Integrated aerothermoelastic analysis framework with application to skin panels

This study describes the development of an integrated aerothermoelastic computational framework. The framework consists of a Navier-Stokes aerodynamic solver based on an Automatic Differentiation flow solver code; a finite element structural solver for moderate deflection of a composite, doubly curved, shallow shell with thermal stress; and a finite element thermal solver for heat transfer in composite shallow shells with nonlinear material properties. The solvers are loosely coupled using a partitioned scheme. An analytical approach is developed to determine the time accuracy and the so-called energy accuracy of a loosely coupled scheme, which serves as a guide for designing schemes having a high convergence rate. The aeroelastic and aerothermoelastic behaviors of two-dimensional and three-dimensional panels are investigated using the computational framework. The effects of the aspect ratio and boundary-layer thickness are found to have significant influence on the critical flutter parameter and the onset time of aerothermoelastic instability.