An Improved Mickens Iterative Method for Nonlinear Aeroelastic analysis of Airfoils with an External Store

Abstract This paper aims to propose a modified Mickens iteration method for analyzing the flutter stability of the nonlinear airfoil with an external storage system. Unlike the regular Mickens approach, the modified form is established by substituting previous frequencies of the limit cycle oscillation (LCO) into unknown ones. Then the algebraic equations governing the LCO amplitude and frequency could keep linear, which might improve the calculation efficiency. The numerical example shows the LCOs obtained easily and accurately. Furthermore, the phase planes of the LCOs are investigated with the wind speed varying. The approach could be applicable to investigate mechanical systems with complicated nonlinearities.