ng- t abs l, since i t forms t he basis of t he devel opment in t he following sections
of t hi s report. The cri t eri on is designed to pr event t er nar y (z,/3, ~) f l ut t er of t he syst em. The
t r i mmi ng- t ab criterion I requires t hat t he following condi t i ons should be met :
f / A 2kl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
f~/f~ >/ 2 k 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
2
A/Y < . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 3 )
F~ + a 2 ~ p ~ < F ~ - - d i . . . . . . . . . . (4)
where
( s )
F 1 = -4[-E13 E1 E~2][l(l _ 4 ~ ) i t + aa _a~(a~ _ q ) + / ( a 2 --~'~]
- V \
al = 0. 222 + 0-013i~ + Q( - - 0. 0145 + 0.00149i,) . . . . . . . . (7)
a~ = 1. 12 - - 0. 0267i , + %(0.0365 - - 0.001%) . . . . . . . . . . (8)
a:~ = - - 0 . 164 - - 0. 0965i , + i~(0.0778 + 0. 00489Q . . . . . . . . (9)
i~ - - 0. 238i~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (10)
a4 = 0. 448 + 0. 277%
q = j q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1 1 )
j = / < E~ ) [ 0 . 9 3 + 1. 28( 1. 97 - - E0 < 0 . 7 4 5 - ~ ) ] . ( 1 2 )
The const ant s k~(i = 1 to 5) are equal to uni t y and t he saf et y margi ns are ~1 = a~ = 0. 5.
Symbol s are defined i n section 14. The range of val i di t y of t he cri t eri on is = 0 to 50 (probably),
i c = 1 to 7. 78, p c = 0 , i ~= 1.31 to 13.1, El = 0. 2 to 0. 4, E2 / El = 0 . 1 3 t o 0 . 2 5 . To provi de
scope for adj us t ment to wider ranges and to t he resul t s of experience, t he const ant s hi are r et ai ned
in t hei r general form.
By appr opr i at e si mpl i fi cat i ons t he t r i mmi ng- t ab cri t eri on I was reduced successively t o t he
t r i mmi ng- t ab cri t eri a I I and I I I , cri t eri on I I I bei ng recommended for general design use. I t
is not necessary to re-st at e cri t eri a I I and I I I here, but ment i on is made of t hem because t hey
Will be referred to agai n later.
3. The Gemralised S-system and its Specific Cases. - - A descri pt i on of t he general i sed S-syst em
considered is now given, t oget her wi t h an account of t he speci fi c cases i n whi ch t he S-syst em
can be reduced to t he vari ous st andar d t ypes of t ab syst em. For convenience t he t r i mmi ng- t ab
syst em is referred to as t he T-syst em.
3.1. The S-syst em. --Fi g. 1 shows t he S-syst em, whi ch consists of a r ect angul ar l i ft i ng surface
of span s, to whi ch is hi nged a r ect angul ar cont rol surface also of span s. The control surface
is i n t ur n f i t t ed wi t h a t ab of span qs. The degrees of freedom gi ven to t he syst em are:
(a) t r ansl at i on of t he l i ft i ng surface in a di rect i on nor mal to t he air st r eam (z)
(b) r ot at i on of t he cont rol surface about hi nge C relative~ to t he l i ft i ng surface (/7) and
(c) r ot at i on of t he t ab about hi nge D rel at i ve to t he cont rol surface (~).
Li f t i ng surface, cont rol surface, and t ab are t aken to be st r uct ur al l y ri gi d wi t hi n themselves.
Motion of t he syst em is t hus compl et el y defined by t he t hree co-ordinates z, p, and y, each of
whi ch is const ant over t he s p a n . , _
3
Ki nemat i cal l y, t he t hree surfaces are regul at ed by a syst em of l i nks and springs. The links,
number ed (0) t o (5) in Fig. 1, are supposedl y rigid. Each of t he. l i nks (0) to (4) is freely pi vot ed
at bot h ends i ndependent of each other. Li nk (0) may be regarded as t he pi l ot ' s control. Poi nt s
A and C are fixed to t he l i ft i ng surface, B and D t o t he cont rol surface.
The
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
( i v )
( v )
springs of t he syst em are as follows:
a spring K w const rai ni ng t he t r ansl at i on of t he l i ft i ng surface,
a spring Ko const rai ni ng t he r ot at i on of t he cont rol surface,
a spring Ko represent i ng t he el ast i ci t y of t he cont rol circuit,
t he ' mai n spring' Km const rai ni ng t he r ot at i on of lever (2) rel at i ve to t he cont rol surface,
t he ' subsi di ary spring' Ks const rai ni ng t he rel at i ve r ot at i on bet ween levers (2) and (3).
The symbol s denot i ng t he vari ous springs are also used quant i t at i vel y to represent t he act ual
spring rates, in lb per ft in t he case of Kw and in lb ft per r adi an for t he remai ni ng springs.
3.2. Speci f i c Cases of the S - s y s t e m. - - Un d e r cert ai n condi t i ons t he S-system of Fig. 1 reduces
t o a spring, servo, t ri mmi ng, or geared-t ab system. I n each case t he specific t ab syst em
concerned has t he same simple geomet ri cal pl an form and t he same basic degrees of freedom.
(a) The s p r i n g - Ta b S y s t e m. - - T h e S-system as i t st ands represents t he spri ng-t ab syst em in
what may be regarded as its most general form. If t he mot i on of t he syst em is consi st ent wi t h
nor mal operat i on of t he cont rol concerned, K0 will however be zero. The spring Ko may be
effectively present when t he mot i on is not consi st ent wi t h nor mal operat i on. More specifically,
i n t he case of t he el evat or for i nst ance, nor mal operat i on of t he el evat or cont rol involves symmet r i c
mot i on of t he two halves of t he elevator, and in symmet ri c fl ut t er Kc will be zero. I n t he case
of ant i - symmet r i c fl ut t er, however, any st r uct ur al i nt er connect i on bet ween t he two halves of t he
el evat or will exert an addi t i onal elastic rest rai nt on each half, whi ch r est r ai nt is represent ed
by t he spring Ko.
The follow-up rat i o N is commonl y defined as t he rat i o y/$ when t he cont rol surface is moved
wi t h t he poi nt E fixed rel at i ve t o t he lifting surface and spring Ks remai ni ng undefl ect ed.
Al t hough t hi s act i on essent i al l y involves defl ect i on of t he spring Kin, t he follow-up rat i o is a
purel y geometric par amet er and is given (in Fig. 1) by N = lll~/1214. For spri ng-t abs N is usual l y
positive.
Thr oughout t he subsequent devel opment of fl ut t er cri t eri a in sections 4 to 7 t he poi nt 0 (pilot' s
control) is regarded as fixed. Consi derat i on is given l at er i n section 10 t o t he possibilities of
f l ut t er wi t h t he st i ck (or pedal) free.
(b) The Servo- Tab S y s t e m. - - T h e S-system becomes a servo-t ab syst em if K,,, = 0. Zero or
finite values of Kc appl y as in t he case of t he spri ng-t ab system. Follow-up rat i o N is usual l y
posi t i ve but may be zero, i n whi ch case t he t ab is t ermed a pure servo-tab.
(c) The Tr i mmi n g - Ta b Syst em ( T- s y s t e m) . - - A t r i mmi ng- t ab syst em may be represent ed as
an S-system wi t h Ko = 0 and K,,, ver y large (vi rt ual l y infinite). Control operat i on to ei t her
cont rol surface or t ab is not act ual l y represent ed i n t hi s case, but t he ki nemat i c represent at i on,
whi ch is all t ha t mat t er s for t he present purpose, is aut hent i c. The syst em becomes effectively
t hat of Fig. 2, where t he spring Kc now represents t he stiffness of t he cont rol circuit operat i ng
t he cont rol surface, and t he S-system linkage is effectively replaced by t he spring
Kt (K~ = Ksl,2/132). I t is evi dent t hat for t he syst em of Fig. 1, wi t h K,, vi r t ual l y infinite, i t is
impossible t o move t he cont rol surface rel at i ve t o l i nk (2), and in t he sense of t he physi cal
defi ni t i on of N t he fo!!ow-up rat i o is t herefore effectively zero.
4
(d) Th e Geared- ~' ab S y s t e m. - - A geared-t ab syst em may be represent ed as a n S-system wi t h
K,~ = 0 and Ko nor mal l y ver y large. Spring K~ agai n represent s t he stiffness of t he cont rol
circuit operat i ng t he cont rol surface. For t he t ab t o act as a bal ance t ab t he follow-up r at i o
N must be negat i ve and is t hen (with posi t i ve sign) t ermed t he gear ratio. The syst em is t hen
effect i vel y t ha t of Fig. 3a. If N is positive, t he t ab behaves as an ant i -bal ance (Fig. 3b).
Havi ng est abl i shed t he above rel at i onshi ps bet ween t he vari ous specific t ab systems and t he
generalised S-system, t he next stage is to consider t he compar at i ve fl ut t er charact eri st i cs of t he
generalised S-system and t he T-system.
4. Fl u t t e r Eq u a t i o n s f o r the T - s y s t e m and t he S - s y s t e m. - - T h r o u g h o u t t hi s report , when
compari ng T- and S-systems, t he i ndex is used t o denot e quant i t i es appropri at e t o t he
T-system. Quant i t i es wi t hout t he i ndex refer t o t he S-system.
The fl ut t er equat i ons are t he equat i ons of mot i on for t he syst em i n t he critical fl ut t er condi t i on
when t he several part s of t he syst em are execut i ng simple har moni c mot i on wi t h a common
frequency. For t he T-syst em in t he t er nar y case, t he fl ut t er equat i ons may be wr i t t en i n
absol ut e form as
E - - ( w: +) ZA ~: + + D~: + + E ~ + q: + = 0 ( i = 1 , 2 , 3 ) . . . . . . ( 1 3 )
j = l
where w: + is t he circular frequency, t he A~: + are t he i nert i a coefficients (including t he vi r t ual
i nert i a of tile air) and t he E~s are t he elastic stiffness coefficients. The D~: are t he air-force
coefficients excluding t he vi r t ual i nert i a of t he air, and are complex funct i ons i nvol vi ng t he air
speed, t he frequency, and t he dimensions of t he pl an-form, q: are t he generalised Lagr angi an
co-ordi nat es appropri at e t o t he degrees of freedom considered. For t he case al ready i nvest i gat ed ~,
q~+ = z, q~ = ~, q~+ = ),. The i ner t i a coefficients are t hen
wi t h
Al 1 + ~ ~ w + -A V a 1 1 +
A12 + = m +xc + + a12 +
Al s + ~ mt +x t + + a 1 8 +
AS = Ic + + a~ +
A2~ = m, +x, +(E1 - - E2) c , + I t + a23
A38 + ~ I t + + a2~ +
Ai s + = A S , ais + = a~ +
(14)
(the a~ s represent i ng t he vi r t ual i nert i as of t he air), and t he elastic coefficients are
E l l +
E i : +
= K , ~ + , E 22 + = K ~ + , E . ~ + = K t + )
L
= 0 f o r i + j / " " :
( i s )
For t he S-system in t he t er nar y case, t he fl ut t er equat i ons may likewise be wr i t t en
X - - w: ZA~: + D~: + E~: qi = 0
] = 1
5
( i = 1, 2, 3) .
( 1 6 )
i f t h e p l a n - f o r m of t h e S - s y s t e m i s t h e s a me as t h a t of t h e T - s y s t e m, a n d i f t h e Same de gr e e s
of f r e e d o m a r e c o n s i d e r e d (i . e. , ql = z, q2 = P, qa = ~'), t h e n
a i j ~ a ~ j + . . . . . . . .
a n d t h e c oe f f i c i e nt s A~; a r e g i v e n b y e q u a t i o n s (14) wi t h t h e i n d e x + o mi t t e d
Al so, f or t h e s a me s pe e d a n d f r e q u e n c y ,
. . ( 1 7 )
. . ( 1 8 )
D~. = D~ + . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (19)
Be c a u s e i n t h e S - s y s t e m K, , i s f i n i t e a n d Ko =/= 0, a s i mi l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p does n o t e x i s t b e t we e n
t h e e l a s t i c c oe f f i c i e nt s of t h e t wo s y s t e ms . F o r t h e S - s y s t e m t h e e l a s t i c c oe f f i c i e nt s (as d e r i v e d
i n Ap p e n d i x I) a r e
E n = K~ , E12 = 0 , EI.~ = 0 . . . . . . . . . . (20)
E2e = K~ + Ko(K, . + K, ) . . . . . . . . . . (21)
Ko
~ +K, , ~ +K~
E~a - - 1 KoK, . . . . . . . . . (22)
N Ko
( 2 3 )
wh e r e
a n d
E~ = E~ f or i =/= j . . . . . . . . . . . . (24)
NI = l~/12 ( t he e c c e n t r i c i t y r a t i o) . . . . . . . . (25)
N - - l~ la ( t he f ol l ow- up r a t i o) (26)
l 2 l ~ . . . . . . . . .
I t c a n e a s i l y be v e r i f i e d t h a t , w i t h Ko = 0 a n d K,,, = oo, t h e e x p r e s s i o n s f or t h e c oe f f i c i e nt s
(20) t o (24) f or t h e S - s y s t e m r e d u c e t o t h o s e of (15) f or t h e T- s y s t e m.
5. General Recommendat i on f or all Cases of the S- s y s t e m. - - I n t h e d e v e l o p me n t of a c r i t e r i o n
f or t h e p r e v e n t i o n of f l u t t e r of T - s y s t e ms 1 , c a l c u l a t e d v a l u e s of t h e r e d u c e d c r i t i c a l s p e e d vc +'
we r e p l o t t e d a g a i n s t t h e n o n ' - d j me n s i o n a l t a b o u t - o f - b a l a n c e mo me n t p , . Sp e c i a l i n t e r e s t wa s
a t t a c h e d t o t h e t wo v e r t i c a l a s y mp t o t e s (vl --> oo) l y i n g n e a r e s t t o t h e v F- a x i s , a n d a p p r o x i ma t e
e x p r e s s i o n s f or t h e a b s c i s s a e (Pt va l ue s ) of t h e s e a s y mp t o t e s we r e d e d u c e d as f ol l ows :
F o r t h e r i g h t - h a n d a s y mp t o t e
p , ' ~ , = f , ( ~ ' , i c +, i ; ~, p o + , q , )
a n d f or t h e l e f t - h a n d a s y mp t o t e
( 2 7 )
~ ,+ ~ .,> = F 2 ( ~ + , c + , , + , ~ , + , ~ + ) . . .
6
o
i
-. . . . . (28)
The funct i ons F, and F2 are those defined by equat i ons (5) and (6) of t he present report , and
i t will be remembered t ha t t hei r deri vat i on is st r i ct l y val i d onl y for cert ai n ranges of t he
par amet er s concerned ( s e e sect i on 2). I t is conveni ent to ment i on here t ha t t he above asympt ot es
bot h move to t he l eft if it is increased, i . e . ,
< 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 2 9 )
ai d
and aF2 < O. , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (30)
0 i t +
The exact values of pt+m and pt+/~/ woul d be obt ai ned as sol ut i ons of t he f l ut t er equat i ons
(13) as v, + (and wj +) --> oo. They are t herefore t he sol ut i ons of t he complex det er mi nant al
equat i on . . . . .
lim - - A v + + D~+ E~J+ = 0 . . . . . . . . (31)
w/ - + o0 (w/) + (w/)
and are t herefore i ndependent of t he val ues of t he elastic coefficients E~, +. Thi s expl ai ns why
t he funct i ons F~ and F2 of (27) and (28) are funct i ons of t he geomet r y and i nert i as ortly. The
t erms D ~ , + / ( w / ) 2 in (31) t end to fi ni t e val ues as wl + --> oo, and t he asympt ot es (as one would
expect) are t herefore dependent upon t he aer odynami c characteristics.
For t he S-syst em, t he vert i cal asympt ot es of t he curve vc = f (~G) as obt ai ned from t he f l ut t er
equat i ons (16) will likewise be gi ven by t he equat i on
E , ; l - 0 ( s 2 )
l i r a I _ A , , + +
~ f J . f - + O 0 [ W f ~ - - " . . . . . . . . .
and will also be i ndependent of t he elastic coefficients E,. Since, as shown i n section 4, t he
onl y i nt ri nsi c difference bet ween t he S-syst em and t he T-syst em is in t he val ues of t he elastic
coefficients, i t is evi dent t ha t if t he S-syst em has t he same geomet r y and t he same di st r i but i on
of masses as t he T- syst em t hen t he abscissae of t he asYmPtotes will also be t he same, i . e . ,
P, I ~/ = Pd <l) and /St (.,/ = Pall21 I t follows therefore t ha t t he asympt ot es for an S-syst em are
gi ven by equat i ons (27) and (28) wi t h t he i ndex + omi t t ed.
The significance of t hese asympt ot es lies in t hei r rel at i on to t he exi st ence of a fl ut t er-free
region, t hat is, a range of ~b~ values for whi ch t here is no fl ut t er at any speed. If such a fl ut t er-free
region can be defined, under cert ai n conditions, t hen t hese condi t i ons in combi nat i on wi t h a
rest ri ct i on t ha t t he val ue of jh, must lie wi t hi n t he l i mi t s of t he fl ut t er-free region const i t ut e a
cri t eri on for t he pr event i on of fl ut t er. I n t he devel opment of a cri t eri on for t he T- syst em s,
condi t i ons were formul at ed under whi ch no br anch of t he curve vc + = f(Pt) l ay bet ween t he
above asympt ot es, in whi ch case t he fl ut t er-free region could be defined as t h a t bet ween t he
asympt ot es, i . e . , jot+l~l ~ lb~ ~ Pdo_l The condi t i ons under whi ch a fl ut t er-free region can be
defi ned must i nevi t abl y be concerned wi t h f i ni t e branches of t he f l ut t er curve, and, unl i ke t he
condi t i ons for t he vert i cal asympt ot es, must t herefore be rel at ed to t he val ues of t he elastic
coefficients. The criterion al ready deri ved for t he T- syst em cannot t herefore be di rect l y appl i ed
to t he S-syst em.
