Vibration Characteristics and Aeroelastic Stability Behavior of Foam-Filled Composite Corrugated Sandwich Panels Considering Mass Reduction

Abstract

Sandwich panels have attracted widespread attention owing to their lightweight and ability to meet strength, energy absorption, and thermal resistance requirements. Therefore, they are useful in the automotive, aerospace, marine, and infrastructure industries. This study investigated the aeroelastic behavior and vibration characteristics of foam-filled composite corrugated core sandwich panels at supersonic speed under different equal-mass conditions. The aerodynamic pressure was calculated using the quasi-steady first-order piston theory, and the aeroelastic motion equations of sandwich panels were established using Hamilton’s principle. The effects of the foam-filled composite corrugated core thickness on flutter dynamic pressures and the natural frequencies were analyzed when the mass of the foam-filled composite corrugated sandwich panel was n(0<n≤1) times that of the basic composite laminate panel. The results obtained indicate that the flutter dynamic pressures and the natural frequencies can be improved by changing the foam-filled composite corrugated core thickness while keeping the mass the same. Compared with the basic model, the mass can be reduced by more than 70% using a foam-filled composite corrugated panel at the same natural frequency, and the mass is reduced by more than 50% at the same flutter dynamic pressure. This is highly effective at reducing the aircraft panel weight.