On the effect of model uncertainty on the Hopf bifurcation of aeroelastic systems

This paper investigates the effect of model uncertainty on the nonlinear dynamics of a generic aeroelastic system. Among the most dangerous phenomena to which these systems are prone, Limit Cycle Oscillations are periodic isolated responses triggered by the nonlinear interactions among elastic deformations, inertial forces, and aerodynamic actions. In a dynamical systems setting, these responses typically emanate from Hopf bifurcation points, and thus a recently proposed framework, which address the problem of robustness from a nonlinear dynamics viewpoint, is employed. Briefly, the notion of robust bifurcation margin extends the concept of $$\mu $$ μ analysis technique from the robust control theory. The main contribution of this article is a systematic investigation of the numerous scenarios arising in the study of nonlinear flutter when uncertainties in the model are accounted for in the analyses. The advantages of adopting this framework include the possibility to: quantify relevant information for the determination of the nonlinear stability envelope; gain a more in-depth understanding of the physical mechanisms triggering subcritical and supercritical Hopf bifurcations; and reveal properties of the nominal system by identifying isolated branches not straightforward to detect with conventional numerical approaches.