Thermoelastic and aeroelastic stability analyses of piezolaminated composite structures based on layerwise nonlinear finite elements

Abstract

Based on the multi-field layerwise theory, the geometric nonlinear finite elements have been presented for the thermopiezoelastic modeling of composite structures with applications to enhance static and dynamic instabilities such as thermal buckling and supersonic flutter. The mathematical formulations and code developments of layerwise nonlinear finite elements of composite laminates have been performed for the modeling of cross-sectional warping, anisotropy, stepped geometry and accurate piezoelectric strain actuation. Moreover, the layerwise descriptions of piezoelectric and temperature fields are used for the nonlinear thermopiezoelastic analysis of smart composite plates and shells. For the purpose of validation of developed codes, various problems are solved and the present results are compared with previous results. First, thermal snapping mechanism and vibration characteristics are investigated by incorporating an arc-length scheme to analyze unstable postbuckling phenomena. Secondly, the nonlinear thermopiezoelastic stabilities of piezolaminated plates are analyzed so as to increase thermoelastic buckling load and to suppress thermally buckled deflections. Also, snap-through phenomena in the nonlinear thermopiezoelastic behavior are firstly examined by incorporating an arc-length scheme to the nonlinear solver. Thirdly, the supersonic flutter analysis of cylindrical panels subject to thermal stresses is carried out using a Han Krumhaar’s supersonic piston theory. Finally, the possibility to increase aerothermoelastic stability boundaries of cylindrical panels is examined using piezoelectric actuations. Results show that in the composite panels subject to thermal stresses, active piezoelectric actuations can effectively increase the critical aerodynamic pressure by retarding the flutter mode coalescence and compensating thermal stresses.