Flutter characteristics of axially functional graded composite wing system

Abstract

This paper presents the flutter analysis and optimum design of axially functionally graded box beam cantilever wing section by considering various geometric and material parameters. The coupled dynamic equations of the continuous model of wing system in terms of material and cross-sectional properties are formulated based on extended Hamilton\'s principle. By expressing the lift and pitching moment in terms of plunge and pitch displacements, the resultant two continuous equations are simplified using Galerkin\'s reduced order model. The flutter velocity is predicted from the solution of resultant damped eigenvalue problem. Parametric studies are conducted to know the effects of geometric factors such as taper ratio, thickness, sweep angle as well as material volume fractions and functional grading index on the flutter velocity. A generalized surrogate model is constructed by training the radial basis function network with the parametric data. The optimized material and geometric parameters of the section are predicted by solving the constrained optimal problem using firefly metaheuristics algorithm that employs the developed surrogate model for the function evaluations. The trapezoidal hollow box beam section design with axial functional grading concept is illustrated with combination of aluminium alloy and aluminium with silicon carbide particulates. A good improvement in flutter velocity is noticed by the optimization.