Higher order flutter analysis of doubly curved sandwich panels with variable thickness under aerothermoelastic loading

In this study, the supersonic panel flutter of doubly curved composite sandwich panels with variable thickness is considered under aerothermoelastic loading. Considering different radii of curvatures of the face sheets in this paper, the thickness of the core is a function of plane coordinates (x,y), which is unique. For the first time in the current model, the continuity conditions of the transverse shear stress, transverse normal stress and transverse normal stress gradient at the layer interfaces, as well as the conditions of zero transverse shear stresses on the upper and lower surfaces of the sandwich panel are satisfied. The formulation is based on an enhanced higher order sandwich panel theory and the vertical displacement component of the face sheets is assumed as a quadratic one, while a cubic pattern is used for the in-plane displacement components of the face sheets and the all displacement components of the core. The formulation is based on the von Karman nonlinear approximation, the one-dimensional Fourier equation of the heat conduction along the thickness direction, and the first-order piston theory. The equations of motion and boundary conditions are derived using the Hamilton principle and the results are validated by the latest results published in the literature.