Validation of a coupled fluid/structure solver and its application to novel flutter solutions

A coupled fluid-structure interaction solver capability is developed and validated. A high fidelity fluids solver, Loci-Chem, is coupled with a finite-element structural dynamics toolkit, MAST. The coupled solver is validated for the prediction of several panel instability cases in uniform flows and in the presence of an impinging shock for a range of subsonic and supersonic Mach numbers, dynamic pressures, and pressure ratios. The panel deflections and limit-cycle oscillation amplitudes, frequencies, and bifurcation point predictions compare very well with benchmark results for 2D simulations. The same procedures outlined in the validation study have been applied to simulations of varying dynamic pressures at M = 2 for an impinging oblique shockwave. The influence of inviscid, laminar and turbulent boundary layer profiles on the development of flow field characteristics has been analyzed, and laminar predictions characterized by a large flow separation results in vastly different behavior than that of traditional flutter