This work proposes a novel approach to compute transonic limit-cycle oscillations using high-fidelity analysis. Computational-Fluid-Dynamics based harmonic balance methods have proven to be efficient tools to predict periodic phenomena. This paper’s contribution is to present a new methodology to determine the unknown frequency of oscillations, enabling harmonic balance methods to accurately capture limit-cycle oscillations; this is achieved by defining a frequency-updating procedure based on a coupled computational-fluid-dynamics/computational-structural-dynamics harmonic balance formulation to find the limit-cycle oscillation condition. A pitch/plunge airfoil and delta wing aerodynamic and respective linear structural models are used to validate the new method against conventional time-domain simulations. Results show consistent agreement between the proposed and time-marching methods for both limit-cycle oscillation amplitude and frequency while producing at least a one-order-of-magnitude reduction in computational time.

A novel surrogate model is proposed in lieu of computational-fluid-dynamics solvers, for fast nonlinear aerodynamic and aeroelastic modeling. A nonlinear function is identified on selected interpolation points by a discrete empirical interpolation method. The flowfield is then reconstructed using a least-square approximation of the flow modes extracted by proper orthogonal decomposition. The aeroelastic reduced-order model is completed by introducing a nonlinear mapping function between displacements and the discrete empirical interpolation method points. The proposed model is investigated to predict the aerodynamic forces due to forced motions using a NACA 0012 airfoil undergoing a prescribed pitching oscillation. To investigate aeroelastic problems at transonic conditions, a pitch/plunge airfoil and a cropped delta wing aeroelastic models are built using linear structural models. The presence of shock waves triggers the appearance of limit-cycle oscillations, which the model is able to predict. For all cases tested, the new reduced-order model shows the ability to replicate the nonlinear aerodynamic forces and structural displacements and reconstruct the complete flowfield with sufficient accuracy at a fraction of the cost of full-order computational-fluid-dynamics model.