Application of Navier–Stokes simulations for aeroelastic stability assessment in transonic regime

Aeroelastic stability analyses in transonic regime require the adoption of accurate aerodynamic models, such as those based on Euler or Navier–Stokes equations, to model the physics associated with shock waves. To transfer the application of this type of analyses from academy to industry, it is necessary to verify if the technology is mature enough to be implemented without using specialised pieces of software. This paper presents a numerical strategy for solving aeroelastic fluid–structure interactions (FSI) stability problems using partitioned procedures based on the adoption of “black-box” CFD software for the solution of the flow field. The paper focuses on three elements: the outline of a numerical test procedure based on linearised reduced order models (ROMs) to quickly locate instability points; a novel interface scheme with a high degree of flexibility, to adapt to structural models initially not developed for FSI interactions; fast, reliable and easy to use CFD grid deformation schemes. The purpose is to show how robustness of results and ease of use can be achieved with limited efforts.