Aeroelast analysis of sandwich cylindrical shell with honey-comb core and isotropic facing sheets subjected to supersonic airflow

The aeroelasticity behavior of the honeycomb-core cylindrical shell in supersonic airflow is investigated. The sandwich cylindrical shell comprises a honeycomb core with top and bottom isotropic layers. The third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT) is adopted for the honeycomb core layer and the classical plate theory (CPT) is used for the top/bottom isotropic layers. Based on the piston theory of the aerodynamic force, the aeroelastic motion equations are established by using the Hamilton’s principle. After the verification of the control equations solved by the Galerkin method, the effects of honeycomb core parameters on the vibration and flutter of the sandwich cylindrical shell are analyzed. The results show that the honeycomb core layer thickness has a major influence on the critical flutter dynamic pressure of the sandwich cylindrical shell, while the cell angle and internal aspect ratio have no significant effect on the critical flutter dynamic pressure. Compared to the isotropic cylindrical shell, the honeycomb-core cylindrical shell achieves a nearly 30% reduction in mass while maintaining the same critical flutter dynamic pressure. Therefore the honeycomb-core cylindrical shell can significantly enhance weight efficiency in aircraft