I n t he following sections of t hi s report consi derat i on is gi ven to t he conditions under whi ch a
fl ut t er-free region may be defined for t he several specific cases of t he S-system. For t he moment
however, i t can be st at ed t hat for t he generalised S-syst em, and t herefore for any of i t s speci fi c
7
cases, t he val ue of ib~ should at least not lie outside tile region bounded by t he above asympt ot es.
Thi s means t ha t t he val ue of ~b, should at least sat i sfy t he condi t i ons
15, ~> F s ( ~ , i ~ , i , , p ~ , ~ ) . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 3 3 a )
~b~ ~< F~(~, i~, it,/5~, ~) . . . . . . . . . . . . . (33b)
Thi s of course const i t ut es onl y a recommendat i on, as di st i nct from a sufficient condi t i on for t he
pr event i on of fl ut t er, but i t is st at ed here because of its appl i cabi l i t y to all cases of t he S-system.
For pract i cal use i t is advi sabl e t o i nt roduce safet y margins, as was done in t he case of t he
T-system% in whi ch case t he r ecommendat i on (which is st at ed in full in section 11.1), t akes t he
form F2 + ~2 ~< ib~ ~< F~ - - ( 5 1 .
6. De r i v a t i o n o f Cr i t e r i a f o r "the N o r ma l Sl bri ng- Tab S y s t e m ( S - s y s t e m wi t h N > 0). --As al ready
expl ai ned (section 5), a criterion for t he prevent i on of fl ut t er is based upon t he defi ni t i on of a
fl ut t er-free region. I t is t herefore necessary to consider under what condi t i ons fl ut t er at a
finite speed can be prevent ed. For t he S-system wi t h positive N, it is proposed to derive these
condi t i ons in t he following way. For any gi ven S-system fl ut t eri ng at a given speed and
frequency it is possible t o derive an equi val ent T-syst em whi ch will fl ut t er at t he same speed
and frequency. Fr om t he earlier work on t r i mmi ng- t abs ~ t he condi t i ons for pr event i on of
fl ut t er of t he equi val ent T-syst em are al ready known, and from t he rel at i onshi ps existing bet ween
t he two syst ems similar condi t i ons for t he S-system can t hen be derived. The condi t i ons
deri ved in t hi s way for t he S-system are, as will be seen later, subj ect to cert ai n restrictions.
They are applicable onl y to t he case N > 0, and t hey can onl y be proved to pr event fl ut t er of
t he t ype in which t he fl ut t er frequency fj. is great er t han t he nat ur al t ab frequency fv. The
deri vat i on of these condi t i ons will now be gi ven in detail.
Compari ng t he fl ut t er equat i ons (13) and (16) of a T-syst em and an S-system respectively, it
is seen t hat t he two sets of equat i ons become i dent i cal if
= . . . . . . . . . . ( 3 4 )
and - - (wi+)~'A~j + + Ei~ + = - - w s Z A ~ + E,>. . . . . . . . . . (35)
E q u a t i o n s (34) are satisfied if the t w o s y s t e m s h a v e the s a m e geometrical p l a n - f o r m a n d the
s a m e critical speeds a n d frequencies. I n A p p e n d i x II a set of relationships b e t w e e n the inertial
a n d elastic characteristics Of the t w o s y s t e m s is derived w h i c h satisfies equations (35), w i t h
w s + = w s . T h e s e relationships t h u s r e p r e s e n t the transformation of a n S - s y s t e m i n t o a n
equivalent T - s y s t e m of the s a m e geometrical p l a n - f o r m w h i c h flutters at the s a m e s p e e d a n d
f r e q u e n c y a n d w i t h the s a m e m o d e (i.e., a m p l i t u d e ratios) as the S-system.
If the c o m m o n flutter f r e q u e n c y is written as
w ? = 2 = g(w ) . . . . . . . . . .
w h e r e w a + a n d w a are the natural circular frequencies of the tab for the T - a n d S - s y s t e m s
respectively, t h e n it is s h o w n in A p p e n d i x II t h a t , for the t w o s y s t e m s r e l a t e d as above, if
f ~ 1 t h e n g ~ I, a n d vice versa. T h i s m a y b e expressed b y the f o l l o w i n g c o m m u t a t i v e
relationship
f ~> 1 ~~;~ ~, ~g >~ 1 . . . . . . . . . (37)
8
The equat i ons governi ng t he t r ansf or mat i on of an S-syst em i nt o an equi val ent T- syst em as
deri ved in Appendi x I I , are
m~ + = m~ . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . (38a)
m~+x~ + = m. x~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (38b)
= . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 3 8 c )
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (38d)
29) L+ 2 9 a a a . .
. . ( 3 S e )
Wl + = W 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 3 8 f )
72/2 + = W 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 3 S g )
1
g
. . (38h)
K o . . . . . . . . ( 39)
where 29 = N Ko + NI 2K, , , " . . . .
The fact or g defines t he fl ut t er frequency in t erms of t he nat ur al t ab frequency f~, as in (36).
The quant i t y 29 is t he ' modi fi ed' follow-up rat i o and is an i mpor t ant par amet er i n t he cri t eri a
shor t l y to be derived. I t s physi cal defi ni t i on is t hat i t is t he rat i o y/fl (see Fig. 1) when t he
cont rol surface is moved by a moment act i ng onl y on t he cont rol surface, t he l i nk (0) bei ng
fixed. As t he t ab is unl oaded t here is no deflection of t he slhring Ks, but t he modi fi ed follow-up
rat i o does t ake account of t he act i on of t he springs Km and Ko. Equat i on (39) for N can be
easi l y deri ved on t he above physi cal basis. I t shoul d be not ed t ha t N = N if ei t her Ko =
or K,, = 0, ei t her of whi ch condi t i ons corresponds to t he poi nt E in Fig. 1 bei ng fixed. The
defi ni t i on of 29 is t hus consi st ent wi t h t he defi ni t i on of t he follow-up rat i o N gi ven in section 3.2.
6.1. De r i v a t i o n o f S p r i n g - T a b Cr i t e r i o n / . - - I n t he earlier r epor t on t r i mmi ng- t ab f l ut t er 1 i t
was found t hat under cert ai n condi t i ons a T- syst em could f l ut t er wi t h ver y low cri t i cal speeds.
As an example, Fig. 3c of t ha t report shows low cri t i cal speeds associ at ed wi t h Br anch I I I of t he
f l ut t er curve. The f l ut t er frequencies appropri at e to these low cri t i cal s peeds - - at l east as far
as Br anch I I I is concer ned- - wer e i nvar i abl y great er t han t he nat ur al t ab frequency, i.e., f ~> 1.
I t is therefore possible i n t he absence of any pr event i ve rest ri ct i on for a T- syst em equi val ent
to a gi ven S-syst em to experience t hi s t ype of f l ut t er ; in whi ch case t he S-syst em would also
f l ut t er at t he same low cri t i cal speed and, by rel at i onshi p (37), wi t h g ~ 1. I t is obvi ousl y
desirable t ha t t hi s t ype of fl ut t er, more t han any other, shoul d be prevent ed. Al t hough i t is
impossible by t he met hod of t he present . report to derive cri t eri a as comprehensi ve as t hose
al r eady obt ai ned for t r i mmi ng- t abs, i t is nevert hel ess considered wort hwhi l e to est abl i sh
rest ri ct i ons for a spring-~ab syst em t hat will pr event f l ut t er of t he t ype for whi ch g >~ 1 and for
whi ch t he cri t i cal speeds would be ver y low.
I t is conveni ent to st at e t he proposed cri t eri on first and t hen to prove i t s val i di t y, for t he
condi t i ons st i pul at ed, aft erwards. I t is therefore suggest ed t hat t he f l ut t er of a spri ng-t ab
syst em for whi ch
N (and therefore 29) >~ 0 . . . . . . . . (40)
9
and fz ~ L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (41)
will be pr event ed by t he following condi t i ons
f~,/f~ ~> 2kl . . . . . . . . . . . . . (42)
f , / f ~ >~ 2 k 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (43)
f , / f ~ <~ k3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (44)
p , ~ > F ~ ( # , i ~, i , , p~, ~ ) . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 4 5 )
p~ ~< F ~ ( # , i o , (1 + N ) i ~ + ~ 3 N , p , , ~) . . . . . . ( 4 6 )
where t he k~. (i = 1, 2, 3) are t o be t aken equal to uni t y. The funct i ons F1 and F2 depend in t he
same way on t hei r argument s as is defined in (5) to (12). The above criterion is in fact i dent i ca!
With t he t r i mmi ng- t ab Criterion I as given in section 2 except for t he fact t hat t he funct i on F,
in (46) is eval uat ed using (1 + 2V)i~ + ~aaN in place of i,. c~aa is t he non-di mensi onal Value of
t he vi r t ual i nert i a coefficient aaa and is gi ven by
~ 3 - a~3 _ f12(E2) < 1. 45 E,~ . . . . (47)
pc~' LqsEJ E23 "
1 6
where f ~ ( E 2 ) is t he funct i on i nt roduced by Dietze 5.
The val i di t y of t he above criterion can be proved i ndi rect l y by supposing t hat an S-system
sat i sfyi ng t he condi t i ons of t he criterion does in fact fl ut t er wi t h a frequency f l ~- gf ~ wi t h
g > ~ 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 4 s )
The charact eri st i cs of t he equi val ent T-system, which will also fl ut t er at t he frequency f l ,
can t hen be obt ai ned from t he rel at i onshi ps (38a) to (38h).
Because of (40) and (48), equat i on (38h) gives
w3 + >~ w,~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (49)
Because of (38f), (38g) and (49), condi t i ons (42), (43), and (44) t hen give
L+/f~ + ~> 2kl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 5 0 )
/ ~ , + / L ' ~ > 2 ~ 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 5 ! )
/ ~ - ' / L ' - ~ < . / ~ , ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 5 2 )
Also, (38e) gives, because of (40) and (48),
or, in non-di mensi onal form,
L ~< I / - ~< (I + N)-5 + a3~2
i , ~ < i , + ~ < ( 1 + 2 ) i ~ + ~ 3 3 N . . . . . . . . . ( 5 3 )
10
Since t he geomet r i cal pl a n- f or ms of t h e t wo s ys t e ms ar e i dent i cal , i t follows t h a t
~+ = c ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . (54)
Rel at i ons hi ps (38a) t o (38d) also gi ve
~ + = ~ ; p / = p ~ ; p , + = P , ; L = L .
( 5 5 )
Consi der i ng t h e l e f t - h a n d side of t he i ne qua l i t y (53) t oge t he r wi t h (54) a nd ( 5 5 ) , a n d r e me mbe r i ng
(29), condi t i on (45) t he n gi ves
p , + + , i / , i , , p c + , . . . . . . . . . . . ( 5 6 )
Consi deri ng t he r i ght - ha nd si de of t he i ne qua l i t y (53) t oget her wi t h (54) a nd (55), a n d r e me mbe r -
i ng (30), condi t i on (46) t he n gi ves
p / ~< Fz(~ +, i0 +, i, +, p~+, q+) . . . . . . . . . . ~ (57)
The char act er i s t i cs of t he equi val ent T- s ys t em, whi ch mu s t f l ut t e r if t he or i gi nal S- s ys t em f l ut t er s ,
ar e t hus gi ven b y t he condi t i ons (50), (51), (52), (56) a nd (57). Bu t t hese ar e e xa c t l y t he condi -
t i ons whi ch, b y t he t r i mmi n g - t a b Cr i t er i on I of sect i on 2, ar e s uf f i ci ent t o pr e ve nt f l ut t e r of t he
T- s ys t em. The hypot hes i s t h a t t he or i gi nal S- s ys t em coul d f l ut t e r unde r t he condi t i ons (40)
t o ( 46) i s t her ef or e wr ong, a nd t he condi t i ons (42) t o (46) ar e t her ef or e pr ove d t o cons t i t ut e a
val i d cr i t er i on for t he pr e ve nt i on of f l ut t er of an S- s ys t e m wi t h P? > / 0 a t a f r e que nc y f s > / f v .
The c ons t a nt s ki (i = 1, 2, 3) ar e r e t a i ne d in t he cr i t er i on f or conveni ence of a d j u s t me n t
i n t he l i ght of f ur t he r experi ence. For desi gn use, s a f e t y mar gi ns ~1 a n d ~ ar e i nt r oduc e d i nt o
t he condi t i ons (45) a n d (46), as was done i n t he case of t he t r i mmi n g - t a b Cr i t er i on I of sect i on 2.
At t he s ame t i me condi t i on (46) ma y b e si mpl i fi ed b y negl ect i ng t he t e r m ~33N ; t he val ue of
c~3, as shown b y (47), is smal l ( nor mal l y less t h a n 3 per cent of i~) a n d t he er r or i nvol ved is well
cover ed b y t he s a f e t y ma r gi n ~ . I n t hi s f or m t he cr i t er i on is gi ven i n ful l i n sect i on 11.2.
6.2. Deri vat i on of Spr i ng- Tab Criteria H and I I I . - - I n sect i on 6.1 t he s pr i ng- t ab Cr i t er i on I
ha s been devel oped f r om t he or i gi nal t r i mmi ng- t a b Cri t eri on I der i ved pr evi ous l y 1 a n d quot e d
i n sect i on 2. As me nt i one d i n sect i on 2, si mpl i fi ed f or ms of t he t r i mmi n g - t a b Cr i t er i on I wer e
also evol ved, known as t he t r i mmi n g - t a b Cr i t er i a I I a nd I I I . Spr i ng- t a b cr i t er i a cor r espondi ng
t o t h e s e si mpl i fi ed t r i mmi n g - t a b cr i t er i a can obvi ousl y be der i ved i n a si mi l ar wa y a nd will
be a r t h e Same r el at i ons hi p t o t h e m as exi st s bet ween t he s pr i ng- t ab Cr i t er i on I a n d t he
t r i mmi n g - t a b Cri t eri on I. The s pr i ng- t ab cr i t er i a ar e i n f a c t der i ved f r om t he t r i mmi n g - t a b
cr i t er i a b y s i mpl y r epl aci ng it b y (1 + N) L, or I~ b y (1 + N)I~, i n t he f or mul a f or t he u p p e r
l i mi t of p~. Spr i ng- t ab Cr i t er i a I I a nd I I I der i ved i n t hi s wa y ar e gi ve n i n ful l i n sect i on 11.2.
I n sect i on 11.2 t he f r e que nc y condi t i on (O 1) of t he s pr i ng- t a b Cri t eri on I I I is gi ven i n t he
a l t e r na t i ve f or m ( 0 2) i nvol vi ng t he r e l e va nt i ner t i as a nd st i ffnesses. Thi s is der i ved s i mpl y
b y wr i t i ng (O 1) i n t he f or m
E3a Ic + a2~ _,,_ E , 3 L . . . . . . . . (58)
4k~ 2
f / ' E2~ I , + a~ E~ L
and s ubs t i t ut i ng for E2~ a nd E~ f r om (21) a nd (23), whence ( 0 2) follows.
7. Other Speci f i c Cases of the S - s y s t e m. - - Th e ki nemat i cs of t he var i ous s t a n d a r d t a b s ys t e ms
h a v e been consi der ed in sect i on 3 on t he basi s of r epr es ent i ng t h e m as specific cases of t he
gener al i sed S- syst em. Cr i t er i a f or t he nor ma l s pr i ng- t ab s ys t e m ( S- syst em wi t h N >/ 0 ) h a v e
been der i ved i n' sect i on 6, a nd i t now r emai ns t o consi der how t he devel opment s of sect i ons
5 a n d 6 ma y be appl i ed t o t he der i vat i on of cr i t er i a for t he r emai ni ng specific cases of t he
S- syst em.
11
7. 1. T h e T r i m m i n g - T a b . - - W i t h K,,, @ 0 and Ko = 0, and wi t h NI ' / N @ 0 , (39) gives 2V = 0.
The spri ng-t ab cri t eri a of section 6 are t herefore applicable, and put t i ng N = 0 i t is seen t ha t
t hey become t he t r i mmi ng- t ab cri t eri a of {he earlier r epor t t
7 . 2 . T h e S e r v o - T a b . - - W i t h N >~ 0 and K,,, = 0 t he spri ng-t ab cri t eri a of section 6 are di rect l y
applicable.
7 . 3 . T h e G e a r e d - T a b . - - W i t h K,,, = 0 and Ko ~ O, and 2V = N by equat i on (39), t he spri ng-t ab
cri t eri a of section 6 are applicable if N > 0, t hat is to t he case of t he ant i -bal ance t ab (see section
3). For t he nor mal bal ance- t ype of t a b (N < 0), t he spri ng-t ab cri t eri a are not applicable
since t hey have been proved val i d onl y for N >~ 0.
