Approximations for Singular Integral Equations

This work is a numerical study of a class of weakly singular neutral equations. The motivation for this study is an aeroelastic system. Numerical techniques are developed to approximate the singular integral equation component appearing in the complete dynamical model for the elastic motions of a three degree of freedom structure, an airfoil with trailing edge flap, in a two dimensional unsteady flow. The flap can be viewed as an active control surface to dampen vibrations that contribute to flutter. The goal of this work is to provide accurate approximations for weakly singular neutral equations using finite elements as basis functions for the initial function space. Several examples are presented in order to validate the numerical scheme.