Abstract:
The research reported in this thesis is concerned with
the structural weight optimization of aircraft lifting
surfaces when subjected to the satisfaction of flutter
requirements.
The main text is intended primarily as an expository
account on the work and as such it aims at introducing and
defining the subject of research and presenting the results.
Accordingly, the mathematics have been simplified to the
utmost in the main text and heavy theoretical treatments are
revealed in the appendices.
As the aim of this work is not directed at in-depth
studies of the physical nature of flutter nor for a
comprehensive treatment of structural optimization, the basic
concepts of these two subjects are touched upon in the
beginnings of chapters II and III respectively. We concluded
these two chapters by clarifying the class of flutter,
constraints and design variables for which the program we
developed is designed. We endeavored to keep the problem to
within certain practical boundaries without loosing too much
of either its generality or its applicability to structures
in realistic operational environments.
