Finite Element Vibration Analysis of Variable Thickness Thin Cylindrical FGM Shells under Various Boundary Conditions

Abstract

Abstract This research aimed to study the analysis of free vibrations of cylindrical shells made of functionally graded materials (FGMs). The studied shells were thin and had been selected in a way that their thickness varies linearly along the length. A combination of different boundary conditions was applied, and vibrational analysis was performed through finite element method. Then, the effects of different parameters, including varying thickness along the length, shell length, and radius, on the frequency behavior of the shell were extracted. Afterward, the frequency behaviors of the shells made of different materials were compared. The numerical results obtained in this article have been verified by the results derived from the analytical relations of previous research, which indicated the high accuracy of the finite element method for the vibrational analysis of the shells with variable thickness. The analysis indicated significant effects of thickness changes and boundary conditions on the natural frequencies.