Nonlinear thermal flutter analysis of variable angle tow composite curved panels in supersonic airflow

Abstract

Abstract The advanced Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) technologies make the synthesis of Variable Angle Tow (VAT) composites possible, which provides an extended space for the design of lightweight structures. At the same time, the variable stiffness feature inherent in tow-steered composite panels also poses a huge challenge to solve the mechanical problems including the panel flutter problem. In this article, the nonlinear thermal flutter characteristics of an infinitely long VAT composite curved panel in supersonic airflow is investigated for the first time. The proposed panel model is based on the Donnell’s shallow shell theory and accounts for the von Karman’s geometrical nonlinearity. The aerodynamic load induced by the supersonic airflow passing over the panel surface is constructed from the first-order piston theory, whilst the thermal load imposed on the curved panel follows the quasi-steady thermal stress theory. The aerothermoelastic equations of motion that govern the nonlinear thermal flutter problem are determined via Hamilton’s variational principle. The Galerkin’s method is applied to convert the partial differential governing equation with variable coefficients into a set of ordinary differential equations, and the resulting nonlinear equations dependent upon time are solved through the fourth order Runge–Kutta method. Several qualitative tools, including the time history, phase portrait, Poincare map and bifurcation diagram , are employed to study the dynamic behaviours, and a variety of attractors , both regular and chaotic, are observed. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed Galerkin procedure are validated by comparing with those available in literature. Effects of height-rise parameter, temperature parameter and fibre orientation angle on the nonlinear flutter responses of VAT composite curved panels in thermal environments are discussed in details.