A finite-difference, frequency-domain numerical scheme for the solution of the gust response problem (Q1893751)

The interaction of steady flows about lifting airfoils with upstream vorticity disturbances (gusts) is considered in the framework of the Euler equations. Assuming that these disturbances are small and that the unsteady velocities can be decomposed into the sum of a known vortical component and unknown potential component, a single governing equation is derived with corresponding boundary conditions. The numerical procedure is outlined which makes use of the linear theory for the undisturbed flow and the transformation from the time domain onto frequency domain. Upon reformulating the boundary conditions, a second-order difference scheme is used, and the arising algebraic equations are solved by a direct sparse matrix solver. Extensive numerical experiments aimed at the validation of the technique are reported. Good agreement is found in various testing cases.