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The unsteady motion of two-dimensional flags with bending stiffness

The unsteady motion of two-dimensional flags with bending stiffness
The unsteady motion of two-dimensional flags with bending stiffness
The motion of a two-dimensional flag at a time-dependent angle of incidence to an irrotational flow of an inviscid, incompressible fluid is examined. The flag is modelled as a thin, flexible, impermeable membrane of finite mass with bending stiffness. The flag is fixed at the leading edge where it is assumed to be either freely hinged or clamped with zero gradient. The angle of incidence to the outer flow is assumed to be small and thin aerofoil theory and simple beam theory are employed to obtain a partial singular integro-differential equation for the flag shape. Steady solutions to the problem are calculated analytically for various limiting cases and numerically for order one values of a non-dimensional parameter that measures the relative importance of outer flow momentum flux and flexural rigidity. For the unsteady problem, the stability of steady solutions depends only upon two non-dimensional parameters. Stability analysis is performed in order to identify the regions of instability. The resulting quadratic eigenvalue problem is solved numerically and the marginal stability curves for both the hinged and the clamped flags are constructed. These curves show that both stable and unstable solutions may exist for various values of the mass and flexural rigidity of the membrane and for both methods of attachment at the leading edge. In order to confirm the results of the linear stability analysis, the full unsteady flag equation is solved numerically using an explicit method. The numerical solutions agree with the predictions of the linear stability analysis and also identify the shapes that the flag adopts according to the magnitude of the flexural rigidity and mass.
unsteady incompressible aerodynamics, singular integro-differential equations, asymptotics, numerics, stability
0022-0833
227-248
Fitt, A.D.
51b348d7-b553-43ac-83f2-3adbea3d69ab
Pope, M.P.
ce7bd5dc-6151-48ff-9bab-69412b7309cd
Fitt, A.D.
51b348d7-b553-43ac-83f2-3adbea3d69ab
Pope, M.P.
ce7bd5dc-6151-48ff-9bab-69412b7309cd

Fitt, A.D. and Pope, M.P. (2001) The unsteady motion of two-dimensional flags with bending stiffness. Journal of Engineering Mathematics, 40 (3), 227-248. (doi:10.1023/A:1017595632666).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The motion of a two-dimensional flag at a time-dependent angle of incidence to an irrotational flow of an inviscid, incompressible fluid is examined. The flag is modelled as a thin, flexible, impermeable membrane of finite mass with bending stiffness. The flag is fixed at the leading edge where it is assumed to be either freely hinged or clamped with zero gradient. The angle of incidence to the outer flow is assumed to be small and thin aerofoil theory and simple beam theory are employed to obtain a partial singular integro-differential equation for the flag shape. Steady solutions to the problem are calculated analytically for various limiting cases and numerically for order one values of a non-dimensional parameter that measures the relative importance of outer flow momentum flux and flexural rigidity. For the unsteady problem, the stability of steady solutions depends only upon two non-dimensional parameters. Stability analysis is performed in order to identify the regions of instability. The resulting quadratic eigenvalue problem is solved numerically and the marginal stability curves for both the hinged and the clamped flags are constructed. These curves show that both stable and unstable solutions may exist for various values of the mass and flexural rigidity of the membrane and for both methods of attachment at the leading edge. In order to confirm the results of the linear stability analysis, the full unsteady flag equation is solved numerically using an explicit method. The numerical solutions agree with the predictions of the linear stability analysis and also identify the shapes that the flag adopts according to the magnitude of the flexural rigidity and mass.

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More information

Published date: 2001
Keywords: unsteady incompressible aerodynamics, singular integro-differential equations, asymptotics, numerics, stability

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 29129
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/29129
ISSN: 0022-0833
PURE UUID: fe29f67b-23cf-43e4-bb4e-0540e5975579

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Date deposited: 10 May 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:29

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Contributors

Author: A.D. Fitt
Author: M.P. Pope

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