I t is t herefore necessary to give. special consi derat i on to t he case' of t he geared bal ance t ab
wi t h ?? = N < 0. The met hod used in section 6 to derive cri t eri a for spri ng-t abs is however
still applicable. For a gi ven geared-t ab syst em and its e.quivalent T-syst em, f l ut t er i ng at t he
same speed and frequency, rel at i onshi p (38e) gives, wi t h N < 0 and g > 0,
I t + < I ,
and t herefore
i,+ < , . . . . . . . . . . . . . (59)
Fol l owi ng an ar gument si mi l ar to t ha t used in section 6.1, i t can t hen be deduced t ha t for
t he geared balance-Lab necessary condi t i ons for t he prevent i on of f l ut t er are
p, i , , P c, + . . . . . . . . . . ( 6o)
ib, ~ F~( ~, ~, i , , 15c, (l) . . . . . . . . . . . . (61)
where b is a posi t i ve quant i t y. Thi s means t hat , of t he two condi t i ons (33a) and (33b) gi ven in
section 5 as a general recommendat i on, (33b) is for t he geared bal ance-t ab a sufficient condi t i on
whi l st (33a) is not. On t he ot her hand, (45) and (46) mean t hat for t he spri ng-t ab (33a) is a
sufficient condi t i on whi l st (3_3b) is not. Thi s difference bet ween t he t wo cases arises di rect l y
from t he change of sign of N.
I n t h e c a s e o f t h e g e a r e d b a l a n c e - t a b t h e r e is u n f o r t u n a t e l y n o r e a d y - m a d e s u b s t i t u t e for
(33a), s u c h as (46) p r o v e d to b e for ( 3 3 b ) in t h e c a s e of t h e s p r i n g - t a b w i t h g ~ I. It is t h e r e f o r e
p r o p o s e d to c o v e r c o n d i t i o n ( 6 0 ) b y a n a r b i t r a r y i n c r e a s e in t h e v a l u e of t h e c o n s t a n t k6 o f
c o n d i t i o n (P) of t h e s p r i n g - t a b C r i t e r i o n III ( s e c t i o n 11.2), w h i c h c o r r e s p o n d s t o c o n d i t i o n (45)
of t h e s p r i n g - t a b Criterion I a n d t h e r e f o r e t o c o n d i t i o n (60) w i t h 6 = 0. I n t h i s f o r m , w i t h t h e
c o n s t a n t k9 r e p l a c i n g k~, c o n d i t i o n ( 6 0 ) b e c o m e s c o n d i t i o n (R) of s e c t i o n 1 1 . 3 . C o n d i t i o n (61),
w h i c h is identical w i t h t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g c o n d i t i o n in t h e t r i m m i n g - t a b Criterion I of s e c t i o n 2,
is at t h e s a m e t i m e p u t in t h e f o r m of t h e t r i m m i n g - t a b C r i t e r i o n III a n d a s s u c h is g i v e n b y
(S) of section 11.3.
C o n d i t i o n s (60) a n d (61) w i l l n o t a l o n e b e sufficient t o p r e v e n t flutter of t h e g e a r e d b a l a n c e - t a b
w i t h o u t a d d i t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s for t h e f r e q u e n c i e s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o (I), (2), a n d (3) for t h e
T - s y s t e m . T h e s e c o n d i t i o n s a r e n o t h o w e v e r i m m e d i a t e l y d e r i v a b l e a s in t h e c a s e of t h e s p r i n g -
t a b , b u t it is fairly c e r t a i n t h a t t h e y will a m o u n t t o a s i m i l a r r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t t h e t a b f r e q u e n c y
f~ s h o u l d b e h i g h c o m p a r e d w i t h { h e n a t u r a l f r e q u e n c i e s f~ a n d f~. F o r t h e g e a r e d - t a b s y s t e m
this r e q u i r e m e n t w i l l g e n e r a l l y b e a u t o m a t i c a l l y satisfied b y t h e n o r m a l l y h i g h stiffness of t h e
t a b linkage. It is t h e r e f o r e n o t c o n s i d e r e d w o r t h w h i l e t o g o f u r t h e r i n t o details r e g a r d i n g t h e
f r e q u e n c y c o n d i t i o n s . B a c k l a s h in t h e t a b l i n k a g e s h o u l d of c o u r s e b e a v o i d e d .
T h e criterion for g e a r e d - t a b s is g i v e n in full in s e c t i o n 11.3.
1 2
8. Coml bar i s on wi t h t he Col l ar - Shar j be Cr i t e r i a f o r S p r i n g - T a b s . - - U s i n g t he not at i on of t he
present report, t he Collar-Sharpe criterion i n its first form 2 may be wr i t t en as
(1 + N ) L + ( E l - - E~)c~m,x~ < K . .
and in its second form (due to Sharpe) 3 as
(1 + N ) I , + (E~ - - E2)c, , m, x, < K ' p'~r,.
I ,
Bot h (62) and (63) are based on bi nar y (/~,~) considerations.
wi t h t he cri t eri a for spri ng-t abs deri ved here in section 6.
been made for t he case of t he t r i mmi ng- t ab a.
. . . . ( 6 2 )
. . . . . . ( 6 3 )
I t i s i n s t r u c t i v e t o c o m p a r e t h e s e
A s i m i l a r c o m p a r i s o n h a s a l r e a d y
For t he purpose of t hi s compari son t he most sui t abl e choice is t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I ,
i nvol vi ng t he t hree condi t i ons (0 1), (P) and (Q 1) of section 11.2. Condi t i on (Q 1) is t he
equi val ent of (62) or (63), whereas condi t i ons (Q 1) and (P) have no count er par t in t he Collar-
Sharpe criterion and t herefore represent addi t i onal restrictions.
Comparing condi t i on (Q 1) of spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I wi t h t he al t er nat i ve criteria (62) and
(63) of Collar and Sharpe, i t is seen that_ t he follow-up rat i o N in t he Collar-Sharpe cri t eri a is
replaced by_the modified follow-up rat i o N. Since, wi t h non-zero values of Ko and K .... equat i on
(39) gives N < N, t hi s represents a r el axat i on on t he Collar-Sharpe criterion ; t hough in most
cases t he effect will be small because K,,~ is nor mal l y smal l compared wi t h K o . Thi s was in fact
realised by Collar and Sharpe, who assumed K,,, zero for reasons of simplicity.
A more i mpor t ant difference is t ha t t he const ant s K ' and K of t he Collar-Sharpe cri t eri a are
replaced b_y C and C1 --~ Cp a/2 (with t he present uni t val ue of k7), bot h of whi ch are funct i ons of
i c, (1 + N ) i , , p , q, and El . I n Tabl e 1 t he values of C and C1 as given by t he formul ae (Q 2)
and (Q 3) of section 11.2 for a range of values of t he r el evant par amet er s are compared wi t h t he
Collar-Sharpe values for K' and K. The t abl e is in fact i dent i cal wi t h t hat gi ven in t he similar
compari son al ready made for t he case of t he t r i mmi ng- t ab 1, and t he conclusions are t he same:
for t he sake of completeness t hey are however re-i t erat ed here. For all cases except Case 1
t he Sharpe ( K' ) criterion is more rest ri ct i ve t han t hat of (Q 1), (Q 2), and (Q 3). I n t he ext reme
Case 1 t he smal l val ue of C comes from hi gh values of (1 + N ) i , , i t , and smal l values of ib, q, and
El . Following Cases 1 t o 5 in Tabl e 1 st ep-by-st ep it is appar ent t hat C increases by decreasing
io and i, and by increasinglb and El . Comparing Cases 1 and l a and Cases 5 and 5a respect i vel y
i t is seen t hat for smal l values of it, i, t he val ue of C decreases if q increases, but for large values
of ic and it t he val ue of C increases if q increases. Inspect i on of t he formul ae (Q 2) and (Q 3)
confirms these conclusions drawn from Tabl e 1 and shows in addi t i on t ha t for smal l values of
ic and large values of q t he val ue of C mi ght increase if it increases. Fur t her i t should be not ed
t ha t t he influence of i~ upon C is much great er t han t ha t of i~. This influence of it is such t ha t
a large val ue of I~ is not as beneficial as i t would be if C in condi t i on (Q 1) were a const ant ,
as K ' is in t he Sharpe cri t eri on (63). I t shoul d also be not ed t hat t hr ough ic and i, t he val ue of
C depends upon t he air density, in such a way t hat C will nor mal l y decrease wi t h al t i t ude.
Compari ng fi nal l y t he values of C and C1 in Tabl e 1 i t is seen t ha t t he former varies less t ha n
t he l at t er, so t hat of t he t wo Collar-Sharpe cri t eri a (63) is at any rat e an i mpr ovement on (62).
Of t he t wo addi t i onal condi t i ons (0 1) and (P) occurring in t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I of
section 11.2, t he second condi t i on (P) si mpl y sets a forward l i mi t to t he t ab e.g. posi t i on whi ch
is sl i ght l y behi nd t he t ab hinge*. The first condi t i on (0 1) is concerned wi t h t he spring stiff-
nesses, and i t is i mpor t ant to consider t he i mpl i cat i ons of t hi s requi rement .
* I t should be noted however t hat under the conditions of the spring-tab Criterion I this forward limit may be
in front of the hinge-line,
13
Taki ng t he equi val ent condi t i on (0 2) and in t he first place put t i ng K,,, ---- K~ = 0 and k~ = 1,
t he r equi r ement becomes
N'zI~
I . < 0 . 2 5 . . . . . . . . . . . (64)
I n Tabl e 2 tile val ues of N~IdI~ are gi ven for t he vari ous specific cases considered by Sharpe :~
in his st at i st i cal survey. I t is seen t hat t he values are nowhere great er t han 0. 182 and t herefore
sat i sfy t he condi t i on (64). For t he ' normal ' case (see section 3.2) in whi ch K~ is zero, and provi ded
also t ha t K, , is small compared wi t h Ks , condi t i on (0 2) is therefore unl i kel y to prove an
embarrassment . Tile same conclusion ma y be deduced by considering (64) in i t s non-di mensi onal
f o r m ,
N2L = N~i'p:~q ~ O. 25 . . . . . . . . . (65)
I~ ~
and by t aki ng not too favourabl e values for t he non-di mensi onal paramet ers, vi z. , N = 4,
i d i c = 2, ib = 0. 2, q = 0. 7, t he l ef t - hand side of (65) becomes N2L/I~ ---- 0. 179.
Considering, however, cases in whi ch K,, and Kc in condi t i on (0 2) are not zero, i t is evi dent
t hat condi t i on (0 2) ma y become rest ri ct i ve if ei t her Ks is comparabl e wi t h K, , or K~ is comparabl e
wi t h Ko. Di ffi cul t y may t herefore be experi enced wi t h condi t i on (0 2) if ei t her
(a) K, is low, resul t i ng pr i mar i l y in a low t ab frequency f~, or
(b) for t he case in whi ch t he mot i on is not consi st ent wi t h nor mal operat i on (see section 3.2)
Kc is such as to make t he control-surface frequency fa comparabl e wi t h t he t ab frequency f~.
9. Desi gn I mpl i cat i ons Rd a t i n g to S p r i n g - Ta b s . - - Fr o m tile cri t eri a produced in t hi s report
i t is possible to deduce di rect l y t hose fact ors whi ch will be beneficial from a f l ut t er poi nt of view.
I n all cases, however, t he t ab is designed to perform a funct i on concerned pr i mar i l y wi t h t he
cont rol of tile aeroplane, and consi derat i ons of f l ut t er pr event i on represent in fact onl y a subsid-
i ar y t hough all i mpor t ant feat ure of t he design. I n t he case of spri ng-t abs t hese two sets of
consi derat i ons are ver y closely bound up and i t is desirable t hat t hey shoul d as far as possible
be t aken t oget her. An at t empt is t herefore made to deduce t he factors havi ng a benefi ci al
effect on t he f l ut t er charact eri st i cs, subj ect to t he over-ri di ng condi t i on t hat t he t ab syst em is
desi gned to perform a gi ven cont rol funct i on.
9.1. Theoretical De duc t i ons . - - The cont rol funct i on specified for t hi s purpose is si mpl y t ha t
t he t ab syst em is so designed t ha t t he pi l ot performs a gi ven amount of work in movi ng t he
cont rol surface t hr ough a gi ven angle/3 at a gi ven speed. I t is conveni ent i n t hi s connect i on
t o post ul at e a fact or E represent i ng t he t ab effectiveness, defined by t he s t at ement t ha t (1 - - E)
is t he rat i o of t he act ual work done to t he work t hat would be requi red if t he t ab were i noperat i ve
(i.~., wi t h K,,, = K, = oo).
The t ab effectiveness E is a funct i on of t he geomet ri c and aerodynami c charact eri st i cs of t he
t ab and cont rol surface and of t he elastic stiffnesses and geomet r y of t he syst em. I n Appendi x
I I I t hi s rel at i onshi p is deri ved in t he following form, conveni ent for t he present purpose:
1 - b q E
14
Here ~o, L,,, Xs are t he non-di mensi onal forms of t he spring stiffnesses K o , K .... K s ( s e e section 14).
Coefficients b~, b~, c~, define t he aerodynami c hinge moment s about t he control-surface and t ab
hinges ( s e e Appendi x I I I ) as follows:
M c = (b.,$ + qb. ,)sc/Q
M , = c3~sqc, "Q . . .
(67)
( 6 s )
I t shoul d be ment i oned t hat equat i on (66), as deri ved i n Appendi x I I I , is an appr oxi mat i on
whi ch is not val i d for smal l values of L,,. I t cannot t herefore be applied to t he ext reme case of
a servo-t ab (L, = 0).
The quest i on t o be considered is how t he spri ng-t ab criteria of t hi s report may best be satisfied,
subj ect to t he over-ri di ng condi t i ons t hat equat i on (66) must also be satisfied wi t h a gi ven
val ue of E. Choosing for si mpl i ci t y t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I of section 11.2, t he t hree
condi t i ons i nvol ved are (0 1), (P) and (Q 1). I n non-di mensi onal form, t he condi t i on (P)
amount s si mpl y to a requi rement t ha t Pt >~ k6. The ot her two condi t i ons however require
more det ai l ed consideration.
Condi t i on (Q 1) is easily reducible to t he non-di mensi onal form
( 6 9 )
I t will be assumed t ha t it changes l i t t l e as ot her changes are made. Also, since t he pr opor t i onal
effect of a change in (1 + N)i~ on t he val ue of C is always numeri cal l y less t han t he effect on
t he l eft -hand side of (69), and t he same is also t rue for changes in q ( s e e for i nst ance Tabl e 1),
t hen from a purel y qual i t at i ve poi nt of view C2 in (69) may be regarded as const ant .
Fr om t he defi ni t i on of ~ gi ven elsewhere ( se: e also section 14 of t hi s report) i t is evi dent t hat
- " - c ~b Aq . . . . . . . . . . . . (70)
b2
where C3 is a fact or of pr opor t i onal i t y and t he sign (-"-) of appr oxi mat e equal i t y is t aken because
b3 and b~ represent t he act ual values of t he aer odynami c par amet er s whereas ~ has ori gi nal l y
been defined by t heoret i cal values.
Combi ni ng (69) and (70) gives, for t he condi t i on (Q 1) of t he spri ng-t ab Criteria I I I ,
N + N (1 -
N q[( 1+2 " 2
( 7 1 )
where agai n C~ may for t he present purpose be regarded as const ant .
The factors benefi ci al from a f l ut t er poi nt of view, as far as condi t i ons (P) and (Q 1) of t he
f l ut t er criterion are concerned, may now be deduced, subj ect to t he over-riding condi t i on t ha t
equat i on (66) is at all t i mes satisfied. Compari ng (71) and (66), it is evi dent t hat anyt hi ng whi ch
reduces either t he t er m in (71) wi t hi n t he square bracket s or t he r i ght - hand side of (66) will be
beneficial while (66) remai ns operative. (It shoul d be remembered i nci dent al l y t ha t b 2 , b3, c3
will nor mal l y be negative. ) Smal l i t , 2b~ ( 4 k6 by condi t i on Q), and L,,/Z, are t hus seen t o be
favourabl e ; also a smal l p if p~ is smal l enough. The effect of N is r at her mi xed and will depend
upon t he values of t he ot her paramet ers. I t is i nt erest i ng to not e from (66) t ha t t he adopt i on
of as smal l a val ue of E as possible will help t he f l ut t er problem.
15
Fr om (66) i t mi ght also be deduced t hat smal l values of --b2 and --ca would be beneficial,
assumi ng --bp/Xo nor mal l y small. Any appreci abl e reduct i on of these values can however onl y
be effected by aer odynami c bal ance in t he form of a set back hinge, and since t he f l ut t er criterion
is not appl i cabl e to such cases (see section 1) t hi s deduct i on cannot t herefore be made.
There remai ns t he frequency condi t i on (O 1) of t he f l ut t er criterion. Usi ng t he al t er nat i ve
form (0 2) of section 11.2, t hi s is qui ckl y reducible to
N"paqi~ __ ba L,,b~ .ai, q
~c
N12
(72)
The val ue of ,%,/Zo in (72) will nor mal l y be small. As far as (72) is concerned therefore, and agai n
rememberi ng (66), i t is seen t hat small val ues of N, p , i , , ~,,,/~, and Z~ will be favourable.
For t he f l ut t er cri t eri on as a whole, in combi nat i on wi t h t he specified cont rol funct i on as
represent ed by equat i on (66), i t can t herefore be said t hat smal l values of i , , p, ( ~ k6), ~,,,/~,, and
,to--and of p if p~ is smal l enough- - wi l l be favourable. A smal l N, t hough clearly favourabl e
to condi t i on (0 1), may not necessari l y be so in t he case of condi t i on (Q 1). Fi nal l y, t he t ab
effectiveness E should be no great er t han t he mi ni mum desirable from t he control poi nt of view.
9.2 Pract i cal I nt erpret at i on of the De duc t i ons . - - The effect of t he follow-up rat i o N will i n
pract i ce depend ver y much upon t he par t i cul ar conditions. As shown in t he precedi ng section
9.1, a small N is cl earl y hel pful onl y in t he case of t he frequency condi t i on (0 1). Thi s condi t i on
will not however nor mal l y present any di ffi cul t y (see section 8), except in t he case of a low
subsi di ar y spri ng stiffness Ks or a hi gh stiffness Kc. I n such cases a reduct i on i n N mi ght be
resort ed to, provi ded t here is no di ffi cul t y wi t h t he i ner t i a condi t i on (0 1). Fr om t he cont rol
poi nt of view, too low a val ue of N mi ght resul t in an undesi rabl e ' sponginess' of feeP.
