Free Vibration Analysis of Sandwich Cylindrical Shells with Multilayer Fiber-Metal Face sheets and Flexible Core Based on Higher-Order Sandwich Shell Theory

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

In this study, the free vibration response of cylindrical sandwich shells with fiber–metal laminate (FML) facesheets and compliant core under simply supported boundary conditions is analytically investigated. The governing equations are derived based on Hamilton’s principle within the framework of a higher-order sandwich shell theory and implemented in MATLAB to analyze the nonlinear effects on the vibrational behavior of the structure. In the modeling process, the behavior of the facesheets is described using the classical shell theory, while the displacement field of the core is obtained from three-dimensional elasticity theory without introducing simplifying assumptions. To enhance the accuracy, the nonlinear distributions obtained from the explicit solution of the equilibrium equations in the core are incorporated as complementary relations in the modeling process. Furthermore, the in-plane geometric nonlinearities and transverse deformations of the core are considered within the higher-order model to provide a more realistic simulation of the structural response. In the formulation of the governing equations, all stress and displacement components, along with the normal and shear stresses at the core–facesheet interfaces, are fully included. Subsequently, by performing eigenvalue analysis, the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the structure are extracted and validated against available reference data. In addition, a parametric study is carried out to evaluate the influence of geometric parameters, core density, thickness, and layer configuration on the vibrational response of the system.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Amirkabir Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Volume 57, Issue 7
in progress
October 2025

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics