Modeling and robust Body Freedom Flutter Analysis of flexible aircraft configurations

Body Freedom Flutter (BFF) is a dynamic instability concerning coupling between rigid-body and elastic modes of the aircraft. Flexible configurations with adverse geometric properties have been found susceptible to this phenomena. In this work a simple model, based on the typical section framework and incorporating basic features of the problem, is proposed. A sensitivity study of the role played by two meaningful parameters (wing bending stiffness and tail horizontal distance) is performed both with classical (p-k method) and robust (μ technique) tools. The analyses performed showcase the potential and prowess of the latter, not only in inferring critical features of BFF but also in its capability for more complete and complex robust parametric analysis.