Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Free Vibration and Dynamic Behaviour of Laminated Composite Shallow Shell under Hygrothermal Condition

Abstract

Laminated composite materials are extensively used in defense, aerospace, aircraft industry and in advanced sports industry because of high stiffness to weight ratio, high. strength to weight ratio, light weight, and low cost compared to conventional materials. During the service of these materials, it is affected by the temperature and moisture. The study deals with the numerical and experimental investigations of free vibration and dynamic behavior of composite shell panel subjected to the hygrothermal environment. A mathematical model of the laminated composite cylindrical shell panel is developed using the first order shear deformation theory under different temperatures and moisture concentrations. Based on the developed mathematical model a computer program is developed in the ANSYS environment using finite element method. The convergence test is performed for the presently developed model and validated by comparing the responses with the results available in the published literature. For the experimental analysis laminated composite, cylindrical shell is fabricated using hand layup method. The natural frequency of the composite panel is computed experimentally for different aspect ratios with the help of the vibration analyzer (NI-cDAQ) in conjunction with LAB-VIEW program and the result is compared with the simulation results. The effect of different parameters like aspect ratio, thickness ratio, and support condition and convergence study are analyzed using presently developed model for both free and dynamic analysis and discussed in detail.