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Journal of Fluids and Structures


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Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine


subjected to time-dependent thrust
A. Mazidi a, H. Kalantari b, S.A. Fazelzadeh b,n
a
b

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd 89158-18313, Iran


School of Mechanical Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71348-51154, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o

abstract

Article history:
Received 25 April 2012
Accepted 23 February 2013

In this paper, the aeroelastic response of a wing containing an engine subjected to


different types of time-dependent thrust excitations is presented. In order to precisely
consider the spanwise and chordwise locations of the engine and the time-dependent
follower force in governing equations, derived through Lagrange's method, the generalized function theory is used. Unsteady aerodynamic lift and moment in the time domain
are considered in terms of Wagner's function. Numerical simulations of the aeroelastic
response to different types of time-dependent thrust excitation and comparisons with the
previously published results are supplied. Effects of the engine mass and location and also
the type of time-dependent thrust on the wing aeroelastic response are studied and
pertinent conclusions are outlined.
& 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Aircraft wing with engine
Flutter
Time-dependent follower force

1. Introduction
The design of new highly flexible aircrafts, operating in severe environmental conditions, requires a great deal of
research toward a better identification of the dynamic response of the aircraft structures under time-dependent external
excitations. The high-thrust engine mounted on the aircraft wing is a good example of acting time-dependent nonconservative forces on the aircraft structure. The engines thrust which acts as the follower force on the structure can
strongly affect the behavior of the wing vibrations. The dynamic coupling between unsteady aerodynamic loads and engine
thrust with the structure motion may cause unstable dynamic motions of the wing with increasing amplitude which are
known as flutter phenomena. In spite of the several research works concerning aircraft wing aeroelasticity (such as Barmby
et al., 1950; Gern and Librescu, 1998; Ghadiri and Razi, 2007; Goland and Luke, 1948; Hodges and Pierce, 2002; Murua et al.,
2010), and effects of external follower forces on dynamics of structures (such as Bolotin, 1963; Bolotin and Zhinzher, 1969;
Detinko, 2002), few results regarding the wing aeroelastic response to engine thrust loading can be found in the literature.
Como (1966) analyzed the bending-torsional stability of a cantilevered beam subject to a lateral follower force at the tip.
In his work the distributed mass and inertia properties of the beam were neglected, although a concentrated mass and
inertia at the tip were included. Feldt and Herrmann (1974) investigated the flutter instability of a wing containing a mass
subjected to the transverse follower force at the wing tip in the presence of airflow. Only one value of the bending stiffness
to torsional stiffness ratio was considered in their study, a value for which thrust is destabilizing. Moreover, their results
generally did not agree with previous works. Hodges (2001) and Hodges et al. (2002) have shown the effects of the lateral
follower force on flutter boundary and the frequency of distributed cantilever wings; however, they did not take into

Corresponding author. Tel.: 98 711 6133238; fax: 98 711 6473511.


E-mail address: Fazelzad@shirazu.ac.ir (S.A. Fazelzadeh).

0889-9746/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024

Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

Nomenclature

T
Te
Tw
V
U
u,v,w
v
x,y,z
xs,ys,zs

b
bn
Ch
C
dCL
D
e
en
EI
Fh()
F()
GJ
h
h1
H
I
IS
I ns
l
m
Ms
M ns
p
P
Qh

nondimensional distance from wing section


mid-chord to elastic axis
wing semi-chord
nondimensional semi-chord of the wing
damping coefficients in plunge
damping coefficients in pitch
wing elemental aerodynamic lift coefficient
damping energy
distance between center of gravity and elastic
axis of the wing
nondimensional distance between the wing
center of gravity and elastic axis
bending rigidity
first plunge mode shape function
first pitch mode shape function
torsional rigidity
plunging displacement
time-dependent part of plunging
displacement
Heaviside function
mass moment of inertia about elastic axis
moment of inertia of external store about
elastic axis
dimensionless moment of inertia of external
store about elastic axis
wing length
mass per unit length
engine mass
nondimensional engine mass
nondimensional follower force
follower force
generalized forces corresponding to plunge
degree of freedom

