Vibration analysis and control of delaminated and/or damaged composite plate structures using finite element analysis

Abstract

The present article deals with the vibration analysis of delaminated and/or damages composite plate structures. Delamination and/or debonding occur in the laminate due to various load and extreme environmental conditions in their service time. A Matlab based finite element model is developed for centrally located delamination. The Active Fiber Composite actuator layer is placed at top or bottom of the laminated plate. A small delamination in the mid-plane is considered. Numerical results are generated for different boundary conditions and delamination sizes. The formulation of the governing equation is based on minimum potential energy approach. The key observation is that natural frequencies decrease due to delamination because of a decrease in stiffness of the structures. Certain local mode shapes can also be observed in the delamination region. The stiffness of the delaminated composite plate can be enhanced by applying voltage to the active fibre actuator layer.