Natural Frequencies of Soft-Core Composite Sandwich Plates Reinforced by FG Graphene Platelets

Abstract

Superior mechanical properties such as ultrahigh stiffness and strength along with amazing physical properties have led to the use of nano graphene platelets (GPLs) as a reinforcement in polymer composite structures such as sandwich plates. In this research, free vibration analysis of rectangular sandwich plates with functionally graded (FG) GPL-reinforced face sheets and a soft core is investigated. A high-order three-layer accurate sandwich plate theory is employed to model the soft-core sandwich structure. Third order shear deformable plate theory is applied for functionally graded graphene nano-composite face sheets while second and third order polynomials are used for displacements of the soft core. In this theory, the transverse flexibility of the core as well as the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses are assumed. Hamilton’s principle is applied to extract the motion equations and the corresponding analytical solutions are presented. The effects of materials properties and geometrical parameters on the natural frequencies of the sandwich plates are studied. A comparison of the present results in particular cases with those of published studies confirms the accuracy of the present analysis. Results show that the natural frequencies of the sandwich plates are enhanced by reinforcing the face sheets with GPLs.