Nonlinear transient dynamic responses of a rotating composite blade with graphene coating layers

Abstract

Abstract The higher demands on the performance and efficiency of rotating machinery have led to an urgent demand for advanced composite materials and new structures in recent years. In response to this requirement, a rotating sandwich plate model based on the first-order shear deformation theory is developed to investigate the nonlinear transient dynamic response of a rotating composite blade with graphene reinforced composite coating layers under the pulse load. In this work, three kinds of pulse loads, including the step load, sinusoidal load and air blast load, are considered. The material properties of graphene coating layers are estimated based on the modified Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model. Considering the geometric nonlinearity, the nonlinear partial differential governing equations of motion for the rotating composite blade are derived via the Hamilton principle. According to the Galerkin method, the nonlinear partial differential governing equations of motion are discretized into the nonlinear ordinary differential governing equations. A comprehensive parameter study is performed to explore the effects of the blade aspect ratio, graphene platelet (GPL) geometry, GPL weight fraction, rotating speed, damping, and excitation parameter on nonlinear transient dynamic responses of the rotating composite blade. In addition, the effect of the GPL weight fraction on nonlinear transient dynamic responses of the rotating composite blade at different rotational speeds is also discussed. The verification study demonstrates that the developed model can predict the nonlinear transient dynamic response of the rotating composite blade with graphene coating layers, which will be helpful for the design of the rotating blade with higher performance.