Semi-active flutter suppression for wing aileron system using stepped MR damper - Numerical simulation and tunnel experiments

Semi-active control is a relatively new topic in the flutter suppression of wing-aileron systems and depends greatly on the successful combined design of controllers and actuators, such as the magnetorheological (MR) dampers. This study starts with a novel design of a rotary stepped MR damper of shear mode, which can provide seven levels of torque by altering the magnetic field area inside. Then, it specifies the problem of flutter control for a 3DOF wing model with such a stepped MR damper installed in the position of aileron rotation axis. The study gives the numerical simulations of the flutter suppression based on several control strategies. The wind tunnel test demonstrates that the critical flutter speed was increased by 26.2%.