Introduction to Aeroelasticity

This chapter describes the discipline of Aeroelasticity by presenting the historical framework within which it has developed over the last century and the physics of the phenomena involved. It makes reference to the earliest aeroelastic events that occurred in aeronautical applications and thus motivated the work of the pioneers of aeroelastic studies, and it provides a classification of all the aeroelastic phenomena that must be taken into account during aircraft design. The organisation and contents of the book are explained at the end of the chapter.