NONLINEAR RESPONSE OF COMPOSITE PANELS OF HIGH-SPEED AIRCRAFT

The surface thermal protection systems of advanced high speed aircraft such as the National Aerospace Plane (N.A.S.P.) will be constructed from high temperature resistant composite and intermetallic materials. The various dynamic response studies indicate that under severe aerodynamic, acoustic and thermal loads the response of these surface panels is nonlinear. The equations of motion for nonlinear response of composite surface panels are developed in the space-time domain. A time domain Monte Carlo type approach is used to determine the nonlinear deflection and stress response solutions. The formulation includes surface loads due to nonsteady aerodynamic flow, turbulent boundary layer and engine exhaust noise, oscillating surface shocks and aerodynamic heating. Numerical results are presented for a simply supported laminated composite panel.