Modeling of nonlinear self-excited forces: A study on flutter characteristics and mechanisms of post-flutter behaviors

The intrinsic physical relevance of higher-order self-excited force (SEF) components has received limited attention, and there is a dearth of formulas that adequately analyze the influence of SEF components on the post-flutter characteristics. Based on Taylor formulas and the principle of independence, semi-empirical polynomial SEF models are developed and validated. The energy input efficiency and role of each order SEF component are examined using the proposed models. By introducing the principle of energy equivalence and approximate average power, theoretical formulas designed to calculate the post-flutter characteristics are established. Finally, the applicability and robustness of the SEF models and theoretical formulas are discussed. Results show that the proposed models can obtain independent higher-order SEF components, which is conducive to the correct analysis of the SEF driving mechanisms. The theoretical formulas can accurately reconstruct the time-varying curves of the flutter characteristics, and the terms in the formulas can explicitly calculate and analyze the mechanism of each SEF model element. It is observed that the higher-order SEF components have a significant impact on the accurate reconstruction of SEFs while barely affecting the system energy. Moreover, the limit cycle oscillation generation mechanisms of the investigated two rectangular cylinders are different, but the variation of the flutter characteristics with time remain the same.