Flutter and divergence zones of perovskite solar cell-based panels of aircraft wings in subsonic airflow

Abstract

Solar-powered aircraft have advantages such as quite long flight time and resource conservation. In recent years, with the improvements in solar cell efficiency, lightweight structural design, microelectronics, and automation control technology, more and more countries and organizations have conducted research on solar-powered aircraft. Solar cells are an important component of solar-powered aircraft systems. Perovskite solar cells have the advantages of high flexibility, lightweight, and high specific power, making them the ideal material for solar-powered aircraft wings. To receive as much sunlight radiation as possible and improve the lift-to-drag ratio of the entire aircraft, solar-powered aircraft have a high aspect ratio, making them more sensitive to changes in airflow. Therefore, the stability zones and vibration of perovskite solar cell (PSC) panels in subsonic airflow were studied for the first time. Additionally, to enhance the novelty of the paper and present more comprehensive results, the effect of the nanomaterial properties of one-layered perovskite solar cell substrates reinforced by carbon nanotubes and graphene platelets on the flutter and divergence phenomenon was investigated. To accurately simulate the displacement field after the composite perovskite panel is bent, Reddy's high-order shear deformation theory was adopted. The PSC panel's aerodynamic-elastic coupling motion equations were established by combining Hamilton's principle with the linear potential flow theory and the Bernoulli equation. The dynamic equations were discretized using a meshless numerical method to obtain the generalized multi-parameter characteristic equations. The obtained natural frequencies and critical divergence speeds were compared with published literature to validate the correctness of the aerodynamic model and laminated board model. The divergence instability and flutter instability of the PSC nanocomposite panel were investigated for changing the thickness, nano-fillers, porosity, laying angle, and aspect ratio of the substrate. We showed, that the PSC panel has a divergence instability state first, and then flutter instability appears. Additionally, the substrate nanomaterial parameters of the PSC panel significantly affect shifting divergence and flutter zones. Interestingly, the corresponding natural frequency increases when flutter occurs with an increase in the porosity volume.