xns ,yns ,zns

1
1,2
D
1,2
h

()
1,2
h

generalized forces corresponding to pitch


degree of freedom
kinetic energy
kinetic energy of the engine
kinetic energy of the wing
strain energy
air stream velocity
displacements in x,y,z directions respectively
nondimensional flow speed
wing coordinate system
the engine distance from the wing root in x, y
and z directions respectively
nondimensional distance of the engine from
the wing root in x, y and z directions
respectively
pitch angle of the wing section
time-dependent part of pitch motions
constants in mode shape functions
Dirac delta
constants in Wagner's function
viscous damping ratios in plunge
viscous damping ratios in pitch
dimensionless coordinate along the wing span
mass ratio
nondimensional plunging displacement
nondimensional time-dependent part of
plunge motion
air density
nondimensional time
Wagner's function
constants in Wagner's function
plunge natural frequency
pitch natural frequency
frequency ratio

account the external concentrated mass effects. The bending-torsional flutter characteristics of an un-swept wing containing
a mass arbitrarily placed under a follower force have been studied by Fazelzadeh et al. (2009). They used Theodorsen
unsteady aerodynamic model for flutter analysis. The important influence of the location and magnitude of the mass and the
follower force on the flutter speed and frequency of the wing was highlighted. In a subsequent work Mazidi and Fazelzadeh
(2010) emphasized the effects of the wing sweep angle on the flutter boundaries of a wing/engine configuration. They used
Peter's unsteady aerodynamic model for flutter analysis. The aeroelastic instability of a wing, modeled as an orthotropic
composite beam with a concentrated mass subjected to the engine thrust, has been investigated by Amoozgar et al. (2013).
They reported that the fiber orientation, engine thrust, mass magnitude and its location have significant effects on the
aeroelastic instability boundaries. In all of the above works, the effects of constant follower force on the wing dynamic
behavior have been studied. Indeed, the engine thrust has been modeled as a time-independent follower force.
The study of the dynamic response of elastic structures under time-dependent external excitations is a practical problem
and numerous papers have been published in this field, too many to list them all. Only, a few relevant contributions will be
discussed here. Na and Librescu (2000) studied the dynamic response of cantilevered thin-walled beams carrying externally
mounted stores and exposed to time-dependent external excitations. They showed that the control methodology described
by them can play a noticeable role of damping the oscillations induced in the structure by the action of time dependent
external excitations. Young and Juan (2003) investigated the dynamic stability of fluttered systems subjected to parametric
random excitation. In their study, the dynamic response of a fluttered, cantilevered beam subjected to a random follower
force at the free end is further investigated. They modeled the random part of the follower force as a Gaussian white noise.
Few authors have studied the dynamic behavior of structures considering both the aerodynamic loads and timedependent excitations. Furthermore, most of the works in this field were limited to the effects of blast on the wing
aeroelasticity. The aeroelastic response to time-dependent external excitation of a two-dimensional rigid/elastic-lifting
surface in incompressible flow was studied by Marzocca et al. (2001). They supplied comparisons between the rigid and
elastic lifting surfaces in connection with their aeroelastic responses and the effects played thereof by the aerodynamic and
Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

