Experimental characterization of the flow-induced flutter of a suspended elastic membrane

Zhongwang Dou, Aaron Rips, Lauren Jacob, Rajat Mittal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Flow-induced flutter of elastic membranes has many applications in engineering, biology, and medicine; and recent advances in computational modeling are enabling the simulation of such problems in unprecedented detail. However, appropriate experiments that would allow comprehensive validation of such models are lacking. To fill this gap, low-Reynolds-number experiments were conducted on the flow-induced flutter of a suspended elastic membrane. This configuration has well-defined boundary conditions and exhibits a variety of flutter regimes, thereby making it a suitable case for validation. Silicon sheets of three different thicknesses are used as the material for the suspended membrane, and the other key variables in the study are the flow speed and the yaw angle of the membrane. The deflection and flutter motion of each membrane is measured using a high-speed imaging system. A variety of flutter regimes are observed for the parameters studied here, including nominally two-dimensional flutter as well as highly three-dimensional motion for nonzero yaw angles. Qualitative as well as quantitative features of the flutter are cataloged in order to provide a comprehensive dataset for validation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)445-454
Number of pages10
JournalAIAA Journal
Volume58
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Aerospace Engineering

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