Instability of Heated Panels in Supersonic Air Flow

Abstract

An investigation on the stability of heated panels in supersonic airflow is performed. The nonlinear aeroelastic model for a two-dimensional panel is established using Galerkin method and the thermal effect on the panel stiffness is also considered. The quasi-steady piston theory is employed to calculate the aerodynamic load on the panel. The static and dynamic stabilities for flat panels are studied using Lyapunov indirect method and the stability boundary curve is obtained. The static deformation of a post-buckled panel is then calculated and the local stability of the post-buckling equilibrium is analyzed. The limit cycle oscillation of the post-buckled panel is simulated in time domain. The results show that a two-mode model is suitable for panel static stability analysis and static deformation calculation; but more than four modes are required for dynamic stability analysis. The effects of temperature elevation and dimensionless parameters related to panel length/thickness ratio, material density and Mach number on the stability of heated panel are studied. It is found that panel flutter may occur at relatively low aerodynamic pressure when several stable equilibria exist for the aeroelastic system of heated panel.