Flutter Analysis of A Laminated Composite Plate with Temperature Dependent Material Properties

This study is concerned with the aeroelastic behavior of a laminated composite rectangular plate with temperature dependent material properties. Plate equations for homogenous linear elastic material and small deformations are derived in the frame of the Kirchhoff theory. Uniform and linear temperature distributions are considered on the layered composite plate and it is assumed that the material properties of fiber and matrix vary with the temperature. The aerodynamic forces are obtained by the piston theory. Equations of motion are derived in the variational form by the use of the Hamilton principle. The Equations are solved using the finite element method. The laminated composite plates are discretized with the Semi loof thin shell elements with eight nodes and a total of thirty-eight degrees of freedom. The free vibration results are in a good agreement with the results of literature. The effects of aspect ratio, temperature distribution and lamination on the flutter boundary have been examined. The flutter occurs at a high dynamic pressure for the plate with high aspect ratio. The high temperatures on the plate results in a decrease of the flutter boundary. The number of laminate for a constant plate thickness affects the flutter boundary until a certain laminate number.