Ex.

3 - Aeroelastic Static Stability 16-19/10/2018

Ex. 3a - Divergence analysis with 1 DOF

Let us consider a generic airfoil (see Fig. 1) having a torsional spring placed at the shear center. The
chord, c, is equal to 0.6 (m). The aerodynamic centre is placed a xac = 0.25 × c. U is the free stream velocity
(m/s) and α is the angle of attack. The lift coefficient CLα is equal to 2π. The shear modulus, G, of the
material considered is equal to 28.077 GP a

Figure 1: Airfoil with 1 DOF.

Assignments

1. Evaluate the divergence speed considering a flow density equal to 1.225 Kg/m3 . Derive the stiffness of
the spring as it was the torsional stiffness of a beam (k0 = G × J/L, J = c × h3 /3) with a length, L,
equal to 8 m and with cross-section c × h, where c is the chord and h is the thickness equal to 0.025 m.
The torsional modulus G is equal to 28, 077 GP a. Because of the cross-sectional geometry, the position
of the shear centre, x0 , is equal to 0.5 × c.

2. Evaluate the effect of the variation of the flow density, ρ, on the divergence speed in the interval
0.1 ≤ ρ ≤ 1.225. Refer to point 1 for the other parameters.

3. Evaluate the effect of the variation of the torsional stiffness, k, on the divergence speed in the interval
k|L=20m ≤ k ≤ k|L=2m . Refer to point 1 for the other parameters.

4. Evaluate the effect of the variation of the shear centre position , x0 on the divergence speed in the
interval (0.26 × c) ≤ x0 ≤ c. Refer to point 1 for the other parameters.

1
 Ex. 3b - Divergence analysis with 2 DOF

Let us consider a generic airfoil (see Fig. 2) having two linear spring: the first with stiffness k1 placed
at the leading edge, the second with stiffness k2 placed at the trailing edge. The chord, c, is equal to 0.6 (m).
The aerodynamic center is placed a xac = 0.25 × c. U is the free stream velocity (m/s) and α is the angle of
attack. The lift coefficient CLα is equal to 2π.

1 2

Figure 2: Airfoil with 2 DOF.

Assignments

1. Evaluate the divergence speed and the shear centre position considering a flow density equal to 0.925
Kg/m3 and the two stiffness, k1 and k2 equal to 1000 (N/m).

2. Evaluate the divergence speed and the shear centre position considering a flow density equal to 0.925
Kg/m3 and the spring stiffness reported in table 1.

k1 (N/m) k2 (N/m)
1000 300
1000 700
1000 1400
1000 2800
1000 5400
1000 8500
1000 12000
1000 20000

Table 1: Stiffness values