A Parametric Study on Flutter Analysis of Cantilevered Trapezoidal FG Sandwich Plates

In this paper, supersonic flutter analysis of cantilevered trapezoidal plates composed of two functionally graded face sheets and an isotropic homogeneous core is presented. Using Hamilton’s principle, the set of governing equations and external boundary conditions are derived. A transformation of coordinates is used to convert the governing equations and boundary conditions from the original coordinates into the new dimensionless computational ones. Generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) is employed as a numerical method and critical aerodynamic pressure and flutter frequencies are derived. Convergence, versatility, and accuracy of the presented solution are confirmed using numerical and experimental results presented by other authors. The effect of power-law index, thickness of the core, total thickness of the plate, aspect ratio and angles of the plate on the flutter boundaries are investigated. It is concluded that any attempt to increase the critical aerodynamic pressure leads to a decrease in lift force or rise in total weight of the plate.