1984 Volume 3 Pages 121-126
A method to calculate the divergence speed of a swept-forward wing made of cover skins of fiber reinforced composite materials as an eigen-value problem of differential equation is proposed. The deformation of the wing under the concentrated force and moment in an aerodynamic chord is calculated, and a concept of a pseudo elastic axis is derived as a result. The two-dimentional approximation yields a simplified formula of the divergence speed which is expressed in the use of the position of the pseudo elastic axis. It is concluded that the optimum constitution of lamination for the prevention of divergence should be selected taking the position of the pseudo elastic axis as a target. A numerical example using carbon-expoxy composites shows that until 30° of swep-forward angle it is easy to prevent divergence by the selection of optimum constitution of lamination.