The val ue of p~ will nor mal l y be small enough to make a smal l val ue of p (ratio of t ab chord
to control-surface chord) beneficial. Fr om t he cont rol poi nt of vi ew a smal l val ue of p is also
desirable, t hough i t shoul d not be less t han about 0- 10. Values of p below t hi s l i mi t mi ght in
any case i nvol ve undul y low t orsi onal stiffness of t he t ab.
Fr om a f l ut t er poi nt of vi ew i t would of course be unwise to reduce fl~ down to t he lower
l i mi t (k0 in t he case of t he spri ng-t ab Cri t eri a I I and I I I ) . The great est mar gi n of saf et y is
obt ai ned wi t h a val ue of Pc r oughl y hal f - way bet ween t he upper and lower limits, and as far
as possible t hi s condi t i on shoul d be achieved.
To provi de as smal l a val ue of i, as possible is l argel y a mat t er of basic design. The mai n
st r uct ur al member shoul d be l ocat ed near t he hi nge and t he r emai ni ng st r uct ur e made as l i ght
as possible consi st ent wi t h ot her requi rement s. Here again, care must be t aken t hat t he
t orsi onal stiffness of t he t ab is not seriously reduced.
The recommendat i on t hat Z, , j&, t he rat i o of t he mai n spri ng stiffness to t he subsi di ary spri ng
stiffness, shoul d be small may seriously conflict wi t h cont rol requi rement s 6. A sat i sf act or y
var i at i on of st i ck force charact eri st i c wi t h speed can somet i mes onl y be obt ai ned wi t h a fai rl y
flexible subsi di ar y spri ng and not too flexible a mai n spring. I n such cases a det ai l ed exami na-
t i on of t he possibilities in rel at i on to t he ot her par amet er s al ready discussed will be necessary,
but a compromise bet ween control and f l ut t er requi rement s may event ual l y have to be made in
t he case of &jell.
16
As expl ai ned in section 3.2, t he spring Ko can be present onl y in cases where t he control-surface
mot i on is not consi st ent wi t h nor mal operat i on, and t he requi rement s t hat Zc (or Kc) shoul d be
smal l applies t herefore onl y to such cases. For t he elevator, where t he probl em is l i kel y t o
be most acute, t he appropri at e mot i on is ant i symmet r i c and t he stiffness K~ is t ha t provi ded
by t he st r uct ur al i nt erconnect i on bet ween t he two halves of t he elevator. If i t becomes necessary
t o reduce Kc t hi s can onl y be done by reduci ng t he stiffness of t he i nt erconnect i on. There is in
fact no reason why t he i nt erconnect i on shoul d not be deleted, t hus reduci ng K, to zero, provi ded
t ha t each hal f-el evat or is adequat el y mass-bal anced agai nst fuselage forsion t o pr event or di nar y
el evat or ant i - symmet r i c fl ut t er. I n t hi s case i t would of course be essential t o have a spri ng-t ab
on each hal f-el evat or. Fr om a cont rol poi nt of view a symmet ri c syst em is preferable to an
unsymmet r i c system, whet her t here is an i nt erconnect i on or not .
An al t er nat i ve sol ut i on t o t hi s probl em woul d be t o forsake t he cri t eri a and make K~ ver y
large by increasing t he stiffness of t he i nt erconnect i on. Al t hough t he frequency condi t i on
f , >~ 2fa woul d t hen be far from satisfied and fl ut t er would t herefore possibly occur at some
fi ni t e speed, t hi s speed would be ver y hi gh in vi rt ue of t he hi gh stiffness K~. Unf or t unat el y
t here is no quant i t at i ve evidence as t o t he mi ni mum val ue of Kc for t hi s condi t i on, t hough in a
specific case i t could be det ermi ned by det ai l ed fl ut t er calculations.
I t may be wondered how t he t i p-t o-t i p el evat or t orsi onal stiffness cri t eri on of Mi ni st ry of
Suppl y publ i cat i on A. P. 970 (Chap. 504) st ands in rel at i on t o t he above considerations. I n
poi nt of fact t he A.P.970 r equi r ement is based on st at i c cont rol consi derat i ons and is appropri at e
t o t he case of a pl ai n el evat or operat ed di rect l y at its centre. I t therefore provi des no cri t eri on
for t he stiffness of t he i nt erconnect i on in t he sense discussed above. Fur t her mor e, t he A.P.970
r equi r ement does not in pri nci pl e pr ohi bi t del et i on of t he i nt erconnect i on t hough in such a case
t he requi rement could not of course be applied in exact l y its present form.
10. Appliciztion to Actual Systems.--The cri t eri a developed in sections 6 and 7 are st r i ct l y
appropri at e t o t he idealised syst em of section 3 and Fig. 1. They are also subj ect t o t he assump-
t i ons out l i ned i n section 1. I t now remai ns t o consider i n what manner and to what ext ent
t hese cri t eri a may be appl i ed t o act ual syst ems in practice. I t will, of course, be possible t o
adj ust t he cri t eri a to t he results of experience by al t erat i ons in t he values of t he const ant s kl
to k9 occurring i n t he criteria, but any adj ust ment of t hi s sort must pr i mar i l y be in t he nat ur e
of a refi nement .
10.1. There is fi rst l y t he br oad quest i on of how an act ual syst em is to be replaced by an
equi val ent idealised syst em appr opr i at e to t he criteria. A st ri ct i nvest i gat i on has not been
made i nt o t hi s question, and t he following recommendat i ons shoul d t herefore be regarded as
provisional.
The spans of t he idealised lifting surface and cont rol surface will nor mal l y be t aken equal t o
t he span of tile act ual cont rol surface. Some reduct i on of t hi s span will be made onl y at t ha t
end where t he cont rol surface ends t oget her wi t h t he l i ft i ng surface. The t ab will be gi ven t he
same span as i t has in real i t y, possibly wittl a similar reduct i on as ment i oned above. The chord
co will be t aken as t he mean chord of t hat par t of t he l i ft i ng surface covered by t he cont rol surface.
The chords cc and c~ will be t aken as t he root -mean-squares of tile act ual cont rol surface and t ab
chords.
The non-di mensi onal quant i t i es q, El , E2, ~b, #, i~, it, Pc, P~, N can t hen be calculated.
Knowi ng t he stiffnesses Ko and K,, of t he circuit and mai n spring (Ko bei ng preferabl y obt ai ned
by test), N can t hen be cal cul at ed from N. I n poi nt of fact N will nor mal l y be ver y sl i ght l y
less t han N, and t he use of N in t he cri t eri a in place of 29 will t herefore represent onl y a slight
(and conservative) error.
17
I n t he devel opment of t he criteria tile mode assumed for t he l i ft i ng surface is one of pure
nor mal t ransl at i on. The appr opr i at e mode for t he lifting surface of t he act ual syst em will be
t ha t f undament al mode of t he st r uct ur e whi ch i nvol ves appreciable nor mal t r ansl at i on of t he
l i ft i ng surface (e.g., wing f undament al bendi ng in t he case of t he aileron). This mode will in
general cont ai n some pi t chi ng or will be such t ha t t he nor mal t r ansl at i on z is not const ant over
t he span covered by t he cont rol surface, amount i ng effect i vel y t o a rol l i ng const i t uent i n t he
mode. Smal l amount s of pi t chi ng or rolling will not seriously affect t he val i di t y of t he criteria:
t he safet y margi ns occurring i n t he cri t eri a provi de some l at i t ude, whi ch can if necessary be
enl arged by appropri at e adj ust ment s t o t he const ant s kl t o k9 as ment i oned above. Moderate
amount s of rolling may be allowed for by using a modified val ue for ~b, i n condi t i ons (A), (J),
(N 1), (P), (R) of section 11. I n t he expression for p~, mtx~ shoul d t hen be replaced by
x~m~xy
T y. ,
where X denotes summat i on over t he t ab
T
Om~ is a mass el ement of t he t ab
x is di st ance of tile el ement aft of t he t ab hi nge
y is t he di st ance of t he el ement from t he effective rolling axis
y,, is t he mean y- val ue of all elements of t he par t of t he lifting surface (including
cont rol surface and tab) under consideration.
(For t he manner of cal cul at i ng mass couplings of part s of act ual aeroplanes, reference should be
made t o Duncan, Ellis and Gadd 7.)
The above modified p, val ue is applied onl y t o t he condi t i ons (A), (J), (N 1), (P), (R) because
onl y these condi t i ons represent a rest ri ct i on of t he mass coupling bet ween lifting-surface and
t ab motions.
Tile cri t eri a should not be applied t o cases where t he mode of tile lifting surface cont ai ns a
considerable amount of pi t chi ng. I t may be t ha t modi fi cat i ons t o t he const ant s kl t o k, mi ght be
found to cover such cases, but f ur t her i nvest i gat i on of t hi s aspect is required.
I t should be ment i oned t ha t in t he case where tile act ual lifting surface has a span great er
t han t hat of t he cont rol surface (e.g., wing and aileron) t he par t of t he lifting surface wi t hout
cont rol surface will t end t o damp t he fl ut t er mot i on in t hose modes in whi ch t he wing mot i on
pl ays an essential part . {It is assumed here t ha t t he syst em is fl ut t er free wi t hout t he tab. ) I n
such a case t he const ant k5 in condi t i ons (A) and (J) may be allowed t o have hi gher values and
t he const ant s k6 and k9 in (N 1), (P) and (R) lower values.
10.2. The next quest i on t o be considered is t hat of t he more specific aspects concerned wi t h
desi gn clearance of t he aircraft. I n t he first place t here are t hree criteria t o choose from in t h e
case of spring, servo, and t ri mmi ng-t abs. Fr om tile poi nt of view of conveni ence ill t he design
stage, Criterion I I I is in each case t he obvious choice. Apar t from bei ng simpler in form i t
involves onl y t he frequencies fv and fa of t he t ab and cont rol surface, whi ch can be cal cul at ed
(using for i nst ance t he formul ae of t hi s report) provi ded t he rel evant stiffnesses are known or
can be est i mat ed. Criterion I l l does, of course, appl y a great er rest ri ct i on on t he forward l i mi t
of t he t ab c.g. t han does Criterion I, but t hi s will not nor mal l y prove an embarrassment . For
pract i cal use, Criterion I I I is t herefore t o be general l y recommended.
18
Wi t h t he r el evant design dat a assembled, modi fi ed as necessary according t o t he general
recommendat i ons of section 10.1 above, t he design can t hen be checked in t he l i ght of t he
appr opr i at e cri t eri on and sui t abl e modi fi cat i ons made if required.
I t is i mpor t ant , however, t ha t each t ab syst em shoul d be checked for bot h tile ' normal ' case
(in whi ch t he mot i on is consi st ent wi t h nor mal operation) and t he ' non-normal ' case (in whi ch
t he mot i on is not consi st ent wi t h nor mal operat i on). Thi s poi nt cannot be t oo st r ongl y
emphasised. I n t he case of t he el evat or, for i nst ance, tile ' noi mal ' case involves symmet r i c
mot i on and t he ' non- nor mal ' ant i - symmet r i c mot i on. The frequency f , is in t he ' nor mal ' case
t ha t of t he fuselage f undament al vert i cal bendi ng mode, and i n t he ' non-normal ' case t ha t of
t he fuselage f undament al torsion mode: t he frequency fa is i n t he ' nor mal ' case t ha t of t he
el evat or oscillating as a whole agai nst its circuit, and in t he ' non-normal ' case t hat of t he el evat or
oscillating ant i -symmet ri cal l y, one hal f agai nst t he other. The t ab frequency f~ will also not
necessarily be qui t e t he same in t he ' nor mal ' and ' non- nor mal ' cases. I t is t herefore evi dent
t ha t t he nat ur al frequencies will i n general be di fferent in t he two cases ; and, as al ready poi nt ed
out in section 9.2, di ffi cul t y may be experienced in meet i ng t he frequency condi t i on f v / f a >~ 2 k l
i n t he ' non-normal ' case, par t i cul ar l y for an el evat or whose two halves are di rect l y connected.
For aileron syst ems t he ' non-normal ' (symmetric) case rarel y presents any difficulty, unless
t here is a separat e bal ance circuit of except i onal l y hi gh stiffness. For a single i nt egral r udder
t here is of course no ' non-normal ' case.
A f ur t her i mpor t ant poi nt arises i n connect i on wi t h el evat or syst ems i n whi ch t here is a t ab
on one side of t he el evat or only. Any f l ut t er mot i on occurring on such a syst em is l i kel y t o be
unsymmet ri c, t ha t is a mi xt ur e of symmet r i c and ant i -symmet ri c, and a t ype of fl ut t er is t herefore
possible in whi ch t ha t side of t he el evat or carryi ng t he t ab oscillates while t he ot her side remai ns
more or less st at i onary. To cover t hi s possibility, t he i nert i a condi t i ons of t he criterion must
be covered for t he case in whi ch onl y t he hal f el evat or is effective. Thi s means t hat t he el evat or
i nt er t i a Ic and span s are hal ved and t he pr opor t i onal t ab span q is doubled, compared wi t h t he
case i n whi ch t he full el evat or is effective. Non-di mensi onal quant i t i es i c , i t , p , are however
unaffect ed. For a spri ng-t ab syst em, for i nst ance, t he effect woul d t herefore be to hal ve t he
val ue of/ ~ and double t he val ue of q in condi t i on (Q 1) of t he spri ng-t ab criterion I I I , or si mpl y
t o double t he val ue of q in condi t i ons (J) and (K) of t he spri ng-t ab criterion I. I n ei t her case
t he cri t eri a become more difficult to meet compared wi t h t he case in whi ch t he full el evat or is
effective.
I t shoul d be not ed i nci dent al l y t hat , ei t her di r ect l y or i ndi r ect l y t hr ough t he values of t he
non-di mensi onal paramet ers i , , i~, p , , t he cri t eri a are a funct i on of air density. I n any part i cul ar
case t he cri t eri a shoul d t herefore be satisfied over t he complete hei ght range concerned, t hough
i t will general l y be found i n pract i ce t ha t t he maxi mum hei ght i nvol ves t he great est rest ri ct i on
on t he st r uct ur al par amet er s.
A fi nal check on t he design values of t he par amet er s used in t he cri t eri a will be obt ai ned
from t est measurement s. Resonance t est s on t he compl et e aeropl ane give t he nat ur al frequencies
f~, fa and f, of t he t ab, cont rol surface, and l i ft i ng surface appropri at e to bot h t he ' normal ' and
t he ' non- nor mal ' cases for each par t i cul ar system. Nat ur al frequencie sfv and fa of t he t ab and
cont rol surface are best obt ai ned by di rect exci t at i on of t he surface concerned, under t he
condi t i ons i mpl i ed by t he definitions of t hese frequencies in section 14. This means t ha t f or
t he t ab frequency fv t he t ab is excited wi t h t he cont rol surface locked to t he lifting surface, and
for t he control-surface frequency fa t he cont rol surface is exci t ed wi t h t he t ab locked t o t he
cont rol surface: in each case t he appropri at e cockpi t cont rol is hel d fixed. The frequency f,
of t he lifting surface will be obt ai ned from t he tests in whi ch exci t at i on is applied t o t he mai n
s t r uct ur e: at t he same t i me t he mode associated wi t h f~ is det ermi ned and an assessment can
be made of t he possible effect of t he modal charact eri st i cs on t he appl i cabi l i t y of t he criteria.
Thi s l ast poi nt is i mpor t ant : even if t he cri t eri on used does not di rect l y i nvol ve f~ (as is t he case
for i nst ance wi t h t he spri ng-t ab cri t eri on t I I ) t he appl i cabi l i t y of t he criterion is still dependent
19
on t he modal charact eri st i cs of t he l i ft i ng surface in t he manner al ready discussed. Fi nal l y,
an exper i ment al check shoul d be made of t he i nert i as and out -of-bal ance moment s of cont rol
surface and t ab, using for i nst ance t he s t andar d wei ghi ng and swi ngi ng techniques.
A final design poi nt wor t h ment i oni ng is t hat if condi t i ons (P) and (Q 1) say of t he spri ng-t ab
criterion I I I (the same applies also to servo and t ri mmi ng-t abs) resul t in t here bei ng no range
of t ab c.g. posi t i ons t hat will sat i sfy t he cr i t er i on- - whi ch would be t he cas e if t he l i mi t s
appropri at e to t he two condi t i ons were coi nci dent or over l apped- - t hen a design mi ght still be
possible on t he basis of t he cri t eri on I whi ch allows a more forward l i mi t to t he t ab c.g. position.
The pri nci pl e of wei ght economy wi l l of course favour a backwar d t ab c.g., and criterion I I I ,
whi ch prohi bi t s st at i c or over-bal ance of t he t ab, will nor mal l y prove no embarrassment . I n
unf or t unat e cases i t may however prove expedi ent to t ur n to cri t eri on I, whi ch may allow t ab
c.g. posi t i ons on or forward of t he hi nge; but in such cases i t shoul d be remembered t ha t
cri t eri on I requires t he frequency condi t i ons (G) and (H) (in t he case of t he spr i ng tab) to be
satisfied.
10.3. The fi nal quest i on to be discussed is t ha t of t he condi t i ons for whi ch t he cri t eri a of t hi s
r epor t are pat ent l y inapplicable. Briefly, t hese rel at e to t he st i ck condition, aer odynami c
bal ance of control surface and t ab, st at e of mass-bal ance of t he control surface, and t he modal
charact eri st i cs of t he l i ft i ng surface.
