Preliminary Design of Active Wing/Store Flutter Suppression Systems for Military Aircraft

Abstract : This report presents the results of an analytical study directed toward the preliminary design of an adaptive flutter control system for fighter type aircraft carrying external wing mounted stores. The report develops and supports the following conclusions: (1) Active flutter control with acceptable stability margins is predicted for flight throughout the entire velocity- altitude envelope for store loadings both without symmetry. (2) An adaptive flutter control system, based on a digital evaluation of interrogated aircraft response data, appears to be feasible for use in gusty environments with small input test signal levels and after smoothing of the measured response data. (3) Hardware requirements and aircraft modifications are practical for fighter aircraft wing/store flutter control for frequencies up to approximately 20Hz. (4) The weight attributable to an operational flutter control system is estimated to be 131 lbs. In addition, plans are presented for semispan and full-span low speed and semispan transonic wind tunnel tests, 'Iron Bird' simulation tests, ground vibration and installed system tests, and flight test demonstrations with three store configurations having widely differing dynamic characteristics.