Characterizing the onset of asymmetric aerodynamic loads over low-aspect-ratio wings using tri-global resolvent analysis

We study the emergence of oscillatory spanwise-asymmetric aerodynamic loads over a low-aspect-ratio wing by performing tri-global resolvent analysis on the symmetry-enforced flow over the body. With different boundary conditions at the root plane, we obtain symmetric and anti-symmetric resolvent modes and characterize the associated aerodynamic loads, such as rolling and pitching moments, for the dominant and subdominant modes over a range of frequencies. Moreover, by superposing the symmetric and anti-symmetric components of different phases, we also examine the resulting asymmetric pressure distributions and correlations between the aerodynamic loads. We identify the frequency and modal structure that result in the highest asymmetric load fluctuations over the wing. These results offer insights for designing flow control strategies to modulate asymmetric aerodynamic forces.