Structural Similitude between Vibration Response and Flutter Boundary of Cross Ply Composite Plates

This paper presents the similarity conditions between aeroelastic instability (flutter) and the free vibration frequency of cross-ply laminated plate. The method is based upon the direct use of governing equation of the system. Both complete and partial similarities are discussed. This approach, the natural frequency analysis of models and prototype is used to predict the flutter boundary of laminated plate. The results present herein indicate that there are some constrains such as geometry of the model, model material, and stacking sequence of laminates in designing a model with complete similarity. As working with complete similar scale model is usually difficult, some certain types of distortion (distortion in number of plies, and stacking sequence) are considered. According to the results, cross ply composite models can be found which have this ability to predict flutter boundary of the prototype accurately using free vibration data.