A Numerical Solution for Vibration Analysis of the Stiffened Variable-Thickness Conical Shells

Abstract

The free vibrations of the stiffened hollow conical shells with different variable thickness distribution modes are investigated in detail in the context of Donnel-Mushtari conical shell theory. Two sets of boundary conditions have been considered. The algebraic energy equations of the conical shell and the stiffeners are established separately. The Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to equate maximum strain energy to maximum kinetic energy which leads to a standard linear eigenvalue problem. Numerical results are presented graphically for different geometric parameters. The parametric study reveals the characteristic behavior which is useful in selecting the shell thickness distribution modes and the stiffener type. The comparison between the present results and those of finite element method shows that the present results agree well with those of finite element method.