Effects of Structural Non-Linearities on Aircraft Vibration and Flutter

Work on flutter prediction has always been based on the modal representation of the structure, which implies a linear model of the aircraft. A number of good results have been obtained, for many prototypes, using this method. Unfortunately, more and more difficulties have appeared during the last few years, both for aircraft carrying large stores and for light aircraft, where non-linear phenomena made it hazardous to use a linear approach. This paper presents a possibility for taking into account some non-linearities of the structure and their effect on flutter. It is considered to be an important milestone in accurate flutter prediction in complicated conditions.