Vibration and aeroelastic properties of ordered and disordered two-span panels in supersonic airflow

• Free vibration characteristics of ordered and disordered two-span panels are investigated.
• Levy-type solutions for the aeroelastic two-span panel in supersonic flow are computed.
• Aeroelastic properties of ordered and disordered two-span panels are studied.
• Influences of disorder degree on the vibration localization and flutter bound are studied.

In this paper, the analysis of vibration and aeroelastic properties of ordered and disordered two-span panels is carried out. The equation of motion of each sub-panel of the two spans is formulated using Hamilton׳s principle. Supersonic piston theory is applied to evaluate the unsteady aerodynamic pressure. The partial differential equation of motion of the two-span panel is solved, and the mode shapes of the panels with and without aerodynamic pressure are obtained. The free vibration behaviors of the two-span panel are analyzed. Time-domain responses of the panel are computed by the mode superposition method using the mode shapes obtained previously. It is noted from the free vibration analysis that the vibration localization will happen on the disordered two-span panel. Aeroelastic analyses of ordered and disordered two-span panels are also carried out through the frequency-domain method. Characteristics of the aeroelastic stability and fluttering mode of the disordered two-span panel are analyzed. Simulation results show that the disorder of the two-span panel will decrease the critical flutter aerodynamic pressure of the structural system. The influences of the disorder degree on the vibration localization and the flutter bound of the two-span panel are investigated. The present results are useful for the analysis and design of the multi-span structures.