Flutter stability analysis of composite corrugated plates in supersonic flow

Composite corrugated plates have a great potential in the application to morphing wings. However, it takes high computational cost to conduct flutter analysis with detailed 3D finite element models due to its structural complexity. In this study, an analytical method is proposed for flutter stability analysis of composite corrugated plates in supersonic flow. The trapezoidal and sinusoidal composite corrugated plate is homogenized as an equivalent anisotropic plate based on an energy approach. The flutter model for the composite corrugated plate is derived based on Kirchhoff plate theory and the equivalent stiffness properties. The unsteady aerodynamic pressure is evaluated by using the supersonic piston theory in which the corrugated section is taken into account. Hamilton's principle with the assumed mode method is applied to formulate the aeroelastic equation of the composite corrugated plate. The eigenvalue criterion is utilized to reveal the flutter mechanism and evaluate the stability of composite corrugated plates in supersonic flow. The accuracy and reliability of the present method are verified by comparing aeroelastic responses with those obtained from commercial software. Parametric studies concerning different parametric variables are also conducted. It is shown that the proposed method has sufficient accuracy and requires less computational effort, providing a theoretical basis for the utilization of trapezoidal and sinusoidal composite corrugated plates in morphing wings.