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GP-AE-04P9DRLAerospaceReady

SU2 Transonic Aeroelastic Flutter Study

An SU2 study of how Mach number, flutter speed index, and mass ratio affect the stability of a simplified pitching and plunging wing section.

SU2 Transonic Aeroelastic Flutter Study project visual
GP-AE-04P9DRL · Aerospace
  • SU2 8.5.0
  • Python
  • NumPy
  • SciPy
  • pandas
  • Matplotlib
  • Jupyter

Project definition

Problem statement

A flexible wing can become unstable when aerodynamic forces reinforce its pitch and plunge motion instead of damping it.

The engineering problem is to study this behaviour across the transonic Mach range and determine where the prepared numerical cases change from decaying to growing motion.

Project objectives

  • Reproduce the official SU2 NACA 64A010 aeroelastic benchmark case.
  • Compare response stability from Mach 0.75 to Mach 0.95.
  • Refine sampled stability changes at Mach 0.75, 0.80, and 0.85.
  • Measure how mass ratios 40, 60, and 80 change the response.
  • Check time-step sensitivity over an equal physical duration.
  • Retain every solver history and log for independent review.

Project structure

Project components

01

Baseline case

Retains the official SU2 configuration and mesh with recorded source hashes.

02

Case generator

Creates the 64 prepared cases with controlled Mach number, speed index, mass ratio, and time step.

03

Solver runner

Runs SU2 with bounded parallelism and retains the complete history and solver log for every case.

04

Response analysis

Calculates pitch and plunge growth, response ratio, frequency, maximum motion, and stability class.

05

Result builder

Writes complete result tables, stability intervals, solver audits, and 13 labelled figures.

06

Verification

Checks the official SU2 values, case records, equations, documents, dependencies, and container workflow.

Methodology

Project workflow

  1. 01
    Prepare the matrix

    Generate every case from the pinned baseline and review the recorded manifest.

  2. 02
    Run SU2

    Complete each unsteady aeroelastic simulation and retain its history and solver log.

  3. 03
    Measure the response

    Fit the late response envelope and calculate an independent amplitude ratio and pitch frequency.

  4. 04
    Classify the cases

    Mark each prepared case stable, marginal, or unstable using the declared rules.

  5. 05
    Compare the study

    Use the completed matrix, refined intervals, mass-ratio cases, and time-step cases to explain the results.

Demonstration scenario

The student compares the Mach 0.75, 0.80, and 0.85 cases and shows how the calculated response changes from decay to growth at different speed-index intervals. The high Mach cases then show restabilisation in the sampled range, giving a clear transonic flutter discussion rather than one simple threshold.

Engineering

Tools and method

Tools
The project uses SU2 8.5.0, Python, NumPy, SciPy, pandas, Matplotlib, Jupyter for subject analysis, simulation, and results.
Aeroelastic model
SU2 v8.5.0 compressible Euler flow with the built-in pitch and plunge typical-section model.
Experiment
A 64-case matrix containing broad Mach sweeps, transition refinements, mass-ratio cases, and time-step checks.
Evidence
Retained solver histories and logs, full-precision CSV results, audits, and 13 figures generated from those records.
Verification
Twenty automated tests, a seven-field official regression check, a repository validator, dependency audit, and Docker test.

Testing

Evaluation

Evaluation measures

  • Pitch and plunge response growth rate
  • Late-to-early response amplitude ratio
  • Pitch response frequency
  • Stable, marginal, and unstable case classification
  • Sampled stability-transition intervals
  • Mass-ratio and time-step sensitivity
  • Official SU2 regression agreement

Project boundaries

  • This is a two-dimensional inviscid benchmark study of a simplified wing section.
  • It does not model a complete aircraft wing, structural finite-element model, material damping, viscosity, or flight certification case.
  • The reported transitions are bounded by the sampled speed indices and are not dimensional aircraft flutter speeds.
  • A real wing study requires matched geometry, structural modes, damping, three-dimensional aerodynamics, uncertainty, and experimental validation.

Included

  1. 01Official SU2 NACA 64A010 case and mesh
  2. 0264 completed transonic aeroelastic simulations
  3. 03Mach number, speed index, mass ratio, and time-step studies
  4. 04Complete simulation histories, solver logs, CSV results, and 13 generated result figures
  5. 0520 automated tests with 85 percent measured coverage
  6. 06Complete project files and analysis material in a private GitHub repository
  7. 0793-page project documentation in PDF and editable Word formats
  8. 0816-page setup and usage guide in PDF and editable Word formats
  9. 0936 annotated references and two sourced literature images

Project record

No information is collected on this page.

Permanent project ID
GP-AE-04P9DRL
Catalogued
21 Aug 2026
Completed
25 Aug 2026
Verified
25 Aug 2026
Demonstration
Included in repository

Handover

After purchase

  1. 01
    Payment is confirmed

    The project is marked unavailable and cannot be purchased again.

  2. 02
    Repository access is granted

    The buyer's submitted GitHub account receives access to the private repository.

  3. 03
    The purchase record is delivered

    The certification sheet is prepared from the reviewed buyer details and sent privately by email.