Free vibration analysis of hybrid laminated thin-walled cylindrical shells containing multilayer FG-CNTRC plies

Abstract

In this paper, the free vibration analysis of hybrid laminated thin-walled cylindrical shells is investigated based on Sanders’s thin shell theory and artificial spring technology. The hybrid laminated shells are made of graphite fiber reinforced composite (GFRC) and multilayer functionally gradient carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) plies. The influence of Coriolis and centrifugal forces on the shell's strain and kinetic energy, resulting from rotation, has been considered. The orthogonal polynomials are selected as the admissible function and the Rayleigh–Ritz method is employed to obtain the natural frequency. The results of the study are validated against the results of open literature. The influences of CNT distribution patterns, number of plies, stacking sequences, CNT volume fraction, boundary constraints(BCs), rotating speed, and the orientation angle on the natural frequency of the cylindrical shells. The results show that specific stacking configurations can significantly enhance the fundamental frequency of the shell. It provides a reference for the design and optimization of hybrid laminated cylindrical shell structures.