Non-smooth nonlinear meta-plate for supersonic aeroelastic vibration suppression

This study presents an innovative non-smooth nonlinear meta-plate design for simultaneous broadband vibration suppression and supersonic flutter enhancement in aerospace applications. The proposed non-smooth nonlinear meta-plate (NNM) integrates periodic nonlinear vibro-impact resonators (NVIRs) to address the critical challenges of vibration control and aeroelastic stability enhancement in stiffened plates under supersonic flow. The NVIRs exhibit distinctive mechanical properties combining amplitude-dependent stiffness nonlinearity and collision-enhanced metadamping. Based on harmonic balance analysis and the modal analysis approach, we derive semi-analytical solutions for nonlinear bandgap boundaries that explicitly depend on nonlinear stiffness and damping parameters. Comparison between theoretical predictions and experimental results shows excellent agreement. Experimental evaluations reveal that the NNM configuration achieves remarkable improvements, including a 267 % enhancement in bandgap width with only 3.05 % mass increase. Besides, the implementation of the NNM demonstrates its exceptional aeroelastic suppression capabilities in supersonic flow, resulting in a notable 21.3 % improvement in flutter stability. This enhancement is attributed to the synergistic effect of impact-induced stiffness modulation and nonlinear energy dissipation mechanisms. The precise modulation of nonlinear stiffness and collision damping parameters also facilitates the realization of significant nonlinear behavior and collision-enhanced metadamping effects in NVIRs, governing broadband energy transmission attenuation. The proposed nonlinear meta-plate design establishes an innovative approach to nonlinear metastructure engineering, enabling simultaneous broadband vibration control and supersonic flutter suppression in aircraft structures.