Instabilities in Engineering Systems: From Frictional Squeal to Wind-Turbine Flutter (Pr. P. Meehan, the Univ. of Queensland, Australia)

Friction, aerodynamics and structural dynamics remain central challenges in understanding and controlling mode-coupling instabilities in engineering systems. This seminar will present recent research from the Nonlinear Mechanics Group at The University of Queensland, Australia, focusing on friction-induced vibration in railway and automotive systems and aeroelastic instabilities in wind turbines. In particular, the seminar will address the prediction, measurement, and control of railway wheel squeal, brake squeal and wind-turbine flutter, with an emphasis on the underlying mode-coupling mechanisms that drive these apparently different forms of instability. The presentation will begin with an overview of the physical mechanisms and modelling approaches used to predict the onset, growth, and amplitude of these phenomena. Wheel and brake squeal will then be considered as examples of friction induced mode coupling, including the influence of contact and structural dynamics on instability (...)