Consi derat i on of t he st i ck condi t i on arises in t he case of spri ng-t ab and servo-t ab syst ems.
The cri t eri a whi ch have been evolved for such syst ems in sections 6 and 7 of t hi s report appl y
to t he st i ck (or pedal) -fixed condition. For t he ' non-normal ' case t he st i ck may be regarded
as effect i vel y fixed, but for t he ' normal ' Case i t is evi dent t ha t i n pract i ce t he stick-free condi t i on
must also be considered. Two broad t ypes of stick-free f l ut t er are possible in whi ch t he st i ck
is ei t her in or out of phase wi t h t he control-surface l ever (link (2) of Fig. 1). The quest i on is
discussed in great er det ai l in Appendi x IV, but what evidence t here is suggests t ha t t he i n-phase
t ype of f l ut t er will not nor mal l y occur. Possible except i ons to t hi s are cases where t he follow-up
rat i o is ver y low or where t here is a bob-wei ght at t ached to t he st i ck ( s e e Appendi x IV): such
cases requi re special i nvest i gat i on. For t he out-of-phase t ype of fl ut t er, in whi ch t here is a
node C somewhere in t he cont rol circuit bet ween st i ck and cont rol surface, t he syst em becomes
effect i vel y t ha t of Fig. 1 but wi t h a hi gher cont rol circuit stiffness (say ~7o) t han in t he st i ck-fi xed
case. For a gi ven posi t i on of t he node, t he cri t eri a of t hi s report could be appl i ed using t he
appr opr i at e val ue for ~7o and t he correspondi ng effective val ues f~ and f of t he t ab and cont rol
surface nat ur al frequencies.
I n Appendi x IV i t is shown t ha t if ei t her cr i t er i on I I or criterion I I I for spri ng or servo-t abs
can be satisfied using, i n place of f , and f~, t he effective val ues f , and f~ for t he case ~7o = oo,
t hen out-of-phase t ypes of f l ut t er will be pr event ed i rrespect i ve of t he f l ut t er frequency. The
case Ko = oo corresponds to t he node bei ng at t he control-surface lever, and exper i ment al values
for t he frequencies f , and f can t herefore be obt ai ned from resonance t est s i n whi ch t he control-
surface l ever is locked to t he l i ft i ng surface. For a gi ven syst em t he cri t eri a will be more difficult
to sat i sfy usi ng f , andf~ as above t han when using f , andf~ appropri at e to t he st i ck fixed conditions:
if, however, t he act ual circuit stiffness Ko is large compared wi t h K,,~, t he difference will not be
ver y great.
The effects of aerodynami c bal ance of t he cont rol surface or t ab are not covered by t he cri t eri a
of t hi s report. A qual i t at i ve est i mat e of t hese effects can however be made based on t he general
st at ement by Voi gt and Wal t er s,9 t hat t he ' effective' nat ur al frequency of a control surface in
an ai r st r eam will be reduced by aer odynami c balance. Considering t he frequency condi t i ons
(F), (G) and (H) of section 11.2, aer odynami c bal ance of t he control surface will in t hi s respect
have a good effect and aer odynami c bal ance of t he t ab will have a bad effect. Fr om t he cont rol
poi nt of view, aer odynami c bal ance of t he cont rol surface will requi re a smaller t ab effectiveness
E ( s e e section 9) and t hi s in t ur n will have favourabl e repercussions on t he f l ut t er characteristics.
20
The cri t eri a of t hi s report are st r i ct l y val i d onl y for t he case Pc = 0, represent i ng st at i c
bal ance of t he cont rol surface (including tab) about t he control-surface hinge. Sl i ght depart ures
from t hi s condi t i on will not mat er i al l y affect t he val i di t y of t he criteria, but t he cri t eri a as t hey
st and cannot be appl i ed to cases i n whi ch t he cont rol surface is appr eci abl y under- or over-mass-
bal anced. Fr om t he work of Buxt on 1, i t is known t ha t decreasing/6c resul t s mai nl y i n a move-
ment of t he l ef t - hand asympt ot e of t he vc ~ ib, curve (see section 5) t o t he left, t hus reduci ng
t he lower l i mi t of permissible p, values. I t is possible t herefore t ha t var i at i ons i n t he st at e of
mass-bal ance of t he cont rol surface mi ght be covered in t he exi st i ng cri t eri a by changes in t he
values of ks, ks and k0 i n condi t i ons (A), (J), (N 1), (P) and (R) of sect i on 11: t hese changes woul d
be such as to make t he cri t eri a less rest ri ct i ve wi t h over-mass-bal ance and more rest ri ct i ve
wi t h under-mass-bal ance.
As al r eady ment i oned i n sect i on 10.1, t he cri t eri a shoul d not be appl i ed to cases where t he
mode of t he l i ft i ng surface cont ai ns a considerable amount of pi t chi ng.
I n all cases where t he cri t eri a are pat ent l y i nappl i cabl e, design shoul d preferabl y be based
(at l east finally) on det ai l ed f l ut t er cal cul at i ons appr opr i at e to t he syst em concerned. Wher e
t he effects not covered by t he cri t eri a are uncer t ai n or are known to be unfavourabl e, f l ut t er
cal cul at i ons are essent i al to prove t he saf et y of t he syst em. Cases of t hi s ki nd discussed above
are (a) aer odynami c bal ance on t he t ab, (b) under-mass-bal ance of t he cont rol surface, .(c)
consi derabl e pi t chi ng in t he l i ft i ng-surface mode, and (d) i nvest i gat i on of t he i n-phase t ype of
stick-free f l ut t er where t he follow-up rat i o is ver y low or where a bob-wei ght is at t ached to t he
st i ck (see Appendi x IV).
11. General S u mma r y . - - A n i nvest i gat i on has been made i nt o t he f l ut t er charact eri st i cs of
an idealised t ab syst em in whi ch t he t hree degrees of freedom nor mal t r ansl at i on of t he l i ft i ng
surface, r ot at i on of t he cont rol surface, and r ot at i on of t he t ab are represent ed. Specific cases
of t hi s idealised syst em whi ch differ basi cal l y onl y in t hei r elastic charact eri st i cs, represent
si mi l ar idealised forms of t he st andar d t r i mmi ng, spring, servo, and geared-t ab syst ems. Fr om
a consi derat i on of t he rel at i onshi ps exi st i ng bet ween t he syst ems, cri t eri a for f l ut t er pr event i on
have been developed from t he cri t eri a evol ved earlier for t r i mmi ng- t abs 1. As i ni t i al l y derived,
t he cri t eri a are appl i cabl e onl y to t he st i ck-fi xed condi t i on (in t he case of spri ng and servo-tabs),
to t he case wi t h no aer odynami c bal ance on ei t her cont rol surface or t ab, and to t he case where
t he cont rol surface is st at i cal l y bal anced about i t s hinge.
Comparison is made bet ween t he cri t eri a for spri ng-t abs and t he exi st i ng Collar-Sharpe
criteria2,L Design i mpl i cat i ons are deduced from t he cri t eri a for spri ng-t abs, and t he general
appl i cat i on of t he cri t eri a to act ual syst ems is considered in some detail.
11.1. General Recommendat i on f o r all Tab S y s t e ms . - - T h e vert i cal asympt ot es of t he vc ~ib~
curve near est to t he ver t i cal axis bound a region whi ch under cert ai n condi t i ons can become
a fl ut t er-free region. Since t hese asympt ot es are i ndependent of t he elastic charact eri st i cs
of t he syst em, t hey provi de a necessary (t hough not sufficient) condi t i on for t he pr event i on
of f l ut t er of al l y t ype of t ab syst em. The condi t i on is (wi t h provi si onal l y ~1 = ~2 = 0 . 5 ;
k ~ = k 5 = 1 ) :
( A )
where
l / a 2 - -
P ' ~ 4 L 3 r ( l~ p - p l ) ] [ 6 ( 1 / - - 4 / 5 ) i , + a a - a.~(a,,. _ ~ ) + R 4 "V / i , . . a ~ c ] ) ] _ a ,
al = O. 222 + O. O13it + ic(-- O. 0145 + O. 00149it)
21
. . ( B )
. . ( c 1 )
wi t h
a2 ---- 1 . 1 2 - - 0. 02671, + i / 0 . 0 3 6 S - - 0. 001i~) . . . . . . . . (C 2)
a8 = - - 0 . 164 - - 0 . 0 9 6 5 i , + i~(0. 0778 + 0. 00489i~) . . . . . . (C 3)
i, - - 0- 238i ~ . . (C 4)
a~ = 0 - 4 4 8 + 0. 277i t . . . . . . . . . .
= ;' q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (D 1)
j = - X/ p[ 0. 93 + 1 . 2 8 ( 1 . 9 7 - - E1 ) ( 0 . 7 4 5 - - f l ) ] . . . . . . . . . (D 2)
T h e r a n g e of v a l i d i t y of t h i s r e c o mme n d a t i o n i s ~ -"- 6 ; i~ = 1 t o 7 . 7 8 : ib~ = 0 ; it = 1. 31 t o
1 3 . 1 ; E ~ = 0 . 2 t o 0 . 4 ; i b = 0 . 1 3 o 0 . 2 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (E)
I t s h o u l d h o we v e r be pos s i bl e t o us e t h i s r e c o mme n d a t i o n f or v a l u e s o f / ~ u p t o ~ = 50.
T h e a b o v e r e c o mme n d a t i o n wi l l i n g e n e r a l be i n s u f f i c i e n t t o e n s u r e f r e e d o m f r o m f l u t t e r
w i t h o u t a d d i t i o n a l r e s t r i c t i o n s . S u c h a d d i t i o n a l r e s t r i c t i o n s h a v e a l r e a d y b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d f or
t r i mmi n g - t a b s ys t ems % a n d s i mi l a r c r i t e r i a h a v e n o w b e e n d e d u c e d f or s p r i n g , s e r vo a n d g e a r e d -
t a b s y s t e ms .
i 1.2. Cri t eri a f o r S p r i n g - T a b s wi t h N >~ 0 . - - T h r e e c r i t e r i a h a v e b e e n d e d u c e d , c o r r e s p o n d i n g
r e s p e c t i v e l y t o t h e t h r e e c r i t e r i a a l r e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d f or t r i mmi n g - t a b s L I n t h e o r d e r I , I I ,
I I I t h e c r i t e r i a b e c o me s i mp l e r t h o u g h mo r e a p p r o x i ma t e , b u t f or mo s t p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s
Cr i t e r i o n I I I s h o u l d be a d e q u a t e .
F o r t h e case N ~> 0 t h e c r i t e r i a a r e p r o v e d t o p r e v e n t o n l y c e r t a i n t y p e s of f l u t t e r c h a r a c t e r i s e d
b y l o w c r i t i c a l s peeds . Th i s i s n o t t o s a y t h a t t h e y wi l l n o t p r e v e n t o t h e r t y p e s of f l u t t e r as
wel l , b u t o n l y t h a t s u c h h a s n o t so f a r b e e n p r o v e d .
Sybri ng-Tab Cri t eri on I
T h e c o n d i t i o n s t o be s a t i s f i e d ar e, wi t h p r o v i s i o n a l l y k~ (i = 1 t o 5) = 1 a n d ~1 ---- G = 0 . 5 :
f ' ~> 2kl . . . . . . (F)
f ~ " . . . . . . ,
2 k . . . . . . . . ( o )
f , g ~ . .
f a <~ G
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( H)
p~ ~< ~ ~ 3 r l l I I ( 1 __ 41b)7 ~ + G - d,(d2 - - ~ ) + k4.~//(a2d~- 4)1 - - 31 . . ( K)
wh e r e az, a2, as , a~, ~ a r e t o be c a l c u l a t e d b y t h e f o r mu l a e (C 1), (C 2), (C 3), (C 4), (D 1), (D 2) ;
a n d 51, d2, d~, d, a r e t o be c a l c u l a t e d b y r e p l a c i n g i n a l , a2, a3, a , t h e q u a n t i t y is b y %, wh e r e
and
% = (1 + . . . . . . . . . . . . ( L)
Ko
Ko + N12K,, " . . . . . . . . . . (L 2)
22
The range :of val i di t y of t he criterion is t he same as under (E) wi t h t he addi t i onal rest ri ct i on
' 7 ~ - " - 1 . 3 1 t o 1 3 . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . ( M )
Ill pract i ce some rel axat i on may be possible in t he form of a r educt i on in t he values of k~, k2 and
an increase in t he values of k~, k , , ks. Thi s is ant i ci pat ed because t he ori gi nal cal cul at i ons
rel at i ng t o t he t r i mmi ng- t ab syst em ~ used mai nl y r at her low values of/~ and empl oyed full
t heoret i cal aer odynami c deri vat i ves, t he effects of whi ch are i n each case l i kel y t o be conservative.
Wi t h k~, k o, k~ all uni t y, t he condi t i on (F) is of course superfluous.
Spr i ng- Tab Criterion I I
The spri ng-t ab Criterion I I results from t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I by omi t t i ng (G) and repl aci ng
(J) by
p,> ko . . . . . . . . . . . . (N1)
wi t h provi si onal l y
k 0 = 0 . 1 . , . . . . . . . . . . . (N2)
The range of val i di t y of t he cri t eri on is t he same as for t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I.
Spr i ng- Tab Criterion I I I
The condi t i ons t o be satisfied are, wi t h provi si onal l y kl = 1, kG = 0. 1, k7 : 1"
f~ >~ 2ki
A
. . ( o 1)
whi ch may al t er nat i vel y be wr i t t en as
also
and
where
Ic <~ k ~ Ko(K,,, + Ks) + \ N 2
K f K + K~ + Ks ) . . . . . . ( 02)
m#t >~ 0. 4 k6pc,oc~2qs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (P)
( 1 + N)L + (El - - E2)c,omtxt <~ kTCp812
(Q 1)
C - - ~ @ { - 2 0 . 0 4 3 5 + 0 - 7 5 1 + 0 . 6 9 + j q [ 0 . 2 5 0 - 1 4 1 ( 0 . 6 3 4 . + 1 " 2 7 1 ~ ( Q 2 )
j i ~ - (1 + N)it i~ (1 + 57)it ~c 2)
and
j = %/p[0.93 + 1 . 2 8 ( 1 . 9 7 - E1) (0 . 745 - - p)]
No
N K o + N12K,,~ "
. . ( Q 3 )
. . ( Q 4 )
The range of val i di t y of t he cri t eri on is similar t o t ha t of t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I I , except t ha t
i t is st r i ct l y appr opr i at e to values of hi gher t han 6 (such values as are in fact now typical).
23
1 1.3. Criteria f or Tr i mmi ng, Servo, and Gear ed- Tabs . - - A t r i mmi ng- t ab syst em may be regarded
as effectively a spri ng-t ab syst em wi t h 27 = 0. Put t i ng N = 0 in t he spri ng-t ab Criteria I,
I I and I I I of section 11.2 gives t he correspondi ng t r i mmi ng- t ab cri t eri a of t he earlier report 1
(see also section 2).
A servo-t ab syst em is a spri ng-t ab syst em wi t h t he mai n spring Km deleted. Criteria for
servo-t abs are t herefore obt ai ned by put t i ng K,,~ = 0 i n t he spri ng-t ab cri t eri a of section 1 1.2.
A geared-t ab syst em may be regarded as effectively a spri ng-t ab syst em wi t h K,, ----- 0. The
spri ng-t ab cri t eri a of section 11.2 are applicable if N > 0 (ant i -bal ance tab) but not if N < 0
(normal bal ance tab). For N < 0 t he general r ecommendat i on of section 1 1.1 is of course still
applicable, but as al ready st at ed t hi s is not sufficient to pr event fl ut t er. A criterion for t he
pr event i on of fl ut t er of geared bal ance t abs has been deduced, corresponding to t he spri ng-t ab
Criterion I I I .
Geared-tab criterion ( N < O)
The condi t i ons t o be satisfied are, wi t h provi si onal l y k8 = 1, k9 = 0. 5 ;
m~x~ >~ O" 4 k.~pc,~c}qs . . . . . .
I, + (E~ - - E2)c~m~x~
L ~ ksCp'~12 ""
where C and j are as gi ven by formul ae (Q 2) (Q 3), but wi t h 27 = 0.
(R)
( S )
The t ab connect i on to t he l i ft i ng surface shoul d in addi t i on be fairly stiff, and free from
backl ash.
The criterion is ver y appr oxi mat e in t ha t i t cont ai ns no specific frequency condi t i ons and in
t he fact t hat t he val ue of k~ has been onl y roughl y est i mat ed. I t is to be expect ed t herefore
t ha t t he val ue of k, may be modified in t he l i ght of experience.
11.4. Compari son wi t h Collar-Sharpe Criteria f or Sflring-Tabs2, 8. --The Collar-Sharpe criterion,
whi ch is based on bi nar y (~,y) considerations, occurs in two forms, bot h similar to condi t i on
(Q 1) of t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I . The r i ght - hand side of (Q 1) is replaced in t he first form
by K ( = 0. 02) and in t he second form by K' p 3/2 (K' = 0. 1). Comparison bet ween t he spri ng-t ab
ri t eri on I I I and t he Collar-Sharpe cri t eri a shows t he following differences:
(a) N in t he Collar-Sharpe criteria is replaced by 27. Thi s represents a (normal l y slight)
rel axat i on.
(b) Nei t her k~C nor k~Cp ~/2, t he count erpart s of K' and K respectively, are const ant in t he
spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I , but are funct i ons of ic, (1 + 27)it, p, q, and El . Numeri cal anal ysi s
shows k~C to be less vari abl e t han k~C~ 8/2 t hus confi rmi ng t he second (K' ) form of t he Collar-
Sharpe criterion to be an i mpr ovemen{on t he first (K) form.