structural couplings. In a succeeding work, Marzocca et al. (2002) investigated the aeroelastic response of a 2-D airfoil in a
compressible flow field and exposed to blast loading. In that work, they, mainly, deal with the generation and use of proper
aerodynamic indicial functions toward the aeroelastic formulation of two-dimensional lifting surfaces in the subsonic
compressible, linearized transonic, supersonic and hypersonic flight speed regimes. The active aeroelastic control of 2-D
wing-flap systems operating in an incompressible flow field, exposed to a blast pulse, was studied by Librescu et al. (2005).
They tried to implement an active flap control capability to suppress the flutter instability and enhance the subcritical
aeroelastic response to time-dependent external pulses. Also, Librescu et al. (2008) studied the dynamic aeroelastic
response and the related robust control of aircraft swept wings exposed to gust and explosive type loads. The blast timehistory was described as an N-shape pulse, featuring both a positive and a negative phase. The dynamic aeroelastic response
and its active control of composite beam structures in compressible flow and exposed to gust and explosive type loads are
examined by Na et al. (2011). In their work, the beam structures were restricted to circumferentially asymmetric lay-up
construction and the influences of some parameters like flight speed and external excitations on the response and its active
control were specifically investigated.
To add to the aforementioned bulk of literature in this field, the aeroelastic modeling and dynamic study of wings
containing an arbitrarily placed engine subjected to a time-dependent follower force is considered in this study. The main
goal of this work is the study of the effect of different types of time-dependent thrust forces on the aeroelastic response of
selected wing with engine arrangements; for this purpose an unsteady aerodynamic model in terms of the Wagner's
function is considered. Furthermore, discussions about the combined effects of the time-dependent follower force and
external mass in conjunction with airflow on the structure dynamic response are presented.
2. General considerations
The case of a cantilever wing containing an engine subjected to a time-dependent lateral follower force as shown in
Fig. 1a is considered. The wing typical section is represented in Fig. 1b, where ys, zs are the distances between the center of
gravity of the engine and the elastic axis of the wing.
The modeled wing performs as a thin beam with a structural model which incorporates bending-torsion flexibility. It is
assumed that the wing is homogeneous and made of an isotropic material. Also, it is further assumed that the wing carries
along its span a powered engine in which its thrust, concentrated mass, and mass moment of inertia are accounted for in
studying the wing dynamic behavior. It is important to note that the engine thrust acts on the engine center of gravity and
applies directly to the chordwise direction of the wing. The latter allows us to recognize the engine thrust as a lateral
follower force which may be time-dependent or time-independent based on different aircraft flight conditions.
Because of the wing flexibility two coordinate systems are used here. As shown in Fig. 1, the orthogonal axes X,Y,Z are
fixed on the aircraft base body in which the X axis lies in the spanwise direction. The other coordinate system, xyz, has been
fixed on a deformed wing. After the wing deformation the shear center of the wing cross-section located at x is displaced by
an amount of h in z direction. Additionally, the angle of twist of the cross-section changes to about the x axis. The
coordinate transformation should be used between these two coordinates to derive governing equations (see Mazidi and
Fazelzadeh, 2010).
3. Governing equations
The governing equations are obtained from Lagrange's equations of motion. Lagrange's equations for a bending-torsion
cantilevered wing may be written in the form:
!
d T w T e
T w T e
V
D

Q h,
1

dt
h1
h1 h_
h_
1



d T w T e
T w T e
V
D

Q ,

dt
_ 1
1
1 _ 1

where h1 and 1 are the time-dependent parts of the plunge and pitch motions. The kinetic and potential energies and also
Rayleigh's dissipation function are denoted by T, V and D, respectively. Also, indices w and e identify the wing and engine,
respectively. The kinetic energy of the oscillating wing is
Z
1 l _2
Tw
fmh 2me_ h_ I _ 2 gdx:
3
2 0
Herein m, e and I are the wing mass per unit length, distance between center of gravity and elastic axis of the wing and
mass moment of inertia about center of gravity of the wing, respectively. The kinetic energy of the engine is
Z
1 l
_ 2 M s h_ 2 2Ms y h_ _ I s M s y2 z2 _ 2 g xxs dx:
fM s z2s h
4
Te
D
s
s
s
2 0
In this equation xs,ys,zs denote the engine location in x, y and z directions respectively, and Ms, Is and D represent engine
mass, engine mass moment of inertia and Dirac delta function respectively.
Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

Fig. 1. (a) The geometry of a wing/engine configuration under follower force and (b) the deformed wing/engine typical section.

