Nonlinear aeroelastic analysis and active flutter control of functionally graded piezoelectric material plate

The nonlinear aeroelastic characteristics and active flutter control of functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) plate under thermo-electro-mechanical loads are studied. An analytical model is developed to explore the nonlinear aeroelastic behaviors of the supersonic FGPM plate, in which the nonlinear effects caused by geometry, aerodynamic force and piezoelectric effect are considered. Based on power law and sigmoid distribution, an improved sigmoid distribution is proposed for the aeroelastic design of the FGPM plate. Numerical examples are carried out to demonstrate that material volume fraction and gradient distribution can significantly affect flutter and thermal buckling of the FGPM plate. Additionally, the effects of thermal and electric loads on limit cycle oscillations and dynamic bifurcations of nonlinear FGPM plate are explored. Results indicate that the applied voltage can cause the static deflection of the plate and the thermal load can result in a more complex dynamic evolution process, and they reveal the competition mechanism of mechanical instabilities of the FGPM plate. Furthermore, the active flutter control of FGPM plate based on displacement feedback, actuated by FGPM plate itself, is carried for improving the aeroelastic stability of the system. The influence factors of active control are explored through parameter analysis, and results show that the volume fraction of piezoelectric material and thermal loads can significantly affect the active control effect. The present work demonstrates that the flutter stability of the FGPM plate can be improved by optimization of the material distribution and self-actuated active control.