Fundamental aeroservoelastic study combining unsteady computational fluid mechanics with adaptive control

A computational two-dimensional aeroservoelastic study in the time domain i s described. The model, which is based on exact inviscid aerodynamics, capt ures the large amplitude motions and the associated strong shock dynamics i n the transonic regime. The aeroservoelastic system consists of a two-degre e-of-freedom airfoil with a trailing-edge control surface. By the use of fi rst-order actuator dynamics, a digital adaptive controller is applied to pr ovide active flutter suppression, Comparisons between time responses of the open-loop and closed-loop systems show the ability of the trailing-edge co ntrol surface to suppress nonlinear transonic aeroelastic phenomena. A rela tion between actuator dynamics, sampling time step, and limits on the Bap d eflection angle to guarantee the effectiveness of the adaptive controller i s illustrated by the results.