Dynamic response control of rotating composite booms under solar radiation

This paper deals with the thermally induced dynamic response analysis of a composite blade rotating at a constant speed. Fiber-reinforced composite thin-walled beam are used in a variety of aerospace applications, including helicopter rotor blades, tilt rotor aircraft, turbine engines, compressor blades, only to name a few. The composite beam is modeled as a tapered thin-walled beam which is subjected to a temperature field. A number of non-classical features such as transverse shear, secondary warping, anisotropy of constituent materials, and rotary inertias have been included in the model. The structure of the blade consists of a host graphite epoxy laminate with spanwise distributed transversely isotropic (PZT-4) sensors and actuators. The discussed results reveal that the thermal environment has a detrimental effect on the blade dynamic response. The active controller is implemented via the combined displacement and velocity feedback control methodology, which can alleviate the deleterious effect associated with the thermally induced dynamic response.