[Faculty] Seminar from a Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Engineer on flutter and flutter suppression

[Luciano Demasi]

Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the seminar (*Friday April 10th 2015, 2PM, Room E
328*) with title "*Design, Development, and Flight Test of a Multi-utility
Aeroelastic Demonstrator Aircraft - the X-56A*" by *Jeff Beranek*, engineer
at Skunk Works (Lockheed Martin).

*Abstract:*

*Efforts to develop the next generation of aircraft with ever increasing
levels of performance; higher, further, faster, cheaper; face great
technical challenges.  One of these technical challenges is to reduce
structural weight of the aircraft. Another is to look to aircraft
configurations that have been unrealizable to date.  Both of these paths
can lead to a Rigid Flex Coupling (RFC) phenomenon that can result in
anything from poor flying qualities to the loss of an aircraft due to
flutter. This presentation discusses the motivations for increased air
vehicle performance, development of a small demonstration aircraft, then
development and flight test of the X-56A vehicle. The principle thrust of
the presentation is flutter and flutter suppression of a high aspect ratio,
low tail volume vehicle along with the challenges and fun that occurs in
the vehicle development process.*


*Speaker Biography:*

*Mr. Beranek has 34 years of experience in flutter and aeroservoelasticity
– all of it in the Skunk Works. He graduated from Iowa State University in
1981 with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. He has worked on 30+ air
vehicles; most notable are the YF-12A, SR-71, U-2, F-117A, F-22, DarkStar,
JASSM, X-35, and X-56A. His experience has been as flutter lead on many
programs, structures lead on several programs, principal investigator on
four Lockheed Martin research programs, and Chief Engineer of the X-56A
program. Mr. Beranek has developed a number of the flutter and
aeroservoelastic methodologies that are used in the Skunk Works and
Lockheed Martin today.*



Best,
Luciano Demasi
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