Potential energy of the wing under the effect of thrust can be represented as (see Mazidi and Fazelzadeh, 2010)
Z
1 l
V
fGJ2 EIh2 2Pxs xHxs xhgdx,
2 0

where GJ and EI are the bending and torsional stiffness, P is the thrust force and H denotes the Heaviside function. Here, it
should be noted that using composite material properties in strain energy can extend the aeroelastic model to handle more
realistic aircraft wings.
Also, Rayleigh's dissipation function can be calculated as
Z
2
1 l
D
fC h_ C _ 2 gdx,
6
2 0 h
and the variation of the follower force virtual work is
Z l
W P
fPxxs w Pys Pzs D xxs gdx:

In these equations the Heaviside and Dirac delta functions are used in order to precisely consider the location and
properties of the engine and its thrust and the index s identifies the affiliation of the respective quantity to the engine (see
Fazelzadeh et al., 2009).
Plunging and pitching displacement of the wing can be represented as
h F h h1 t,

F 1 t,

where for a cantilevered wing, plunging and pitching mode shapes can be assumed as follows:


sinh1 sin1
F h
cos1 cosh1 sinh1 sin1 ,
cos h1 cos1
F sin2 ,

10
11

and 1 0.5969 for the first bending mode, 2 0.5 for the first torsional mode and is a dimensionless coordinate along
the wing span ( x/l). By substituting Eqs. (8)(11) into Eqs. (3)(7), the following expressions are obtained for kinetic and
potential energies and Rayleigh's dissipation function for a cantilever with engine:
Tw

2
1
mlA3 h_ 1 melA5 _ 1 h_ 1 12I lA4 _ 21 ,
2

12

Te

2
1 z s  _ 2 1
1
Ms
A6 h1 I s Ms y2s z2s A8 _ 21 Ms A7 h_ 1 M s ys A9 h_ 1 _ 1 ,
2
2
2
l

13

Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

1 GJ
1 EI
2
A2 21 3 A1 h1 PA10 1 h1 ,
2 l
2l

14

2
A3
A4
lC h_
lC _ 21 :
2 h 1
2

15

Also, the variation of the follower force virtual work can be represented as
W P PA9 1 h1 Pys A8 1 1 Pzs A11 1 :

16

In these equations A1,,A11 are constants dependent on bending and torsional mode shapes and are given in Appendix A.
By substituting Eqs. (12)(15) in Eqs. (1) and (2), the following equations of motion for the wing carrying a powered engine
are derived:
EI
mlA3 h 1 melA5 1 M s zs =l2 A6 h 1 M s A7 h 1 M s ys A9 1 3 A1 h1 PA10 1 Q h ,
l
melA5 h 1 I A4 l 1 I s M s y2s z2s A8 1 Ms ys A9 h 1

GJ
A2 h1 PA10 h1 Q :
l

17

18

The variations of the virtual work done by both aerodynamic forces and the follower force are calculated as follows:
"
#
"
#
Z 1
Z 1
2
2 2
W W ae W P U bl
dC L F h d PA9 1 h1 2U b l
dC M F d Pys A8 1 Pzs A11 1 ,
19
0

where dCL and dCM are the lift and pitching moments of an airfoil in incompressible flow. As a consequence Qh and Q are
Z 1
dC L F h d PA9 1 ,
20
Q h U 2 bl
0

Q 2U 2 b l

1
0

dC M F d Pys A8 1 Pzs A11 :

21

4. Non-dimensional equations of motion


Defining a group of dimensionless parameters as
s
s
h
Ut
I
m
U
A1 EI
, r
,

,
v

,
,

2
2
4
b
b
b h
b
A3 ml
mb
s
s
s
2
A2 GJ
h
1 A3 l C h
1 A4 lC
p ,
p


,
2
2 A1 mEI 2 A2 I GJ
A4 I l
n

b n e
Ms n
Is
Pl
y
zs
, e , M ns
,I
, p
, yn s , zns ,
l
l
ml s
I l
GJ s
l
l

and applying them in Eqs. (17) and (18), non-dimensional equations of motion are obtained as
 2

A4
b
n
A3 M ns A6 A7 1 en A5 Mns yns A9 1 1 2A3
Q h,
1 A3
pb r 2 A10
1
v
v
A2
mU 2 l

 

 2
2
1 n
Mn

A4
1
b
n
Q :
e A5 Mns yns 2 A9 1 A4 I ns 2s ysn2 zns 2 A8 1 2A4 1 pb A10
1 A4
1
2
v
v
A2
r
r
I U 2 l
To calculate the right hand side of these equations, dCL and dCM can be identified as








