Dual cantilever flutter: Experimentally validated lumped parameter modeling and numerical characterization

• The dual cantilever flutter (DCF) flow-induced vibration phenomenon is introduced.
• A detailed experimental analysis of DCF with a single cantilever pair is presented.
• Lumped parameter models for both DCF and entrainment dynamics are proposed.
• Forms of the proposed models are experimentally validated.
• Details of a numerical nondimensional analysis are shown.

This paper presents an analytical and experimental investigation of a flow-induced vibration phenomenon referred to as dual cantilever flutter (DCF). The purpose of this research is to introduce the concept of DCF and to help isolate and understand key components that cause it. If unaccounted for, vibration produced by DCF has the potential to cause catastrophic structural damage or unwanted acoustic excitation. This paper includes experimentally validated lumped parameter analytical models for fluid coupling and fluid excitation between two adjacent cantilever beams surrounded by fluid. Results of a nondimensional analysis performed with the DCF model are also given.