Coupled flutter of parallel plates

Experimental visualizations of the coupled flutter of an assembly of two, three, and four flexible parallel cantilevered plates immersed in an axial uniform flow are presented. Depending on the flow velocity, on the interplate distance, and on the plate length, different coupled modes are observed. Selected modes and the associated thresholds and frequencies are compared with the results of a linear stability analysis. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3204672]