Z
1
1
a 0 2
a s ds,
s s s
dC L a 2 0 0
2
2
0





1
1

dC M
a
0 0
a 0 aa
2
2
2

Z






1
1
1

a
a s ds
a

,
s s s
2
2
2
2
16
0

22

23

24

25

26

where in these equations () is Wagner's function,


1 1 e1 2 e2 :

27

Also, constants 1 0.165,2 0.0355, 1 0.0455(U/b) and 2 0.3(U/b) are given by Jones (1940). Inserting dimensionless parameters of Eq. (22) and also Eqs. (25)(27) into Eqs. (20) and (21), the right hand side of dimensionless equations of
Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

motion can be represented as











b
1
1
1
a 0 1 2A3 01 2A5 0
a 0 1 2A3 01
Q h A3 1 aA5 1 A5 1 2
2

2
2
mU l







1
1
A4
n
a
w1 2A5 2 2 12
a
w2 2A3 1 21 w3 2A3 2 22 w4 pb r 2a A9
f ,
28
2A5 1 1 11
2
2
A2
2

I U 2 l

2
r 2a











1
A4
1
1
1
1
1
1
aA5 1
1
a A5 01 A4
a
a 0
1 A5
a 01
a2
2
8
2
2
2
2
2
2








 
 
1
1
1
1
a
0
a 0 1
a A4 1 1 1
a 1 w1
2
2
2
2


 




 

1
1
1
1
A4
n
a A4 2 2 1
a 2 w2
a A5 1 21 w3
a A5 2 22 w4 g pb A8

1 :
2
2
2
2
A2

A4

29

Existence of integro-differential terms in Eqs. (28) and (29) makes equations of motion more complicated and difficult to
solve, analytically. In order to eliminate the integral terms, four new variables are introduced as
Z
e1 s 1 sds,
30
w1
0

w2
0

w3
0

w4
0

e2 s 1 sds,

31

e1 s 1 sds,

32

e2 s 1 sds:

33

Table 1
Physical and geometrical characteristics.
Case

NACA wing section

h (rad/s)

(rad/s)

b (m)

l (m)

30A
30B
40C
91-2
91-3

16-010
16-010
16-010
16-010
16-010

23.8
24
18
11
10

166
176
116.4
86
80

0.0509
0.0509
0.0509
0.1015
0.1015

0.6299
0.6299
0.6299
1.2192
1.2192

Table 2
Nondimensional characteristics.
Case

NACA wing section

en

r 2

30A
30B
40C
91-2
91-3

16-010
16-010
16-010
16-010
16-010

0.220
0.120
0.150
0.056
0.012

0.300
0.200
0.230
0.124
0.032

0.311
0.277
0.287
0.179
0.160

36.8
37.8
8.74
41.7
44.3

Table 3
Validation of flutter speed for a clean wing.
Case Flutter speed (m/s)

Error

Experimental (Barmby et al., 1950) Numerical (Ghadiri and Razi, 2007) Present work Respect to experimental (%) Respect to numerical (%)
30A 103.713
30B 102.372
40C
33.662
91-2 92.984
91-3 71.079

94.438
95.731
33.546
86.406
70.209

93.837
94.520
33.025
92.727
70.517

9.52
7.67
1.89
0.28
0.79

0.64
1.27
1.55
7.32
0.44

Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

By inserting Eqs. (28) and (29) into Eqs. (23) and (24) and using Eqs. (30)(33), dimensionless equations of motion are
obtained as
C 0 1 C 1 1 C 2 1 C 3 1 C 4 1 C 5 1 C 6 w1 C 7 w2 C 8 w3 C 9 w4 f ,

34

D0 1 D1 1 D2 1 D3 1 D4 1 D5 1 D6 w1 D7 w2 D8 w3 D9 w4 g,

35

where C0C9 and D0D9 are the constants that are given in Appendix A. The ordinary differential equations derived in Eqs.
(34) and ( 35) should be solved simultaneously with Eqs. (30)(33). This system of equations can be solved, numerically. By
dividing Eq. (34) by C0 and Eq. (35) by D1, equations of motion can be represented as follows:
1

f
C 10 1 C 20 1 C 30 1 C 40 1 C 50 1 C 60 w1 C 70 w2 C 80 w3 C 90 w4 ,
C0

36

g
D01 1 D21 1 D31 1 D41 1 D51 1 D61 w1 D71 w2 D81 w3 D91 w4 ,
D1

37

where Ci0 Ci/C0 and Di1 Di/D1 are the constants.


