Aeroelasticity — don’t want the wings to rip off
Aeroelasticity is probably one of the most mathematically complex fields in aerospace. At least that’s how it seems to me in one of my last courses in RPI’s undergrad program. It’s complex because it combines three areas that are already hard enough: elasticity (basic static beam bending), dynamics (motion of a beam, etc), and aerodynamics (forces caused by fluid/air). The interaction of these is what aeroelasticity aims to understand — with the overall goal of preventing flutter (see below) and divergence (wings ripping off within seconds) in the design of an airplane or anything for that matter. The most famous case of aeroelasticity in action is the Tacoma Narrows bridge, which I’m sure you’ve seen. Another example that I always notice is when you tie something on top of your car with straps and the straps vibrate. That is caused by the interaction of aerodynamic forces and dynamics/tension of the strap. Aeroelasticity is fun, or so I’ll keep saying to myself.
Flutter at a Glance
Longer version:
Note: Videos originally made by Bill Reed, AU/AE ‘46, now retired from NASA. I found them here and uploaded them to google video since windows media files suck.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:32 am
[...] Last night I was studying for my aeroelasticity test. I mentioned to my roommates that I needed a miracle. One of them suggested praying. After all that always works. God will swoop down and intervene. [...]