Coupled-mode flutter of an elastic plate in a gas flow with a boundary layer

Abstract

The stability of an elastic plate in a supersonic gas flow is considered in the presence of a boundary layer formed on the surface of the plate. The problem is solved in two statements. In the first statement, the plate is of large but finite length, and a coupled-mode type of flutter is examined (the effect of the boundary layer on another, single-mode, type of flutter has been studied earlier). In the second statement, the plate is assumed to be infinite, and the character of its instability (absolute or convective) is analyzed. In both cases, the instability is determined by a branch point of the roots of the dispersion equation, and the mathematical analysis is the same. It is proved that instability in a uniform gas flow is weakened by a boundary layer but cannot be suppressed completely, while in the case of a stable plate in a uniform flow the boundary layer leads to the destabilization of the plate.