Wavelet analysis to characterize nonlinearities and predict limit cycles of an aeroelastic system

Nonlinearities in the aeroelastic properties of a flight vehicle can result in dangerous limit cycle oscillations during flight; such nonlinear behavior is difficult to analyze by classical methods. This thesis introduces wavelet analysis for processing flight data responses in order to extract information about structural nonlinearities. Features and trends from wavelet transform maps of transient responses are used to detect and characterize a certain class of nonlinear behaviors. These features are also used to formulate functions which may use transient responses at stable flight conditions to predict the onset of limit cycle oscillations.