Dynamic instability of a compound nanocomposite shell

Free oscillations and dynamic instability due to supersonic airflow pressure are investigated in a functional-gradient compound composite conical-cylindrical shell made of a carbon nanotubes-reinforced material. Nanocomposite materials with a linear distribution of the volumetric fraction of nanotubes over the thickness are considered. Extended mixture rule is used to estimate nanocomposite’s mechanical characteristics. A high-order shear deformation theory is used to represent the shell deformation. The assumed-mode technique, along with a Rayleigh-Ritz method, is applied to obtain the equations of the structure motion. To analyze the compound structure dynamics, a new system of piecewise basic functions is suggested. The pressure of a supersonic flow on the shell is obtained by using the piston theory. An example of the dynamic analysis of a nanocomposite conical-cylindrical shell in the supersonic gas flow is considered. The results of its modal analysis using the Rayleigh-Ritz technique are close to the natural frequencies of the shell obtained by finite element analysis. In this case, finite element analysis can only be used for shells made of material with a uniform distribution of nanotubes over the thickness. The dependence of the natural frequencies of a compound shell on the ratio of the lengths of the conical and cylindrical parts is studied. The dependence of the critical pressure of a supersonic flow on the Mach numbers and the type of carbon nanotubes reinforcement is investigated. Shells with a concentration of nanotubes predominantly near the outer and inner surfaces are characterized by higher values of natural frequencies and critical pressure than the shells with a uniform distribution of nanotubes or with a predominant concentration of nanotubes inside the shell.