Nonlinear Aerothermoelastic Analysis of Functionally Graded Rectangular Plates Subjected to Hypersonic Airflow Loadings

In this study, the aerothermoelastic behavior of functionally graded plates under hypersonic airflow is investigated. The classical plate theory based on both mid-surface and the neutral surface position is used to model the structural treatment. Also, Von Karman strain-displacement relations are utilized to involve the structural nonlinearity. To consider the applied hypersonic aerodynamic loads, nonlinear (thirdorder) piston theory is employed to model unsteady aerodynamic pressure in hypersonic flow regime. Material properties of the functionally graded panel is assumed to be temperature dependent and altered in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution. The generalized differential quadrature method is used to transfer the governing partial differential equation into an ordinary differential equation. The onset of flutter instability, the stability boundaries, and the time response analysis of a functionally graded plate are determined by applying the fourth order Runge-Kutta method. Moreover, the effect of some important parameters such as Mach number, in-plane thermal load, plate thickness ratio, and volume fraction index on the plate aerothermoelastic behavior is examined. Comparison of the obtained results with the available results in the literature confirms the accuracy and reliability of the proposed approach to analyzing aerothermoelastic behavior of functionally graded plates in hypersonic flow.