Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 February 2016
The hypersonic aeroelastic problem of a generic hypersonic vehicle having a lifting-body type fuselage and canted fins is studied using third order piston theory and Euler aerodynamics. Computational aeroelastic response results are used to obtain frequency and damping characteristics, and compared with those from piston theory solutions for a variety of flight conditions. Aeroelastic behavior is studied for the range of 2·5 < M < 28, at altitudes ranging from 10,000ft to 80,000ft. Because of the significant computational resources required, a study on optimal mesh selection was first carried out for use with Euler aerodynamics. The three dimensional flow effects captured using Euler aerodynamics was found to lead to significantly higher flutter boundaries when compared to those based on nonlinear piston theory. The results presented here illustrate some of the more important three dimensional effects that can be encountered in hypersonic aeroelasticity of complex configurations.