Paper Title
Flutter Control Analysis of an Aircraft Wing using Carbon Nanotubes Reinforced Polymer
Abstract
In this paper, an investigation of the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced polymer as an actuator for an
active flutter suppression to counter the flutter phenomena is conducted. The goal of this analysis is to establish a link
between the behavior of the control surface and the actuators to demonstrate the veracity of using such a suppression system
for aeronautical field. A preliminary binary flutter model using simplified unsteady aerodynamics is developed to study the
behavior of the wing while reaching the flutter speed and when the control system suppresses the flutter phenomena. The
Timoshenko beam theory for bilayer materials is used to match the response of the control surface with the CNTs reinforced
polymer (CNRP) actuators. According to Timoshenko theory, results show a good and realistic response for such a purpose.
Even if the results are still preliminary, they show an evidence of a potential use of CNRP for control surface actuation for
small-scale and lightweight system.
Keywords - Actuators, Aeroelastic, Aeroservoelasticity, Carbon Nanotubes, Flutter, Flutter Suppression.