The Hanin Lecture – Hypersonic Aeroelasticity and Aerothermoelasticity – a Multiphysics Challenge

A concise review of a series of studies on aeroelasticity and aerothermoelasticity of hypersonic vehicles conducted during the last 18 years, by the author and his students will be presented. These studies have focused on a few basic configurations: a typical section, a panel, a low aspect ratio wing and an idealized model of an entire hypersonic vehicle.  In these studies the complexity of the problems considered was progressively increased demonstrating the multiphysics nature of hypersonic aerothermoelasticity.  This sustained activity has recently culminated in the development of an integrated aerothermoelastic computational framework that generates a high fidelity model. The framework consists of a Navier-Stokes aerodynamic solver based on a modified version of the Stanford University multiblock (SUmb) code, a finite element structural solver for moderate deflection of composite doubly-curved shallow shell with thermal stress, and a finite element thermal solver for heat transfer in composite shallow shells with nonlinear material properties. The solvers are coupled using a partitioned scheme. The aeroelastic behaviors of 2D and 3D panels are investigated using the computational frame-work. The 3D effect and Reynolds number is found to have significant influence on the critical flutter parameter, and limit cycle amplitude.