Free vibration analysis of three-layer thin cylindrical shell with variable thickness two-dimensional FGM middle layer under arbitrary boundary conditions

Abstract

In this paper, a unified method is developed to analyze free vibrations of the three-layer functionally graded cylindrical shell with non-uniform thickness. The middle layer is composed of two-dimensional functionally gradient materials (2D-FGMs), whose thickness is set as a function of smooth continuity. Four sets of artificial springs are assigned at the ends of the shells to satisfy the arbitrary boundary conditions. The Sanders’ shell theory is used to obtain the strain and curvature-displacement relations. Furthermore, the Chebyshev polynomials are selected as the admissible function to improve computational efficiency, and the equation of motion is derived by the Rayleigh–Ritz method. The effects of spring stiffness, volume fraction indexes, configuration on of shell, and the change in thickness of the middle layer on the modal characteristics of the new structural shell are also analyzed.