Numerical Investigations of Multilayered Sandwich Structures under Free Vibrations

Abstract

Abstract: Important structural properties of composite materials, such as high strength-to-weight and high stiffness-to-weight ratios, have resulted in a great need for these materials in various engineering industries, such as Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Aerospace Engineering. This paper presents results from numerical investigations using software based on Finite Element Method (FEM) and its comparison with other theories from the literature under free vibrations of 5 and 7 layered sandwich plates. This study utilizes the finite element method to perform modal analysis of a sandwich composite plate with a honeycomb core. In this paper, the modal responses of a flat rectangular sandwich plate with a honeycomb core using FEM software are presented. To confirm the accuracy and reliability of the current model, validation with present literature is studied. In this study, aluminum honeycomb is used as the core materials, while glass fiber reinforced composite is used for the top and bottom of the plate to examine modal responses. Free vibration responses are investigated for the various boundary situations. The modal analysis of composite sandwich constructions was investigated, and the results were verified using available literature. The sandwich structure was solved using a finite element approach, which was modeled in ABAQUS software. The results indicated that frequencies by FEM software are in good agreement with other literature results.