(c) The same numeri cal anal ysi s shows K' to be more rest ri ct i ve t han kTC (with k7 = 1) except
in an ext reme case i nvol vi ng hi gh values of ic, (1 + 27)i~ and small values of 15, q, El .
(d) Increasi ng t he val ue of I , is not as beneficial in t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I as i t is in t he
Collar-Sharpe criteria.
24
(e) The spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I i nvol ves two addi t i onal r est r i ct i ons- - condi t i ons (0 1) and
( P) - - whi ch have no count er par t in t he Collar-Sharpe criterion. Condi t i on (P) sets a forward
l i mi t t o t he t ab c.g. Condi t i on (O 1), whi ch is concerned wi t h t he nat ur al frequencies of t he
t ab and cont rol surface, may prove difficult to meet wi t h a ver y flexible subsi di ary spring or
where Kc in t he ' non-normal ' case (motion i nconsi st ent wi t h nor mal operation) is fai rl y high.
(f) The spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I cont ai ns air densi t y as a paramet er.
11.5. Design Implications Relating to Spri ~g- Tabs. - - From t he spri ng-t ab Criterion I I I i t is
deduced t hat , wi t h cert ai n assumpt i ons and on t he hypot hesi s t hat from cont rol consi derat i ons
t he syst em is designed t o provi de a given t ab effectiveness (see section 9.1), t he following factors
will be beneficial from t he fl ut t er poi nt of view: smal l values of is, p~ (<l-" k6), K,,,/K,, K~, p (if
p, is smal l enough) - - and possibly of N in cert ai n cases. At t he same t i me t he t ab effectiveness
shoul d be no great er t han t he mi ni mum requi red from cont rol considerations. The pract i cal
i nt er pr et at i on of t hese deduct i ons is as follows:
(a) The effect of reduci ng t he follow-up rat i o N is in general probl emat i cal . I n pract i ce a
reduct i on of N is unl i kel y to be wort hwhi l e, except possibly in cases where par t i cul ar di ffi cul t y
is experienced in meet i ng t he frequency condi t i on (0 1). Fr om t he cont rol poi nt of view, t oo
low a val ue of N may in any case be undesirable.
(b) Small values of ;b will nor mal l y be beneficial, subj ect to a lower l i mi t of about 0. 10 set
by ot her considerations.
(e) The val ue of p~ shoul d preferabl y lie about mi d- way bet ween t he upper and lower l i mi t s
gi ven by t he criterion.
(d) To achieve as low a val ue of i~ as possible is l argel y a mat t er of basic design. Care shoul d
be t aken however t hat t he t ab t orsi onal stiffness is not seriously reduced.
(e) Reduct i on of t he stiffness rat i o K,,/Ks may conflict wi t h t he achi evement of a sat i sfact ory
var i at i on of st i ck force charact eri st i c wi t h speed. I n such cases a compromise bet ween fl ut t er
and cont rol requi rement s may be necessary.
(f) The necessi t y for reduci ng K~ applies onl y to t he ' non-normal ' case and is most l i kel y t o
arise acut el y in t he case of t he el evat or (ant i -symmet ri c motion). Del et i on of t he i nt er connect i on
bet ween t he two halves of t he elevators is t hen t he most effective expedi ent , provi ded t ha t each
hal f-el evat or is adequat el y mass-bal anced agai nst fuselage torsion. This woul d also necessi t at e
a spri ng-t ab bei ng fi t t ed to each hal f-el evat or, a syst em favoured i nci dent al l y from t he cont rol
poi nt of view. The al t er nat i ve of maki ng Kc ver y large, in whi ch case f l ut t er could occur
t hough at a hi gh speed, mi ght be followed: t he mi ni mum val ue of K~ for such a design woul d
t hen have to be est abl i shed by fl ut t er calculations.
11.6. Application to Actual Syst ems. --For design purposes i t is i mpor t ant t o know how and
to what ext ent t he criteria of t hi s report may be applied t o act ual systems.
Provi si on is made in t he criteria, in t he form of possible changes in t he values of t he const ant s
kl to k, , for adj ust ment in t he l i ght of experience ; or possibly for a subsequent ext ensi on of t he
cri t eri a t o condi t i ons for whi ch t hey are not at t he moment st r i ct l y valid.
C e r t a i n g e n e r a l p r i n c i p l e s c a n b e l a i d d o w n g o v e r n i n g t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f a n a c t u a l s y s t e m
i n t o a n e q u i v a l e n t s i m p l e s y s t e m a p p r o p r i a t e t o t h e criteria. T h e s e a r e g i v e n i n d e t a i l i n s e c t i o n
10.1.
25
Poi nt s to be not ed in rel at i on to t he use of t he cri t eri a in design are as follows:
(a) For spring, servo, and t r i mmi ng- t abs Criterion I I I is recommended for general pr act i cal
use. Criterion I ma y allow some rel axat i on on t he forward l i mi t of t he t ab e.g. and ma y
t herefore prove useful on occasions.
(b) Bot h ' normal ' and ' non-normal ' cases (motion respect i vel y consi st ent wi t h and not
consi st ent wi t h normal operation) shoul d be considered for each syst em concerned.
(c) In t he case of an el evat or carryi ng a t ab on one side only, t he i ner t i a condi t i ons of t he
cri t eri on shoul d be met assumi ng onl y t he hal f-el evat or to be effective.
(d) Since t he cri t eri a cont ai n air densi t y as a par amet er , t hey shoul d be checked over t he full
hei ght range. Maxi mum hei ght Will nor mal l y prove t he most rest ri ct i ve.
(e) Design val ues shoul d be checked where possible by full-scale measurement s. I n part i cul ar,
i nert i as and out -of-bal ance moment s shoul d be measured and nat ur al frequencies and t he modal
charact eri st i cs of t he l i ft i ng surface obt ai ned from resonance t est s on t he compl et e aircraft.
Condi t i ons for whi ch t he cri t eri a are pat ent l y i nappl i cabl e are t he stick-free condi t i on (in t he
' normal ' case) and cases where t here is aer odynami c bal ance on cont rol surface or t ab, where
t he cont rol surface is ot her t han st at i cal l y bal anced (Pc =/= 0), or where t he mode of t he l i ft i ng
surface cont ai ns considerable pi t chi ng. The cri t eri a can be adapt ed to cover cert ai n t ypes of
stick-free f l ut t er ( s e e section 10.3). Qual i t at i vel y i t is est i mat ed t hat aer odynami c bal ance
or over-mass-bal ance of t he cont rol surface will be beneficial*, aer odynami c bal ance of t he t ab
or under-mass-bal ance of t he cont rol surface unbeneficial. Fl ut t er cal cul at i ons will be necessary
to prove t he saf et y of t he syst em in t he following cases:
(i) aer odynami c bal ance on t he t ab
(ii) under-mass-bal ance of t he cont rol surface
(iii) considerable pi t chi ng i n t he l i ft i ng surface mode
(iv) i n-phase t ype of stick-free f l ut t er where t he follow-up rat i o is ver y low or where a
bob-wei ght is at t ached to t he stick.
12. C o ml u s i o n s . - - F o r t he avoi dance of f l ut t er of spri ng-t abs under t he condi t i ons considered
cert ai n qual i t at i ve conclusions can be drawn from t he resul t s obt ai ned, vi z. t hat t he following
effects will be favourabl e:
(a) Hi gh stiffness of t he subsi di ar y spring.
(b) Low moment of i ner t i a of t he t ab about i t s hinge.
(c) Tab chord r easonabl y smal l (assuming control-surface
considerations).
chord fixed by aer odynami c
(d) Tab c.g. nor mal l y aft of i t s hi nge (unless control surface is over-mass-balanced).
(e) Tab effectiveness as low as possible compat i bl e wi t h cont rol considerations.
* Thi s s t a t e me n t ma y n o t be t r u e f or s pe c i a l t y p e s of a e r o d y n a mi c b a l a n c e , s uc h as a s e a l e d ba l a nc e .
26
(f) Ei t her giving each par t of a di vi ded cont rol surface its own share of a spri ng-t ab and not
i oi ni ng t hem di rect l y, or connect i ng t hem t oget her ver y stiffly.
(g) Avoi dance of backl ash i n t he t ab connection.
Quant i t at i ve requi rement s for t he avoi dance of fl ut t er are obt ai ned in t he form of al t er nat i ve
Criteria I, n and I I I , given in det ai l in section 11.2. For general design use Criterion I I I is
recommended.
Servo-t abs and t r i mmi ng- t abs can be t r eat ed as special cases of spri ng-t abs wi t h respect to
t hese r ecommendat i ons and cri t eri a (see section 11.3). For geared-t abs a separat e cri t eri on is
gi ven in section 11.3. A general r ecommendat i on (t hough not sufficient condition) for all t ab
syst ems is gi ven i n sect i on 11.1.
13. Fuf t her Developments. --It is considered desirable t hat t he i nvest i gat i on should be ext ended
as follows:
(a) Research, possibly by wi nd- t unnel tests, t o obt ai n more accurat e values for t he fact ors
kl t o k9 in t he criteria.
(b) Effect of under- and over-mass-bal ance of t he cont rol surface and ext ensi on of t he present
range of values of t ab and control-surface i nert i as and of lifting-surface mass.
(c) Effect of aer odynami c bal ance of t he t ab or cont rol surface.
(d) Effect of pi t ch in t he lifting-surface mode.
(e) I nvest i gat i on of stick-free fl ut t er, par t i cul ar l y of t he i n-phase t ype.
( f ) St at i st i cal anal ysi s of act ual cases t o check t he appl i cabi l i t y of t he cri t eri a i n practice.
~ 1 , t~2 , a8 , ~4
al, de, d~, d~
a~j
A~
b2, b8
LI ST OF SYMBOLS
I ndex denot es a val ue appr opr i at e t o t he t r i mmi ng- t ab syst em
Suffix c denotes a val ue appr opr i at e to t he cont rol surface
Suffix f denotes a val ue appr opr i at e to t he critical f l ut t er condi t i on
Suffix t denot es a val ue appr opr i at e t o tile t ab
Suffix w denot es a val ue appr opr i at e to t he l i ft i ng surface (wing, t ai l pl ane, or fin).
Funct i ons defined i n section 11.1 formul ae (C 1), (C 2), (C 3), (C 4)
Funct i ons deri ved from al , a2, as, a~ by repl aci ng it by ~
Vi rt ual i ner t i a coefficients of t he air for t he t ab syst em
Tot al i nert i a coefficients, i ncl udi ng vi r t ual i nert i a, for t he t ab syst em
Control-surface hi nge- moment deri vat i ves for st eady flow (see defi ni t i on
of CH)
27
LI ST OF SYMBOLS- - c ont i nue d
C2 ~ C3
Cc
Ct
Cw
C.
CT
D~
E
E1
E2
Eo
f(P )
A , . f . , , f
f
f l
L
A
/ ,
L,L
F1, F2
g
i,
L
L
J
k~ to k.~
K, K'
Ko, K, , , , K~, Kc
I i , 12, l ~, l ~
z
Tab hi nge-moment deri vat i ves for st eady flow (see defi ni t i on of Cr)
Control-surface chord
Tab chord
Lifting-surface chord
Control-surface hi nge-moment coefficient in st eady flow
= Mc/sc?Q = + qb3r
Tab hi nge-moment coefficient in st eady flow = M~/qs cf ( 2 = c.~ + c~,
Ai r force coefficients, excluding vi r t ual i nert i a, for t he t ab syst em in t he
f l ut t er condi t i on
Cont rol effectiveness of t he t ab, as defined in Appendi x I I I
Rat i o cc/c~
Rat i o c,/c~
El ast i c stiffness coefficients for t he t ab syst em
Funct i on of p~ represent i ng dependence of critical speed on p~
Funct i ons of El , E2 defined by Dietze 5
Rat i o wg/w3 + ~
Fl ut t er frequency i n cycles per second
Nat ur al frequency (c.p.s.) appropri at e to freedom z* ~ for t he t ab
Nat ur al frequency (c.p.s.) appropri at e to freedom ~, ~ system, i ncl ud-
j ing effect of
Nat ur al frequency (c.p.s.) appropri at e to freedom ),* vi r t ual i nert i a
Effect i ve values of fa, f~, for stick-free case wi t h a node in t he circuit
Funct i ons defined in section 2 (5) and (6)
Rat i o wj2/w3 ~
16IJ~pc~sc~ ~ non-di mensi onal i nert i a of t he cont rol surface
16L/~pc~osc~3q non-di mensi onal i nert i a of t he t ab
Moment of i nert i a of cont rol surface about its hinge-line
Moment of i nert i a of t he t ab about its hinge-line
Fact or defined in section 11.1, formul a (D 2), by whi ch t ab span qs is
mul t i pl i ed to give span ~s of equi val ent t ab (with E~ = 0. 3, E2 = 0-075)
havi ng same val ue of qb3/q2
Const ant s occurring in t he t ab criteria (see section 11)
Const ant s occurring in t he Collar-Sharpe cri t eri a for spri ng-t abs
Spring rat es (moment per radian) of t he t ab syst em as defined in section
3 and Fig. 1
Spring r at e (moment per radian) of t he spring bet ween t r i mmi ng- t ab
and cont rol surface (see section 3.2 and Fig. 2)
Spring r at e (force per uni t length) const rai ni ng t he nor mal t r ansl at i on
of t he lifting surface
Effect i ve val ue of Ko for stick-free case wi t h a node in t he circuit
Lever arms of t he t ab syst em (see Fig. 1)
* Na t ur a l f r equency of t he s ys t em when onl y t he degree of f r eedom concer ned is allowed.
28
LI ST OF S Y MB OL S - - c o n t i n u e d
Y]~c
~45 t
(M ,)
N
N1
P
Pc
P,
q
ql , q,,, qa
ql , q2, q3
(2
S
&
&
V
Y l
I / V p o
56
xc
xt
X1
X2
Y
Y,J,
Z
0~33
/%
Mass of t he l i ft i ng surface
Mass of t he cont rol surface (including tab)
Mass of t he t ab
Moment about t he control-surface (tab) hinge, posi t i ve when act i ng i n a
clockwise di rect i on (see Fig. 1)
Fol l ow-up rat i o (---- 11 la/12 l~)
Eccent r i ci t y rat i o (---- 11/12)
NKo modified follow-up rat i o (see section 6)
Ko + NI"~K,,~
Effect i ve val ue of N for stick-free case wi t h a node in t he circuit
Rat i o E2 _ c~
E 1 5c
8m cX c/~ pC avC c2S non-di mensi onal mass-moment of cont rol surface
8mtxt/~pcwcffqs non-di mensi onal mass- moment of t he t ab
Rat i o of t ab span t o control-surface span
j q (see defi ni t i on of j)
Generalised co-ordinates for t he t ab syst em
Ampl i t udes of ql, qe, qa i n t he f l ut t er condi t i on
Dynami c pressure (--- pV")
Span of t he cont rol surface
Area of cont rol surface (including tab)
Area of t ab
Air speed
Fl ut t er speed
Wor k done by t he pi l ot t o produce angul ar movement 5 of t he cont rol
surface
Value of Wp wi t h t ab i noperat i ve
Di st ance of a t ab de me nt aft of t he t ab hi nge
Di st ance of control-surface c.g. aft of its hinge-line
Di st ance of t ab c.g. aft of its hinge-line
Force applied t o l i nk (0) of t he t ab syst em (see Fig. 1) - - equi val ent t o
pi l ot ' s force
Compressive force in l i nk (4) of t he t ab syst em (see Fig. 1)
Di st ance of an el ement of t he l i ft i ng surface from axis of roiling
Mean val ue of y
, Normal t r ansl at i on of t he l i ft i ng surface
Non-di mensi onal val ue of aaa (see section 6.1 formul a (47))
Rot at i on of cont rol surface about its hi nge rel at i ve to t he lifting surface,
positive clockwise
Rot at i on of l i nk (2) (see Fig. 1) rel at i ve to t he cont rol surface, posi t i ve
clockwise
Rot at i on of l i nk (3) (see Fig. 1) rel at i ve to t he cont rol surface, posi t i ve
clockwise
29
k ~
go
k,
#
P
Wl
W2
72) 3
%,
LI ST OF SYMBOLS- - cont i nued
Rot a t i on of t he t a b a bout i t s hi nge r el at i ve t o t he cont r ol sur f ace, posi t i ve
clockwise
Sa f e t y mar gi ns occur r i ng i n t he cr i t er i a
= KJscy2
K/ sc/ (2
o
K/scc2Q
= K2sc/~Q
Ai r de ns i t y
- - 2 ~ f ,
= 2 @
= 2 ~ f ,
= 2 ~ f /
non- di mens i onal val ues of t he
s pr i ng r a t e s K~, Ko, K .... K,
non- di mens i onal mas s of t he l i f t i ng sur f ace
ci r cul ar frequenci es of t he n a t u r a l
frequenci es fz, f a, f~
ci r cul ar f l ut t er f r equency
30
No.
1
2
3
4
Aut hor
H. Wi t t me ye r . .
A. R. Collar and G. D. Shar pe
G. D. Shar pe . . . .
5 F. Di et ze . . . . . . . .
6 F . B. Baker . . . . . .
7 W. J . Duncan, D. L. Ellis and A. G.
Gadd
8 H. Voi gt , F. Wai t er and W. Heger
9 F. Wai t er
10 G. H. L . Buxt on and O. D. Shar pe . . .
11 H. Wi t t me ye r . . . . . . . .
12 I-I. Wi t t nl eyer . . . . . . . .
RE F E RE NCE S
Ti t l e, etc.
. Tr i mmi ng- Tab Fl ut t er and i t s Pr event i on. R. & M. 2671. Oct ober,
1948.
. . Mass-bal ance for Spr i ng- Tab Fl ut t e r Pr event i on. R. & M. 2637.
