A CONTROL-SURFACE FLUTTER STUDY IN THE FIELD OF NAVAL ARCHITECTURE

摘要

This study of control-surface flutter was initiated because of serious hull vibration on destroyers of the DD 931 Class. The source of the vibration had been traced to the twin rudders by the Boston Naval Shipyard,nFor making experimental observations on control-surface flutter phenomena in the towing basin, the David Taylor Model Basin constructed the TMB Control-Surface Flutter Apparatus. With this equipment, a marked decrease in overall damping was demonstrated when the downstream mass unbalance was increased during underway tests.nA condition in which hydrofoil oscillatory motion results in low damping without oscillatory instability is defined as “subcritical flutter.” Such a condi¬tion, which greatly magnifies the sensitivity of the mechanical system to external sources of vibration, may be quite significant in the field of naval architecture. Analyses varying in complexity are explored and compared with experimental results.