5. Numerical results and discussion
As stated in the previous sections, solution to this aeroelastic problem through the assumed mode shapes method (see
Hodges and Pierce, 2002) is sought by using a numerical integration scheme. The system of governing equations is solved
using the RungeKuttaFehlberg method. The effects of the external mass and the follower force value and location on the
flutter speed of cantilever wings are simulated. Also the effects of various time-dependent follower forces on the aeroelastic
response of the wing are investigated. The associated physical and geometrical characteristics of the wing are given in
Table 1 and nondimensional characteristics are given in Table 2.
In Table 3, for the purpose of model validation, the results in the absence of the follower force and the external store are
compared with Barmby et al. (1950) and Ghadiri and Razi, (2007) in different cases, and good agreement with the theoretical and
experimental results is observed. In the next subsections, results are obtained for the case 91-2 with NACA wing section 16-010.
5.1. Wing with a lateral constant follower force
First of all, the results related to the dynamic response of a clean wing subjected to a lateral follower force are considered.
In Fig. 2 the effect of spanwise location of the follower force on the wing dynamic response for
yns 0, zns 0, p 8, v 1:552, M ns 0 is considered. This figure shows that applying the follower force on a clean wing
limits the stability region. If the follower force acting point would be farther from the wing root, it would become more
unstable. So, the most critical spanwise point for exerting the lateral follower force on a clean wing is the wing tip. This can
be explained in a way that as the distance between the follower force acting point and the wing root grows up the
destabilizing effect of the follower force increases. This leads to instability at lower speeds.
Fig. 3 shows the influence of the follower force chordwise location on the wing dynamic response for
xns 1, zns 0, p 8, v 1:552, M ns 0. As shown in this figure, for yns 0 the wing experiences flutter condition. For
positive values of yns the wing is unstable, while negative values of the yns make the wing stable. These results indicate that
for a clean wing, moving the follower force from trailing to the leading edge, in chordwise direction, makes the wing more
unstable (Fazelzadeh et al., 2009).

Fig. 2. Effect of spanwise location of follower force on dynamic response of the wing in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

In Fig. 4 variation of the wing dynamic behavior due to variations in the follower force vertical location for
xns 1, yns 0, p 8, v 1:552, M ns 0 is considered. As it can be seen, location of the follower force in the z direction
does not have any effect on the wing flutter velocity. Indeed, this parameter does not affect the stability of the wing and only
changes the magnitude of the dynamic response. Moving the follower force from below to the top of the wing leads to larger
values of the response magnitude.

5.2. Wing with an external store


This subsection focuses on dynamic behavior of a wing carrying an external store. Effect of the external store spanwise
location on the wing time responses for yns 0, zns 0, M ns 1, I ns 5, v 2:34, p 0 is illustrated in Fig. 5. This figure
shows that the lowest value of the flutter speed is around xs 0.7 which means that this area is the most critical point for
mounting an external store on the wing. This result is similar to those reported in previously published papers (see Gern and
Librescu, 1998; Mazidi and Fazelzadeh, 2010).
A parametric study investigating the effect of the external store chordwise location on the wing dynamic responses for
xns 0:7, zns 0, Mns 1, I ns 5, v 2:34, p 0 is revealed in Fig. 6. This figure indicates that moving the external store from
trailing to the leading edge in the chordwise direction makes the wing more stable. This means that the best position for
mounting the external store in chordwise direction is the leading edge. This may be because of the fact that increasing the
distance of the mass center of gravity from the wing elastic axes, in positive direction, intensifies the opposite torque to the
aerodynamic moment and stabilizes the wing. This is absolutely in contrast with the results obtained in the previous
subsection for the effect of chordwise location of the follower force on the wing dynamic behavior.
Fig. 7 demonstrates the influence of the external store location in z direction on the wing dynamic behavior for
xns 0:7, yns 0, M ns 1, I ns 5, v 2:34, p 0. This figure illustrates that although negative values of zns make the wing
more stable, but, generally, the effects of the external store vertical location on the wing dynamic behavior are small.

