Abstract: The dynamic stability of a thin plate in supersonic flow based on 2-dimensional linear theory leads to the study of a new problem in mathematical physics: complex eigenvalue prob-lem for a non-self-adjoint fourth-order integro-differential equation of Volterra’s type.Exact solutions of the aeroelastic system is obtained. In contrast to various approximate analyses, our critical curve agrees satisfactorily with experimental data, being free from divergence in the low supe’rsonic region. Moreover, we observe some notable physical behaviors: (1) mutual separation of flutter and vacuum frequency spectrums, (2) degeneracy of critical Mach number. The present method may be generalized in solving the supersonic flutter for 3-dimensional airfoil model as well as blade cascade in turbo-generator.

Key words: discrete operator difference method, element function, reproduce exactly