June, 1946.
. . Consi derat i on of t he Ef f ect of Tab Di mensi ons on Spr i ng- Tab
Fl ut t er . R. & M. 2637. June, 1946.
The Pr event i on of Fl ut t er of Spr i ng Tabs and Aer odynami c Ser vo-
Tabs. Ai r wor t hi ness Tech. Not e 171 1949.
. . The Ai r forces on a Har moni cal l y Oscillating, Def or mabl e Pl at e
(t wo-di mensi onal probl em) e.g., for t he Cal cul at i on of a Wi ng
wi t h Cont rol Surface and Tab. (Die Luft kr~i ft e der har moni s ch
schwi ngenden, in sich ver f or mbar en Pl a t t e ( Ebenes Pr obl em) .
U. a. zur Ber echnung des Fl i i gel s mi t Ruder und Hi l fsruder).
Luf t f . - For s chung, Bd. 16, p. 84/96. 1939.
. . Spri ng Tabs. Ai r c r af t Engi neeri ng, Vol. XI X. 1947.
Expe r i me nt s on Ser vo- r udder Fl ut t er . R. & M. 1652. 1934.
Fl ut t e r Expe r i me nt s on t he I nf l uence of t he Aer odynami c Bal ance
Gi ven b y a Gear ed Tab. ( Fl at t er ver suche fi ber den Ei nfl uss des
aer odynami s chen Ausgl ei chs dur ch Weggest euer t es Hi l fsruder)
J a hr buc h 1941 der Deut s chen Luf t f ahr t f or s chung, Vol. I pp.
338/550.
Fl ut t e r Expe r i me nt s on t he I nf l uence of a Cont rol Sur f ace Bal anced
b y Set t i ng Back t he Hi nge. ( Fl at t er ver suche fi ber den Ei nfl uss
des aer odynami s chen Ruderi nnenausgl ei schs) J a hr buc h 1942 der
Deut schen Luf t f ahr t f or schung, Vol. I p. 549.
Te r na r y Tai l pl ane- El evat or - Tab Fl ut t er . R. &M. 2418. November ,
1946.
Theor et i cal I nves t i gat i ons on t he Fl ut t e r Char act er i st i cs of Wi ngs
a nd Tai l Uni t s wi t h Cont rol Surfaces and Tabs. R. A. E. Li br a r y
Tr ansl at i on No. 196. (Theoret i sche Unt er s uchungen der Fl at t e-
r ei genschaf t en yon Flfigeln und Lei t wer ken mi t Ruder n und
Hi l f sr uder n. Z W B (FB) 1468. 1941. Re por t of t he Foeke-
Wul I Ai r cr af t Co., Br emen. A. R. C. 11,058. 1947.
On t he I nf l uence of a Tab on t he Cri t i cal Speed of an Aer opl ane I.
(Uber den Ei nfl uss eines Hi l f sr uder s auf die kr i t i sche Geschwi ndi g-
kei t von Fl ugzeugen I.) Techni sche Berichte 3/1939, and J ahr buc h
der Deut schen Luf t f ahrt f orschung. 1940.
31
APPENDI X I
De r i v a t i o n o f t he S t i f f n e s s M a t r i x o f t he S - S y s t e m
The coefficients of t he stiffness mat r i x are denot ed by E~ i (i, j = 1, 2, 3), as defined by t hei r
occurrence in t he equat i ons (16) of section 4. The fami l i ar reciprocal pr oper t y gives fi rst l y
t he rel at i onshi p
Ei j = Ej~ (~',j = 1, s, 3) . . . . . . . . . . (I.1)
There is obvi ousl y no stiffness coupling bet ween t he lifting-surface t r ansl at i on (z) and t he ot her
degrees of freedom (/3, ~). The coefficients i nvol vi ng t he freedom z are t herefore t he same as
for t he T-syst em, viz. :
E n = -[4],0, E l z = ESl = 0 , E l 3 = E s l = 0 . . . . . . . (I.2)
The r emai ni ng E~ are found from t he rel at i onshi ps which in effect define t he coefficients, v i z . ,
- - M , = E22fi + E ~ 3 ) , . . . . . . . . . . . . (1.3)
- - M, = E82fl + E~8~, . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1.4)
M, is t he moment about t he control-surface hi nge exert ed by t he elastic forces upon t he syst em
consisting of t he cont rol surface i ncl udi ng t he t ab and t he links (1) to (5) of Fig. 1.
M, is t he moment about t he t ab hi nge exert ed by t he elastic forces upon t he syst em consisting
of t he t ab and t he l i nks (3), (4), (5). Bot h moment s are regarded as posi t i ve when act i ng in t he
clock-wise direction.
I n t erms of di spl acement s and stiffnesses, i t is evi dent t hat , wi t h l i nk (0) fixed,
- - M c= K f i + K o@ + ~f l l ) . . . . . .
- M, = K / A - - ~ . ~ ) ~
The condi t i on of equi l i bri um of t he l i nk (2) about t he axis 13 yields
+ , ? 0
Also from geomet ri cal consi derat i ons,
Equat i ons (17) and (18) t oget her yi el d
1 4
-" Ko~ + K~.y
l l
Subst i t ut i ng (1.9) and (1.10) in (I.5) and ti.6) a nd compari ng wi t h (1. 3)and (1.4) gives fi nal l y
E2~ = K~ + Ko( K, , + K~)
Ko +K, , +K,
N12
(I.11)
E23 = E 3 2 - 1 KoK, . . . . . . (1.12)
NKo +K, ~ +K,
N.I 2
wh e e r ~ -
- - . . . . . . . . ( 1 . 1 3 )
N 2 Ko
~ +K, . +K/
1113 follow-up ratio)i : = . . . . (1.14)
11 ' eccent ri ci t y ratio)
N1 = ~
. . (1.15)
AP P ENDI X I I
Der i vat i on o f the Re l at i ons hi p be.tween Equi v al e nt S- and T- s ys t ems .
Two syst ems, one an S-syst em and t he ot her a T- syst em, are here sai d to be equi val ent if t he
correspondi ng di mensi ons of t he Various surfaces a r e t he same arid if tlie t wo syst ems f l ut t er
at t he s ame speed wi t h t he same f r equency and mode.
Considering t he f l ut t er equat i ons (13) of t he T-Sygtem and (16) of t he S-syst em, i t is evi dent
t ha t on tile above hypot hesi s t he air-forces will be t he same, vi z. ,
Di ~ = D~g +~ . . . . . . . . . . (II.1),
a n d - t l h a t t h e t w o s e t s o f e q u a t i o n s t h e n b e c o m e r e c o n c i l e a b l e if
2
- - wI2A~j + + Ei~ + = - - w I A~ i + E~ !i,j = 1,2,3) . . . . . . . (II. 2)
The A~; are t he i ner t i a coefficients (including vi r t ual i ner t i a of t he air) and t he E~j t he stiffness
coefficients of t he S-syst em, quant i t i es wi t h t h e i ndex + bei ng t he correspondi ng coefficients
of t he T-syst em. w I is t he ci rcul ar f l ut t er frequency common to bot h syst ems.
33
1. T r a n s f o r ma t i o n o f a T - s y s t e m i nt o an S - s y s t e m. - - F o r g i v e n v a l u e s of A~ + a n d E~j* a s e t
0f v a l u e s c a n b e d e d u c e d f o r A 0- a n d E~j. w h i c h wi l l s a t i s f y e q u a t i o n s ( 1 1 . 2 ) . A n S - s y s t e m h a v i n g
t h e s e v a l u e s of A~j a n d E;g wi l l t h e n b e e q u i v a l e n t t o a T - s y s t e m h a v i n g t h e g i v e n v a l u e s o f
A~j + a n d E~j + .
We w r i t e f i r s t
Wl ~ E l l E2~ o E3:~
_ _ . , / 2 ) 2 2 - - ~" 7 ~ a - - -
A n ' A. ~ A~3
. . ( i i . a)
wl + 2 - El1+ ' w2 +2 - - E2"+ " wa +2 - - Eaa+ . . . . . . ( I 1. 4)
A i, + ' A2~ + ' Aaa +
w 9 = f w ~ ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( I I . 5 )
w h e r e w~, w2, Wa, w~ +, w., +, wa + a r e t h e n a t u r a l c i r c u l a r f r e q u e n c i e s of t h e S- a n d T - s y s t e m s
r e s p e c t i v e l y , a l l o wi n g f o r t h e v i r t u a l i n e r t i a of t h e a i r .
F r o m e q u a t i o n (11. 2) w i t h i = 2" = 1
A , ~ ( 1 - - _ _
wi ~ ) \ ~ 2
w h i c h c a n b e s a t i s f i e d b y
Al l = Al l + ; wl = W l + . . . . . . . . . . . (11. 6)
S i mi l a r l y e q u a t i o n ( I I . 2 ) w i t h i = j = 2 c a n b e s a t i s f i e d b y
A ~ = A22 + ; w,2 = w~ + . . . . . . . . . . . ( I 1 . 7 )
B e c a u s e EI~- = E l i + = 0 ( j =~ 1), e q u a t i o n (11. 2) w i t h i = 1 , j = 2 a n d w i t h i = 1 , j = 3 i s
s a t i s f i e d u n i q u e l y b y
AI ~ = AI~.
Al a = Al a +
. . ( I I . 8 )
. . ( I 1 . 9 )
E q u a t i o n ( I 1 . 2 ) w i t h i = 2, j = 3 t o g e * h e r w i t h ( 1 1 . 9 ) i n c o m b i n a t i o n w i t h (14), (17), ( 1 8 ) g i v e s
Aa3 = A ~ a + + E2a
,, f w a + 2
. . ( I I . 1 0 )
E q u a t i o n ( I I . 2 ) w i t h i = j = 3 y i e l d s d i r e c t l y
A~3( I w d ' ~ A a + ( 1 .
E l i m i n a t i n g A~a + f r o m ( I I . 1 0 ) a n d ( I I . i l ) g i v e s
. . ( I I . 1 1 )
( Aa~ f ~ [ ~( 1 " 1 A3~(1
34
7 2 ) 3 2 ~ "
f ~ + v '
. . ( I I . 1 2 )
Di vi di ng (11.12) b y A33 a nd p u t t i n g
E 2 3 - - N
E s a
. . (11.1:3)
gi ves f i na l l y
W3 2 ~-- W3 + 2
I n c ombi na t i on wi t h (II.13) a nd (II. 14), (II.10) t h~n gi ves
As ~ = [ 1 - - ~ ( 1 +2929)] A~3
. . ( 1 1 . 1 4 )
. . ( I I . l S )
a nd f i na l l y (II.13) t oget her wi t h (11.14) a n d (11. 15) gi ves
E 2 3 - - - - . - Aa a + w3 + 2 _
29
1 + 2 9 "
. . ( 1 1 . 1 6 )
The val ue of A23 follows di r e c t l y f r om (14), (17), (18) a n d is gi ven bel ow unde r (11.17).
Summar i s i ng, t he equat i ons (11.2) gi ve f i na l l y (11.6), ( I I . 7 ) , ( u . s ) , ( I I . 9 ) , ( I I . 1 4 ) , ( n . 1 5 ) ,
(II. 16), whi ch cons t i t ut e t he equat i ons of t r a ns f or ma t i on of a T- s ys t e m i nt o an e qui va l e nt
S- syst em, as f ol l ows : - -
A~I = Al l + ; A1 2 = A1 2 + ; Ale = A~a +
A2~ = A~a + (Ez --E2)c, Az3 Ea~ + ( El --E. , )c~a~+3 + a2~ +
wi t h Aij = Aj~
. . W 3 2 =
W 1 ~-- 7f)l + ~ W2 --~ W2 + ,
E 2 a - - A +72) + 2
- - - - 3 3 3 - -
?ddf 2
wher e f - - ws+ 2
29
1 + 2 9
72)3 + 2
. . (11. 17)
I n or der t h a t t he S- s ys t em gi ven b y (11.17) can be phys i c a l l y r eal i sed i t is neces s ar y a n d
s uf f i ci ent t h a t t he ma t r i x of t he st i f f ness coeffi ci ent s a n d t h a t of t he i ne r t i a coeffi ci ent s of t h e
S- s ys t em s houl d be pos i t i ve def i ni t e. These condi t i ons are c e r t a i nl y sat i sf i ed for t he case
N = 0 because t he n t he S- s ys t em is i de nt i c a l wi t h t he T- s ys t em. By r easons of c ont i nui t y
t her e wi l l t her ef or e be a r ange 0 ~< 29 ~< s for whi c h t h e S- s ys t em gi ven b y (II.17) can be
phys i c a l l y real i sed.
35
To t he equat i ons (11.17) t here shoul d t herefore st r i ct l y be added t he condi t i on
o < ~ N ~ < ~ . . . . . . . . . . .
for t he deri ved equi val ent syst em to be a physi cal l y real syst em.
. . ( 1 1 . 1 8 )
2. T r a m f o r ma t i o n of an S- s y s t e m i nt o a T - s y s t e m. - - T h e t r ansf or mat i on of an S-syst em i nt o
an equi val ent T-syst em will be gi ven by t he reciprocal of t he rel at i onshi ps (II.17), but t he
f l ut t er frequency must first be expressed i n t erms of wa in place of wa +. The fact or g is t herefore
i nt roduced, defined by
wj 2 = gwa 2. . . - ' . . . . . . . . . . (11.19)
Fr om ( I I . 5 ) , (11.17) and (I1.19) t he rel at i onshi p bet ween g a n d f is obt ai ned as
- - ~ , ; - - 1 - - N
72) 8"
o r
f _ g +N
1 + N . . . . . . . . . . . . . (11.20)
I nci dent al l y, from (I1.20) i t is evi dent t ha t
if g ~> 1 t h e n f >~ 1 and vice versa . . . . . . . . . . . (11.21)
if g < 1 t h e n f < 1 and vice versa . . . . . . . . . . . (11.22)
By subst i t ut i ng (I1.20) i nt o (11.17) t he equat i ons of t r ansf or mat i on of an S-syst em i nt o an
equi val ent T- syst em are obt ai ned, as f ol l ows: - -
Al l + = A~I ;: Ar ~+ = A,~; Al a + = Ai a
3 ~ T
A.~e + = A2o.; Aaa + =- 1 + tVAaa
g
wi t h
A. , 3 + = &~ + + ( E l - - E ~ ) c ~ , , Z l ~ + - - [a~:3 + ( E l - - E ~ ) c ~ a l : ~ + a ~
A~j + = A S
. . ( 1 1 . 2 3 )
g +
Where g -- wj~"
2
72) 3
Her e agai n a rest ri ct i on on t he val ue of ~r shoul d st r i ct l y be added to (11.23) if t he equi val ent
T- syst em is to be a physi cal l y real syst em. For t he present i nvest i gat i on, however, t hi s
rest ri ct i on is uni mpor t ant .
36
For appl i cat i on in section 6, t he rel at i onshi ps (I1.23) are t ransformed, by (14) and (18) of
sect i on 4, i nt o
, ~- a33
Wl + = Wl ; W2 + = W2 ; W3 + ~ = 1 - - N wa 2
g
where g = wi2/w32
. . ( I 1 . 2 4 )
AP P ENDI X I I I
Control Effectiveness of a Spring-Tab
For t he purpose of t hi s report , t he cont rol effectiveness (E) of a spr i ng- t ab is defined as follows.
I f Wp is t he work done by t he pi l ot to deflect t he cont rol surface t hr ough a gi ven angle/~ at a
gi ven speed V, and Wp0 is t he val ue of Wp wi t h t he t ab i noperat i ve (If,,, = Ks = oo), t hen
1 - - E = w p / w p 0 . . . . . . . . . . . ( I l i . 1 )
If E = 0 t hen Wp = Wp0, and i! E = 1 t hen W~ = 0. As t he t ab effectiveness increases, t he
work requi red decreases. On t hi s basis, t he effectiveness of t he t ab syst em as a l i ft -producer is
compared wi t h t ha t of t he si mpl e syst em in whi ch t he cont rol surface is operat ed di rect l y by
t he pi l ot t hr ough t he same cont rol circuit. Tabs of t he same effectiveness will produce r oughl y
t he same l i ft for t he same expendi t ur e of pi l ot ' s energy.
Fr om a consi derat i on of t he equi l i bri um of t he syst em of Fig. 1, t he rel at i on bet ween t he t ab
effectiveness and t he r el evant par amet er s of t he syst em can be deduced.
The aer odynami c hi nge moment s about t he control-surface and t ab hinges, due to angul ar
movement s ~ and y, are r espect i vel y
Mc = (b.~a + # ~ ) s c y Q . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1 1 1 . 2 ) ,
M , - - ( ~ . ~ + c ~ ) q s c ? Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( I l l . 3 )
b~ is here t he val ue of aC~/ay appropri at e to a t ab of t he same chord as t he act ual t ab but wi t h
span s : t he cont r i but i on of t he t ab to Mc is t hus assumed pr opor t i onal to q.
If, for t he sake of si mpl i ci t y, i t is assumed t ha t co = 0 , (111.3) becomes
M , = c ~q s c , 2 Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1 1 1 . 4 )
37
If t he pi l ot ' s force is X~, and t he di spl acement of its poi nt of appl i cat i on ( s e e Fig. 1) is s~,
correspondi ng to t he cont rol surface deflection ~, t hen
W~, = XlS~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1 1 1 . 5 )
X~ and s~ are each pr opor t i onal to/3, and Wp is therefore proport i onal to/32. The act ual rel at i on-
ships are obt ai ned from t he following six equat i ons, whi ch represent t he condi t i ons of force
equi l i bri um and of geomet ri cal consi st ency appropri at e to t he syst em.
