Free vibration analysis of sandwich cylindrical shells with functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite face sheets using the differential quadrature (DQ) method

Abstract

This study investigates the free vibration behavior of cylindrical shell with a stiff core and functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) face sheets. Both uniformly distributed CNT reinforced (UD-CNT) and functionally graded CNT reinforced (FG-CNT) in the thickness direction are used to examine their impact on the vibration characteristics of sandwich cylindrical shells. The governing differential equations of motions are derived using Hamilton’s principle. These equations are solved using the differential quadrature (DQ) method to calculate the natural frequencies of the sandwich cylindrical shell. This approach allows for the consideration of various support configurations of the sandwich cylindrical beams. A comprehensive parametric study is performed to explore the influence of carbon nanotube volume fraction, core-to-face sheet thickness ratio, slenderness ratio, and end supports on the free vibration behavior of cylindrical shells with functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) face sheets. The results show that the effects of carbon nanotubes and other geometric factors significantly influence the dimensionless frequencies of the sandwich cylindrical shells.