Flutter Limits and Behavior of a Flexible Thin Sheet in High-Speed Flow— II: Experimental Results and Predicted Behaviors for Low Mass Ratios

Abstract

Flutter phenomena of flexible thin sheets such as paper swept by wind are studied for a wide range of mass ratios by an analytical method developed by the authors. The analytical results explain well the tendencies found in the experimental data. Furthermore, the flutter behaviors for very low mass ratios are predicted to tend to deviate far from those for ordinarily stiff materials, which are attributed to the effects of both the fluid friction and the added mass effect by surrounding fluid in addition to the ordinary governing effects for higher mass ratios, i.e., elasticity, inertia force, and fluid pressure. [S0098-2202(00)01201-3]