Nonlinear supersonic flutter of laminated composite plates under thermal loads

Abstract

It is the intent of this paper to study the geometrically nonlinear supersonic flutter characteristics of laminated composite thin-plate structures subjected to thermal loads. Interactive effects between the critical temperature difference and critical aerodynamic pressure for the plates are also studied. A 48 degree-of-freedom rectangular laminated thin-plate finite element, including the effects of thermal and aerodynamic loads as well as geometrical nonlinearity is formulated. The formulation is based on the classical lamination theory. The aerodynamic pressure due to supersonic potential flow is described by the two-dimensional quasi-steady supersonic theory. To evaluate the validity and to demonstrate the applicability of the present development, a series of nonlinear free vibration and supersonic flutter analyses of isotropic and laminated composite thin plates are performed. The results quantify the effect of geometric nonlinearity on the supersonic flutter behavior of the present plates. The effects of fiber orientation, magnitude and type of temperature distribution are also discussed based on the present numerical results.