Linear stability analysis of coupled parallel flexible plates in an axial flow

We study here the linear stability of N identical flexible plates with clamped-free boundary conditions forced by a uniform parallel flow. Flow viscosity and elastic damping are neglected, and the flow around the plates is assumed potential. The shedding of vorticity from the plates' trailing edges is accounted for by introducing a force-free wake behind each plate. A Galerkin method is used to compute the eigenmodes of the system. We are interested in the effects of the number of plates and their relative distance on the stability property of the state of rest, as well as in the nature and structure of the coupled states. Detailed results are presented for the cases N = 2, N = 3 and N ≫ 1.