Recent advances in active flutter suppression: a comprehensive review

Abstract Active flutter suppression (AFS) is currently one of the most prolific areas of research within the aeroelasticity domain, driven by advances in computational capabilities and the increasing importance of weight reduction in the aerospace industry. The rapid progress of AFS, coupled with the growing need for flutter control in non-conventional aircraft, underscores the need for an up-to-date review in this field. This paper presents a systematic review of recent AFS advances, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure traceability and updatability. The review reveals two dominant research trends: the development of increasingly sophisticated control algorithms for conventional control-surface-based AFS, and the application of technologically mature algorithms to alternative control strategies, including morphing technologies and flow- and vibration-based solutions. A comprehensive classification of AFS algorithms is proposed to support the selection of suitable control approaches for different applications, and the advantages and limitations of alternative control strategies are critically discussed. The analysis identifies the synthesis of novel algorithms tailored to non-traditional control strategies, the exploration of multi-actuated and spanwise-deformable morphing wings and the extension of AFS studies to transonic, supersonic and hypersonic flight regimes as key research gaps. The need for full-aircraft models, experimental validation and the development of reference test cases for objective algorithm comparison is also highlighted.