Equi l i br i um of forces about t he hi nge A:
XlZl = Mc . . . . . . . . . . . . . (111.6)
Consistency of di spl acement s sl, /3, /31 :
I ~X1
s ; ~ K o + Z l / 3 + 1 2 & . . . . . . . . . ( 1 1 1 . 7 )
Equi l i br i um of l i nk (2) about hi nge B:
K, , d l = l ~X1 + K, ( & - - / 31) . . . . . . . . . ( I I I . 8 )
Equi l i br i um of l i nk (3) about hi nge B:
z ~x2 + K s ( & - / 3 ~ ) = 0 . . . . . . . . . . . ( 1 1 1 . 9 )
Equi l i br i um of t ab about hi nge D:
Consi st ency of di spl acement s
For t he case wi t h K,,, = Ks
t oget her wi t h (III. 2), (111.4),
I~X~ = M~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( I I I . 1 0 )
/ 32, 7:
l~& + l ~ = 0 . . . . . , . . . . . . . (111.11)
= c~ (tab i noperat i ve), /3~ =/32 = v = 0 and ( I l i . 5 ) t hen gives,
( 1 1 1 . 6 ) , and ( 1 1 1 . 7 ) .
For t he general case wi t h t he t ab operat i ve, X1 and sa are obt ai ned from equat i ons ( I I I . 6 ) t o
(III. 11) by el i mi nat i ng X2, ill,/3~., ~, usi ng also (III. 2) and (III. 4). Equat i ons (III. 1), (III. 5),
(III. 12) t hen give, aft er consi derabl e reduct i on, t he appr oxi mat e rel at i onshi p
qN b~ ,,~N1 ~ + b2 1 + x l 2 z,,,' ~( b~ b.,
1 - E ~ Zo ( I I I . 1 3 )
( 2 q N b 3 - - 'L,N12)( 1 - - ~ )
where Zo, 2,,,, Xs are l i on-di mensi onal forms of t he stiffnesses K o , K , , , , K s ( s e e section 14).
The accuracy of t he appr oxi mat i on rests on t he assumpt i on t hat q is small and 2,,, not too
small, t hi s assumpt i on bei ng made in t he algebraic reduct i on to t he form (III.13).
38
W ~ o - - b 2 ( 1 2 ~ b 2 ~ . ~ / 3 2 ( i i 1 . 1 2 ) _ - sc~ ~)scc ~ . . . . .
For appl i cat i on in section 9, (111.13) is t ransformed, at t he same t i me dispensing wi t h t he
appr oxi mat e sign of equal i t y, i nt o
1 - , , , Nch b 4 u
N ~ q = b2 \ 1o/ . . (III. 14)
APPENDI X IV
A Not e on St i ck- f ree Fl ut t e r o f s p r i n g and Se r v o- Tabs
I n t he mai n devel opment of t he cri t eri a in t hi s report , t he idealised syst em of Fig. 1 has been
considered wi t h t he l i nk (0) fixed, corresponding t o t he st i ck (or pedal) fixed condition. The
st i ck is however i n pract i ce free to r ot at e about its axis. I t is t herefore necessary to consider
t he possi bi l i t y of fl ut t er in whi ch t he st i ck freedom is present.
Consi derat i on is rest ri ct ed t o t he ' nor mal ' case, in whi ch t he f l ut t er mot i on is consi st ent wi t h
nor mal operat i on (e.g., symmet ri c in t he case of t he elevator). I n such cases, Kc = 0. Fri ct i on
or dampi ng in t he cont rol circuit is neglected.
Wi t h these restrictions, all f l ut t er cases of t he stick-free syst em can be di vi ded i nt o two groups
only. Ei t her
(a) t here is a node in t he circuit
or (b) t here is no node ill t he circuit.
Since t he st i ck is subj ect ed to el ast i c and i nert i a forces only, i t is evi dent t hat for a gi ven
har moni c oscillation at t he control-surface end of t he circuit (point E of Fig. 1) t he st i ck mot i on
is det ermi ned. The st i ck in fact responds as i t woul d to a forced oscillation applied at E. If
fc is t he fl ut t er frequency and fs~ t he nat ur al frequency of t he st i ck on t he circuit wi t h E fixed, i t
follows t ha t group (a) above is charact eri sed by fc > fst (stick out of phase wi t h E) and group
(2) by fc < f , t ( st i ck in phase wi t h E).
1. Out - of - phase f l u t t e r (fc >fs~). --Wi t h a node i n t he circuit tile syst em is effectively still
t ha t of Fig. 1, but wi t h a hi gher circuit stiffness (say Ko) because of t he r el at i vel y short er l engt h
of circuit bet ween t he node and poi nt E. The cri t eri a of t hi s r epor t could t hen be applied wi t h
t he act ual stiffness Ko replaced by Ko ; whi ch would have t he effect of repl aci ng act ual values
of f~, f~, 2V by corresponding effective values f~, f~, 2~.
39
As f~ decr eases t o fst t he node moves f u r t h e r f r om t he st i ck a nd Ko i ncreases. I n t he l i mi t
fi = fs, t he node is a t E a nd K0 = oo . Fr o m (I. 1 1), (I.13) wi t h K~ = 0, t he f r equenci es f ~, f~
ar e gi ven b y
f / _ 1 Eo(K,, + Ks) 1 .. ( I V . l )
4~.2 Ko + K,,~ + K~ A~2 . . . . . . . .
N 1 2
f ~ _ 1 Nx 2 Ks ( N~ + K " ) 1
4~ "2 N 2 Ko A3~ . . . . . . . . (IV.2}
a nd t her ef or e
N l s K f " l ~''IV[ z + K . ~ ' ~
Ko } Ass
2 N 2 K,. + K, A~3"
. . ( I V . 3 }
Also, f r om (39),
2 7 - - N
1 +l v~o
. . ( I v . 4 )
Expr es s i ons for f~, f , , 2~ ar e gi ven_by r epl aci ng Ko b y Ko in ( I V. l ) , (IV. 2), (IV. 4). As Ko
decr eases i t is t hus seen t h a t f ~, f ~, N decr ease a nd f~/f~ i ncreases. I n par t i cul ar , if f ~ , f ~ ,
~7~ ( = N) ar e t he val ues cor r espondi ng t o ~7o ---- oo, t he n t he val ues f~, f~, 2~ cor r espondi ng t o
f i ni t e Ko will be such t h a t
. . ( i v . s )
Out - of - phas e f l ut t e r of a n y f r equencyf c ( > fi~)_will be pr e ve nt e d if ei t her Cri t eri on I I or Cr i t er i on
I I I of sect i on 11.2 is sat i sf i ed usi ng r e , , f ~ , , 27~ i n pl ace of f ~, f ~, 27. To pr ove t hi s, s uppos e
t h a t f l ut t e r does occur wi t h ei t her of t he cr i t er i a sat i sf i ed so. Si nce t he f l ut t e r mu s t i nvol ve
a node s omewher e i n t he ci r cui t (because fc > fs,) t he val ues f~, f~, 2~ a ppr opr i a t e t o t he pa r t i c ul a r
nodal posi t i on mu s t s at i s f y t he r el at i ons hi ps (IV. 5). Bu t t hes e r el at i onshi ps ar e such as t o
ensur e t h a t if t he cr i t er i a h a v e been sat i sf i ed wi t h f~o~ , ' f ~ , ~ ~ , t he n t h e y will also be sat i sf i ed
b y f ~, f ~, ~ . The s uppos i t i on t h a t f l ut t e r coul d occur is t her ef or e wr ong, a nd t he or i gi nal
s t a t e me n t is pr oved.
I t shoul d be not e d however t h a t t he above pr ocedur e c a nnot be used i n conj unct i on wi t h t he
Cr i t er i on I of sect i on 11.2. Condi t i on (G) of t he cri t eri on, t oge t he r wi t h t he f a c t t h a t f~ decr eases
as ~7o decreases, i nval i dat es t he process i n t hi s case. *
* The pr ocedur e coul d however be used wi t h t he Cri t eri on I if condi t i on (G) were i ndependent l y sat i sfi ed for t he
st i ck- f i xed condi t i on, in whi ch case (G) woul d also be sat i sfi ed for a ny posi t i on of t he node al ong t he ci rcui t (because
> f , ) .
40
A ri der shoul d st r i ct l y be added to t he effect t hat , since for t he st i ck-fi xed condi t i on t he
cri t eri a have been proved val i d onl y for f~ >~ f~, t hen t he above appl i cat i on to t he stick-free
case is likewise val i d onl y for f~ ~> f~. The l at t er condi t i on is sat i sfi ed if f~ >~ f ~ , where f ~ (> f,t)
is t he nat ur al f r equency of t he stick-free syst em i n an out -of-phase mot i on wi t h cont rol surface
fi xed to t he l i f t i ng surface. There is however no j ust i fi cat i on i n appl yi ng t hi s rest ri ct i on if t he
cri t eri a for t he st i ck-fi xed condi t i on are not si mi l ar l y restricted.
. To sat i sfy t he cri t eri a wi t h Ko effect i vel y i nfi ni t e is of course more difficult t han sat i sf yi ng
t hem wi t h t he act ual val ue of Ko appr opr i at e t o the st i ck-fi xed condition. Condi t i on (0 1)
of Cri t eri on I I I (section 11.2) will in pract i ce nor mal l y be t he most i mpor t ant , and from (IV.3)
i t is evi dent t ha t if K~/Ko (Ko bei ng t he st i ck-fi xed value) is fai rl y smal l t here will be l i t t l e ext r a
di f f i cul t y in meet i ng t he condi t i on wi t h Ko infinite. I n t he case of a servo-t ab (K,,, = 0) t here
will be no difference at all.
I t shoul d be not ed t ha t in t he case of f l ut t er wi t h a node in t he circuit t he st i ck is effective
onl y in respect of i t s moment of i nert i a. Any bob-wei ght at t ached to t he st i ck on a hori zont al
arm (say for g-rest ri ct i on purposes) has t herefore no effect on t hi s t ype of fl ut t er, except in so
far as i t cont ri but es to t he st i ck moment of i nert i a.
2. In-phase Flutter (f, < f, ~). --For t he i n-phase t ype of mot i on t he circuit st i ffness Ko is
effect i vel y negat i ve ; t he cri t eri a of t hi s report cannot t herefore be used in t hi s case. Somet hi ng
is however known, from separat e i nvest i gat i ons, about t he charact eri st i cs of t hi s i n-phase t ype
of fl ut t er.
A report by Wi t t meyer 1~ describes some t heoret i cal i nvest i gat i ons on an i deal i sed syst em wi t h
t hree degrees of freedom. Fig. 16 (al) of t hat r epor t gives resul t s for t he stick-free case wi t h
ri gi d cont rol circuit and ri gi d subsi di ar y spri ng: t hey show t ha t f l ut t er is impossible provi ded
t ha t t he moment of i nert i a of t he st i ck (non-di mensi onal val ue 02,) is hi gh compared wi t h t he
moment of i nert i a of t he t ab (non-di mensi onal val ue ~) , and provi ded also t ha t t he follow-up
rat i o N (denoted t here by - - 1/ ~) is not too low. I nvest i gat i ons i n Ameri ca by Curt i ss-Wri ght
on a bi nar y syst em, but wi t h fl exi bl e control circuit, showed si mi l ar l y t ha t f l ut t er could be
pr event ed by i ncreasi ng t he st i ck i nert i a.
Ret ur ni ng to Wi t t meyer ' s results, Fig. 16 (a2) of his report 11 shows t hat for t he syst em
consi dered fl ut t er was impossible if
0 . 4 7 N ( N > 0. 26) . . . . . . . . (IV. 6)
IU N - - 0.2 '
where I,~, L are t he moment s of i nert i a of st i ck and t ab respect i vel y, t he former wi t h respect
to angul ar r ot at i on about t he control-surface hinge. The syst em consi dered had t he following
par amet er s : ,, = 5. 7, i~ = 7-8, it = 13.1, Pc = 0, p~ = 0, E1 = 0- 3, p = 0. 25, q = 1, K,,~ = 0.
The moment of i ner t i a of t he st i ck will in pract i ce be consi derabl y great er t han t he l i mi t i ng
val ue of (IV.6). For values of t he ot her par amet er s si mi l ar to t hose considered, i t is unl i kel y
t herefore t hat i n-phase f l ut t er would occur.
T h i s e x a m p l e , c o m b i n e d w i t h practical experience of spring-tab systems, invites t h e supposition
t h a t the m o m e n t of inertia Is, of the stick a n d the follow-up ratio N will n o r m a l l y b e h i g h e n o u g h
to p r e v e n t the in-phase t y p e of flutter. It m u s t b e a d m i t t e d h o w e v e r that t h e supposition
is b a s e d o n rather slight evidence, a n d that a t h o r o u g h investigation of this t y p e of flutter w o u l d
b e desirable. I n a n y s u c h investigation a c c o u n t w o u l d h a v e to b e t a k e n of a n y out-of-balance
m o m e n t of the stick (as for instance exerted b y a bob-weight) a n d of the fuselage m o d e .
41
TABLE 1
Comparison Between the Spring-Tab Criterion I I I (section 11.2) and the Collar-Sharpe Criteria
(a) Values of t he const ant s C, C1 in t he r equi r ement
Ic <~ k7Cp ~/' = k7C1
wi t h
. . ( Q . 1 )
C -- ~/ib 0. 0435 + 0. 751 + 0. 69 0. 14 1 1
3" i ~- (1 + N)i, + ]q O. 25 ic (1 + N)i, 0. 634 + ic (Q.2)
j -- ~@[0. 93 + 1. 28(1. 97 - E1)(0.745 - - p) J . . . . . . . . . . . . (Q.3)
for different sets of values of t he r el evant paramet ers.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
l a
5a
ic
7
3
3
3
3
(1 + iV)i~
10
10
3
3
3
10
3
0"15
0"15
0"15
0" 3
0" 3
0"15
0" 3
q
0"25
0"25
0"25
0"25
0i 25
1
E1
0- 2
0 - 2
0 . 2
0 . 2
0"5
0 - 2
0"5
0. 0727
0- 140
0"177
0- 205
0- 228
0"116
0"165
C 1 = Cp3l 2
0"00422
0"0081
0"0103
0"0338
0. 0375
0"00673
0. 0273
(b) Values of t he const ant s K and K' accordi ng to Collar and Sharpe (i ndependent of t he
val ue of t he st r uct ur al paramat ers).
Ref er ence K' ( compar e wi t h K ( compar e wi t h
C f or k7 = 1) C1 f or k7 ---- 1)
Col l ar a nd Sha r pe - - 0 . 0 2
Sha r pe 0- 1 0. 015
if gr e a t e r t h a n K' ~bal 2
42
T ABL E 2
Values of N~L/Ic for the Examples of Spring- Tab Systems given by Sharpe a
Spri ng-t ab
syst em No.
A = Aileron
E = El evat or
R = Rudder
1 (A)
2 ( R)
3 (A)
4 (A)
5 G )
6 (A)
7 (A)
8 (A)
9 ( R)
10 (A)
11 (_4)
12 (A)
13 (A)
14 ( R)
15 ( R)
16 (A)
17 (z)
18 ( R)
19 (A)
20 (A)
21 (E)
2 2 ( R)
2 3 ( E)
24 ( R)
25 (E)
26 ( R)
Fl ut t er
+ yes
- - n o
+
+
N
2. 75
2"73
I~ slugs It 2
0.00405
0. 0370
+
+
+
+
+ 3. 00
1.00
3. 39
4. 00
1. 83
3. 50
1- 52.
3. 00
2. 51
1. 85
4. 54
2. 66
2. 90
2. 38
3. 55
2. 66
3. 50
3. 33
3. 00
2"17
2.O0
1- 55
1. 80
1. 26
0.0130
0.0230
0. 143
0.000245
0.0124
0.00487
0.00842
0.00710
0.000540
0.00149
0.00120
0.00141
0"00965
0-00866
0.00398
0.00225
0.00175
0.00367
0.00633
0.00370
0.00475
0-00345
0.00311
0.00636
I~ slugs ft 2
0. 168
6. 00
1.22
0. 904
22. 0
0-0856
1. 49
1.05
1.27
1. 40
0. 231
0. 152
0. 390
0.991
2-36
2. 72
1. 96
0.991
1. 23
2. 49
7. 15
4. 06
5. 25
3. 07
5. 10
1-46
N~
Ic
0. 182
0. 0460
0"0960
0.0255
0.0745
0. 0458
0. 0278
0. 0568
0. 0153
0. 0456
0. 0147
0.0335
0.0635
0.0101
0. 0344
0. 0180
0. 0257
0. 0160
0.0174
0.0163
0.00795
0. 00428
0.00362
0.00270
0"00197
0. 0069
43
Y'i
K W
T
Z
[_
LIF T IN G
SURFACE
E I
T .
CW U F T IN G SURFACE l~C l T li
!~_~-L F I ~ CONTROl. SURFACE r~
. _q
, , , , , , , , 'e~ L- ~, - d
0 I ~i I " , ' 7 " - - - / " SURFACE . . . . . .
K,s / F/ - ~ /
A ' :-e K~
| I %
Kc B AXIS OF ROTATION OF LINKS(a) AND (3~
C CONTROL S U R F A C E H I N G E
Ko, K c , Kin., Ks S P R I N ~ S O ~ T H E S Y S T E M
FIG. 1. The S-syst em.
v
(5589) Wt . 17/ 680
Q"
O9
A
4~
~o
.8
. 8
(D
q
A-
S
c/?
%-
c~
q)
q3

O
v
%%--
44
Pr i nt ed in Gr eat Br i t ai n under t he a ut hor i t y of Her Maj est y' s St at i oner y Office
By Tile Hove Pr i nt i ng Co., Lt d.
K. 7 12/ 56 H. P. Co. 34-261
C)
V
8
<D
%-
c~
(D
c6
<D

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