Unsteady Aerodynamic Heating and Nonlinear Panel Behavior in Supersonic Airflow

This paper presents an aero-thermo-elastic non-linear analysis of a semi-infinite simply-supported flat panel exposed to supersonic airflow. The study considers the nonlinearity of von Karman’s equations and the effects of aerodynamic heating, which lead to the development of two distinct temperature conditions on the upper surface of the panel. The stagnation temperature represents the temperature that the panel would reach if the fluid flow were halted adiabatically, while the fluctuation temperature arises from pressure fluctuations in the airflow beyond the boundary layer. This analysis investigates both the steady-state temperature and the fluctuation temperature of the panel. The aerodynamic pressure is modeled using the third-order piston theory, and the partial differential governing equations are converted to a set of ordinary differential equations using the Galerkin approach. The resulting equations are then solved using numerical integration via the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method. The results reveal that unsteady aerodynamic heating has a significant impact on the panel’s behavior, which can be influenced by its fluctuating behavior.