Student: Brandon Crow, Undergraduate Student in Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics, Iowa State University
Research Mentor: Dr. Leifur Leifsson
Flutter Prediction using Multi-fidelity Modeling
Aerodynamic flutter is a crucial design problem to avoid during the design of aerospace vehicles. Flutter is both difficult to predict and dependent on several design parameters, making it an important research topic in both academia and in industry. By being able to predict flutter in the conceptual design phase, substantial amounts of time and money are saved by minimizing undesirable results during the rest of the engineering process. Another major concern during the design optimization process is limiting the amount of computer time required to reach a satisfactory result. By leveraging multi-fidelity modeling, it is possible to reduce computational complexity while still obtaining valuable results that can be used by
an optimization program. I am currently working with Dr. Leifur Leifsson and his graduate students to develop software tools that use multi-fidelity modeling to predict flutter behavior. We will then be able to validate and document our computed results against those found in the literature. This will be in preparation for applying this software to new problems and will provide insight for future research. Ultimately, these open-source algorithms will directly contribute to the global engineering community and will be a tool for engineers and researchers to use and improve upon.