MAE Seminar: A Novel Approach for Aeroelastic Modeling Using an Efficient One-shot Method

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MAE Seminar: A Novel Approach for Aeroelastic Modeling Using an Efficient One-shot Method
Date: March 31, 2026
Time: 12:50 PM Location: MAE-A 303

Abstract
In this talk, we introduce a new solution technique called the one-shot method to determine flutter and limit-cycle oscillations in aerospace systems. In essence, the one-shot method is developed to predict aeroelastic response of wings and airfoils in a tightly-coupled fashion where both aerodynamic and structural dynamic problems are solved simultaneously using the so-called harmonic balance. This approach is superior to the frequency-based techniques previously reported in the literature such that it eliminates the need to sweep over a range of frequencies to determine flutter conditions. For each Mach number of interest, the values of flutter frequency and flutter velocity are determined as part of a single aeroelastic run. It is shown that the flutter onset point for given flow conditions can be accurately identified by prescribing a very small pitch amplitude treating flutter prediction as a response problem instead of the classical stability problem.

Biography
Kivanc Ekici is currently the Department Head and John W. Fisher Professor in the Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK). His research interests cover a wide-range of topics including CFD modeling, Hypersonics, development of novel and efficient solution techniques, unsteady aerodynamics and aeroelasticity, turbomachinery and adjoint-based design optimization. Kivanc and his group developed novel techniques including unsteady aerodynamic modeling based on the time-spectral (TS) harmonic balance (HB) technique as well as fully-automated adjoint sensitivity analysis. At UTK, his research group focused on HB-based aeroelastic design optimization, the development of the state-of-the-art one-shot aeroelastic modeling technique, and operator-overloading-based adjoint methods, to name a few. Dr. Ekici is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and he has been a PI/Co-PI for multiple projects during his tenure. He earned his PhD degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University.

Faculty Host: Dr. Patrick Musgrave