Frequency analysis of laminated composite rectangular plates with elliptical cut-outs

Abstract

The natural frequencies of the composite laminated plates with various elliptical cut-out parameters have been studied using Finite Element Analysis. Due to the high strength and stiffness to weight ratio, the application of composite structures are increasing widely. Predicting the natural frequency of composite plates with cut-outs is crucial as resonance could result in failures. This research reports the observations of the free vibrational analysis of a composite laminated plate with an elliptical cut-out using the finite element approach, exploring the effect of parameters such as orientation, size positions of the elliptical cut-out, boundary conditions, stack, and ply orientations on the non-dimensional fundamental frequency of vibrations. Results are compared to previously published research and demonstrate strong agreement with the current findings. According to the investigation, the CCCC boundary condition consistently records the greatest frequency values. The dimensions of the cut-out plays a vital role in determining the vibrational frequencies, as mass of the plate reduces. It is found that the vibrational (Hz) frequency increases with increase in number of layers.