5.3. Wing with a powered engine subjected to time dependent thrust


In Fig. 8, the effect of spanwise location of an engine subjected to a step thrust pulse on the dynamic response of the wing
for yns 0, zns 0, M ns 1, I ns 5, v 1:5136, p 8 is considered. It can be seen that in the presence of thrust and external
store, the most critical point for engine mounting is at the tip of the wing. Comparing this with Figs. 2 and 5 shows that the
thrust effect is more important than the external store one. This can be qualitatively explained as increasing the distance of
the engine from the wing root grows the destabilizing effects of the follower force and consequently decreases the
flutter speed.
Figs. 913 show the effects of time dependent thrust on the structure dynamic behavior for xns 1, yns 0,
zns 0, M ns 1, I ns 5, v 1:5136. Fig. 9 reveals the dynamic response of the wing with engine subjected to a rectangular
thrust pulse. Dynamic responses are calculated at three different points on the wing span and as expected the most
plunging and pitching displacements occur at the tip of the wing. When the effect of thrust eliminates, plunging and
pitching displacements of the wing increase sharply, but after that in the free motion regime, the oscillations are damped.
This happens because the destabilizing effect of the thrust force is removed from the system. Fig. 10 highlights the effect of
an impact follower force on the structure dynamic response. This takes place when a large amount of thrust occurs by the engine
in a short period of time. As shown in this figure when the pulse acts on the wing, the magnitude of plunging displacement and
pitching angle increases, suddenly. After that, the dynamic response amplitude decays as time unfolds.

Fig. 3. Effect of chordwise location of follower force on dynamic response of wing in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

Fig. 4. Effect of vertical location of follower force on dynamic response of wing in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Fig. 5. Effect of spanwise location of external store on dynamic response of wing in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Fig. 6. Effect of chordwise location of external store on dynamic response of wing in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Fig. 11 depicts the dynamic response of the wing with engine subjected to a trapezoid thrust. In this case, thrust is
increasing uniformly and then becomes constant. At the beginning, it can be seen from this figure that the system is stable.
Gradually, by increasing the thrust force magnitude, the system reaches the instability boundary and flutter is occurred.
Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

10

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

Fig. 7. Effect of vertical location of external store on dynamic response of wing in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Fig. 8. Effects of spanwise location of external store and follower force on dynamic response of wing in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Fig. 9. Dynamic response of wing/store to the rectangular follower force in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Also, in Fig. 12 dynamic response of the wingengine system to the inverse trapezoid thrust is presented. The effect of the
thrust initial values on the wing dynamic behavior can be understood from this figure. It should be remarked that plunge
and pitch displacements will reach their maximum value right before the point where thrust starts to decrease. In other
Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

11

Fig. 10. Dynamic response of wing/store to the pulsing follower force in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Fig. 11. Dynamic response of wing/store to the trapezoid follower force in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

Fig. 12. Dynamic response of wing/store to the inverse trapezoid follower force in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

words, at the first region of the figure, the system is unstable with growing amplitude. When thrust magnitude starts to
decrease, at the second region of the figure, the system behavior changes and stable response is observed. Also, larger values
of the thrust initial value, p0, lead to higher values of the plunge and pitch displacements.
Fig. 13 displays the time history of plunging displacement and pitching angle of the wing with the engine subjected to a
triangular thrust. The figure is composed of three different regions. At the first region, the system is stable. When the
follower force magnitude approaches the peak of the triangle, the wing enters the instability domain. Subsequently, as
Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

12

Fig. 13. Dynamic response of wing/store to the triangular follower force in (a) plunging displacement and (b) pitching motion.

