Dynamic responses of a conceptual two-dimensional airfoil in hypersonic flows with random perturbations

This paper investigates a conceptual pitch–plunge airfoil in hypersonic flows with both structural and aerodynamic nonlinearity, meanwhile the effects of irregular fluctuations in the flow and external random loads modeled as a Gaussian white noise are considered. The dynamic responses of the airfoil model especially the bifurcation behaviors are analyzed via the harmonic balance method for the deterministic case. We found the airfoil system undergo both subcritical and supercritical Hopf bifurcations. Subsequently, the effects of stochasticity on the dynamical behaviors of the hypersonic airfoil system are explored in the regimes of subcritical and supercritical Hopf bifurcations depending on the system parameters. Several interesting phenomena are triggered under random perturbations such as intermittency and stochastic transition between the low-amplitude oscillation state and the undesirable high-amplitude oscillation state. These dynamics are further characterized via the probability density function and time history. This work will provide new insights into the safety and reliability design of hypersonic aircraft.