A REFINED ANALYSIS OF VIBRATION AND DAMPING FOR ANISOTROPIC LAMINATES IN CYLINDRICAL BENDING

Abstract

The finite element method based on transverse incompressibility and layer-wise linear distribution of in-plane displacements is applied to the dynamic problem of cross-ply and general laminates with off-axis layers in cylindrical bending. Specific damping capacity of each mode is obtained by the modal strain energy method. The numerical results for [0/90](s) laminates show that through-the-thickness variation of in-plane displacements has a great influence on the damping of composite plates, especially on the damping of thick ones. Also, numerical examples are computed for an anisotropic laminates having stacking sequences such as [+/-theta](s) and [theta/theta + 90](s), to investigate the effect of fiber orientation on fundamental frequencies and specific damping capacities. The present results show that the dynamic behaviors, especially specific damping capacity, of thick laminates are very different from those of thin laminates as the fiber orientation changes. (C) 1995 Academic Press Limited