Supersonic flutter behavior of a polymeric truncated conical shell reinforced with agglomerated CNTs

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates the aeroelastic stability behavior (flutter analysis) of polymeric truncated conical shells reinforced with agglomerated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under supersonic fluid flow. The first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is used to examine the mathematical model of the shell, while the linear piston theory is employed to estimate the aerodynamic pressure. The effective mechanical properties are computed utilizing the Eshelby–Mori–Tanaka scheme and the rule of mixture. The governing equations are derived using Hamilton’s principle and a numerical solution is presented for the governing equations via the differential quadrature method (DQM). A parametric study is provided to investigate the influences of the agglomeration parameters, distribution pattern, mass fraction, and chirality of the CNTs on the flutter boundaries. The utilization of the presented results allows a comprehensive design for conical shells under extreme conditions that can be critical in certain applications that use these advanced materials.