DYNAMICS OF PRETWISTED ROTATING THIN-WALLED BEAMS OPERATING IN A TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENT

The effects of a steady temperature gradient on eigenvibration characteristics of a rotating pretwisted thin-walled beam is addressed. The analysis is carried out in the framework of a refined theory of thin-walled anisotropic composite beams encompassing a number of nonclassical features. The displayed results reveal that the deterioration of material properties induced by the temperature rise yields a decay of eigenfrequencies and modification of natural modes, a fact that is likely to have detrimental repercussions upon their dynamic response and flutter instability characteristics. Moreover, as it was highlighted, the proper use of the tailoring technique can overcome the deleterious effect associated with the thermal degradation of material properties of blade structures.