Numerical investigation of aerothermoelastic characteristics of a thin heated panel in high supersonic and hypersonic flow

In the present work, fluid–thermal–structural interaction analyses of a thin pre-heated and pre-buckled stiffened panel subjected to high-speed flow from Mach 3 to Mach 6 are performed and its aerothermoelastic characteristics are investigated. A finite element method-based nonlinear transient thermoelastic solver is strongly coupled with a finite volume method-based Navier–Stokes fluid flow solver for the calculation of aerodynamic loadings. A recent experimental test case is considered for validation, and further detailed analyses are performed for various total pressure, total temperature and Reynolds number conditions. Also, the effect of Mach number on the aerodynamic, structural and flow field characteristics is investigated using aerothermoelastic analyses and reported. Obtained simulation results show good agreement with the experimental results of the literature. It is observed that the stiffened panel continues to deform in the pre-buckled mode with a significant increase in deformation, stresses and total energy beyond Mach 3 because of severe aerodynamic heating. It is also observed that the effect of the cross rib to improve the aerothermoelastic performance is significantly reduced with increasing Mach number. The present results provide insights into the aerothermoelastic characteristics of thin panels and have implications for the design of aircraft for high supersonic and hypersonic flows.