Vibration characteristics and optimal design of composite sandwich beam with partially configured hybrid MR-Elastomers

Abstract

The free and forced vibration characteristics of a sandwich beam with composite face layers and partially configured carbon nanotubes reinforced magnetorheological elastomer (hybrid MR elastomer) core is presented in this article. Higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT) based on finite element (FE) formulation is employed to derive the governing equations of motion of the partially configured hybrid MR elastomer sandwich beam. The efficacy of the present FE method is evaluated by comparing its numerical solutions with those reported in the literature. The effects of partial configurations, magnetic fields, and support conditions on the vibration characteristics of partially configured hybrid MR elastomer sandwich beams are discussed. Further, the structural optimization problem is formulated to identify the optimal positions for the hybrid MR elastomers and optimal face sheet ply orientations to maximize the vibration characteristics of the composite structures. The solution of the optimization problem, attained using the genetic algorithm (GA) coupled with FE formulations. The numerical results show that the location of the hybrid MR elastomer and optimal ply orientation have significant influences on the vibration and damping performances of the partially configured hybrid MR elastomer sandwich structures.