thrust starts to decrease, the system behavior changes and stable response is observed, again. Furthermore, this graph is
presented for three maximum values of thrust. Notice that increasing the maximum value of thrust enlarges the oscillations
amplitude.
6. Conclusion
The purpose of this paper is the aeroelastic analysis of a wing containing an arbitrarily placed mass subjected to different
types of follower forces. To this end, the complete aeroelastic equations for an isotropic aircraft wing carrying external mass,
which is subjected to a follower force, are formulated by the Lagrange equations. The attached mass is considered to have
two directions offsets from the wing elastic axes, like a real aircraft engine or store, and the follower force is considered to
act on the center of gravity of the external mass. These equations are valid for long, straight, homogeneous wings and are
based on the rigidity of the attached external mass. In order to exactly consider the spanwise location and properties of the
external mass and the follower force the Dirac delta and Heaviside functions are used.
A parametric study on the effect of the follower force both time dependent and time independent and on the magnitude
of the external mass and location for the aeroelastic response of a wing is performed. In the case of a clean wing subjected to
a constant follower force, it is observed that shifting the follower force toward the wing tip in spanwise direction or from the
trailing edge to the leading edge in chordwise direction makes the wing unstable. In the absence of the follower force, for a
wing with an external store, the most critical point for store mounting in spanwise direction is around xs 0.7. Furthermore,
moving the store from the trailing edge to the leading edge in chordwise direction makes the wing more stable. In the case
of a wing with a powered engine, which contains external concentrated mass and follower force, simultaneously, the
chordwise and spanwise locations of the engine and also the type of the time-dependent follower force affect the wing
dynamic behavior, dramatically.
Appendix A
The coefficients of Eqs. (12)(16) are given as follows:
Z 1
A1
F h 2 d,

A:1

Z
A2

Z
A3

Z
A4

Z
A5
0

F 2 d,

A:2

F h 2 d,

A:3

F 2 d,

A:4

F h F d,

A:5

Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

A6
0

A7
0

A8
0

A9
0

F h 2 D s d,

A:6

F h 2 D s d,

A:7

F 2 D s d,

A:8

F h F D s d,

A:9

A10

F h F s Hs d,

A11

13

A:10

F D s d:

A:11

Also, the coefficients of Eqs. (34) and (35) are given as follows:


1
Mns zns 2 A6 A7 ,
C 0 A3 1



a
C 1 en A5 Mns yns A9 ,

A:12

A:13

C2

A3 0 2A3 ,

A:14

C3





A5
1
a 0 ,
12
2

A:15

C4

 
2A3

,
0 A3
v

A:16

C 5 pr 2 b





A4
2A5
1
a 0 ,
0
A10 A9
2
A2

A:17

C6




2A5
1
a
,
1 1 11
2

A:18

C7




2A5
1
a
,
2 2 12
2

A:19

C8

2A3
2 ,
1 1

A:20

C9

2A3
2 ,
2 2

A:21



a A5 M ns n
2 ys A9 ,
D0 en
r 2
r

A:22





Mn
A4
1
,
D1 A4 I ns 2S yns 2 zsn2 A8 2 a2
8
r
r

A:23

D2

21=2 a
A5 0 ,
r 2

D3

21=2a
A4
r 2
n

D4 pb A10




1
1

a 0
2A4 ,
2
2
v

A4 21=2 a

A5 0,
A2
r 2

A:24

A:25

A:26

Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

A. Mazidi et al. / Journal of Fluids and Structures ] (]]]]) ]]]]]]

14

 2




1
21=2 a
1
A4

a
0
pyns A8

A
0

,
4
v
2
A2
r 2

A:27

D6

 
 
21=2 a
1
a 1 ,
A4 1 1 1
2
2
r

A:28

D7

 
 
21=2 a
1
a
2 ,
A

1
4
2
2
2
r 2

A:29

D5 A4

D8

21=2 a
A5 1 21 ,
r 2

A:30

D9

21=2 a
A5 2 22 :
r 2

A:31

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Please cite this article as: Mazidi, A., et al., Aeroelastic response of an aircraft wing with mounted engine subjected to
time-dependent thrust. Journal of Fluids and Structures (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2013.02.024i

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