The unsteady motion of two-dimensional flags with bending stiffness (Q5944601)

The authors propose a mathematical model for a flag of finite mass with bending stiffness by coupling beam theory and thin aerofoil theory. The steady solutions for a flag hinged at its leading edge are trivial in that, as expected, the flag aligns with the outer flow. However, steady solutions for a flag that is clamped at its leading edge depend upon both the angle of incidence and on the ratio of the outer flow momentum to the flexural rigidity of the flag. Here the authors perform linear stability analysis of unsteady flag equation to examine how hinged and clamped flags behave when subjected to time-dependent perturbations. The resulting quadratic eigenvalue problem is transformed to a standard eigenvalue problem, thus enabling standard numerical methods to be used. This problem is solved for various values of two key non-dimensional parameters to construct the marginal stability curves for hinged and clamped flags. To confirm the results of the stability analysis, a numerical method is proposed for the full unsteady flag equation. The scheme is capable of predicting both stable and unstable flag motion. The solutions in the lower unstable regions of the marginal stability diagram are found to be first-order mode solutions. For sufficiently small flexural rigidity and mass, there exist higher-order mode solutions.