Flutter of Perforated Metallic Plates Repaired with Angle-ply Composite Patches

The performance of damaged metallic plates reinforced with fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials (composite patches) is presented in this study. A square aluminum plate with a central cutout is considered as a damaged structural element. Numerical studies using commercial finite element code were conducted to investigate the effects of variation in patch lamination parameters on flutter velocity of the repaired plates. The various laminate parameters such as fiber angles and stacking sequences are considered in this study. The results presented herein indicate that, for flutter pressure of a repaired metallic plate with central cutout, a set of laminated composite patches with different number of plies and stacking sequences can be found, which improve flutter pressure of damaged plates.