Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical

Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical

Engineering Science
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Free vibration analysis of composite sandwich plates

M Meunier and R A Shenoi
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 1999
213: 715
DOI: 10.1177/095440629921300707

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 715

Free vibration analysis of composite sandwich plates

M Meunier and R A Shenoi*

Department of Ship Science, University of Southampton, UK

Abstract: The
bre reinforced plastic ( FRP) composite materials con
gured as sandwich panels are

nding increased usage in a variety of structural applications. An important facet in correct usage is
an understanding of the dynamic behaviour of such structural con
gurations. This paper addresses
the issue of natural frequencies of sandwich plate panels. The closed-form solutions are obtained
using Reddy’s
rst- and higher-order shear deformation theories. The approaches are validated against
results from a standard, commercially available
nite element analysis package. The paper concludes
with a detailed investigation of the inuence of variation in material property parameters and plate
geometry variables on the natural frequency.

Keywords: FRP, composites, sandwich, dynamic behaviour, natural frequency, shear deformation
plate theories

NOTATION M coeYcients of the mass matrix M

ij
n number of vibration half waves in
a sandwich plate length the y direction
A ,B ,D in-plane, coupled bending–stretching n total number of layers of the plate
ij ij ij 1
and bending stiVnesses n number of layers of each face of the
2
b sandwich plate width sandwich plate
Cê(k) elastic moduli of the kth layer U, V, W, X, Y generalized spatial variation
ij amplitudes
Cê(core) elastic moduli of the core
ij x, y, z plate coordinates
E exural modulus of the core
c z thickness coordinate measured from
E ,F ,H high-order stiVnesses i
ij ij ij the mid-plane of the sandwich plate
E skin ply material elastic modulus in
1
direction along
bres
á, â =mð/a, nð/b
E skin ply material elastic modulus in
2 õ
bre orientation relative to the x
direction normal to
bres
G axis in a lamina
shear modulus of the core
c î core material Poisson’s ratio
G ,G ,G skin ply material in-plane and c
12 13 23 î skin ply material Poisson’s ratio
transverse shear moduli s
r material density of the core
h total thickness of the sandwich plate c
r(k) material density of the kth layer
h thickness of the core of the
c r skin ply material density
sandwich plate s
ö frequency association with m and n
I ,I ,I normal, coupled normal–rotary and
1 2 3 half waves
rotary inertia
ȫ dimensionless natural frequency
I ,I ,I high-order inertia terms
4 5 7
k constant
k ,K,K shear correction coeYcients
s i j 1 INTRODUCTION
K coeYcients of the stiVness matrix K
ij
m number of vibration half waves in
the x direction Fibre reinforced plastic ( FRP) sandwich material has
been used for a relatively long time in a variety of struc-
tural engineering applications. However, it is only since
The MS was received on 4 August 1998 and was accepted after revision the 1980s, with the development of high-speed light craft
for publication on 16 October 1998.
* Corresponding author: Department of Ship Science, University of such as high-speed passenger ferries, lifeboats, special
Southampton, High
eld, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1BJ, UK. military vessels and high-performance sailing and power
C06498 © IMechE 1999 Downloaded from pic.sagepub.com at COLUMBIA UNIV on September 25, 2014 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
716 M MEUNIER AND R A SHENOI
boats, that it has become a major construction material
for hulls, decks and superstructures. This is linked with
the emergence of a new and relatively rigid core material,
PVC foam, which is nowadays the most commonly used
sandwich core material in the construction of high-
speed vessels.
The greatest advantage in the use of FRP sandwich
plates is their high stiVness–weight and strength–weight
ratios. Besides this, with the use of foam core material,
they oVer built-in thermal insulation and in many cases
the possibility of using large panels that do not require
any additional stiVening. Sandwich plate and beam
behaviour in a static and strength context has been well
documented in standard texts [1, 2]. The same does not
hold true for dynamic behaviour, which is in sharp con-
trast to the analyses of laminated plates.
The dynamic behaviour of laminated plates has been
analysed by many researchers. DiVerent theories have
been proposed which diVer mainly in whether the eVects
of the shear deformation and rotary inertia are incorpor-
ated. The classical laminate theory is based on the
KirchoV assumption. In this case the in-plane transverse
normal remains normal while loading the plate, and thus
the eVect of shear deformation is not included. It has
been shown that the classical laminate theory [3] is inad-
equate for the analysis of thick laminated plates since it
overpredicts the natural frequencies. There is then a need
to take into account the eVect of shear deformation in
the study of relatively thick laminated plates, and hence
a need to use some appropriate shear deformation theor-
ies. The
rst-order shear deformation theory ( FSDT )
was
rst developed by Yang et al. [4]. It gives a linear
distribution of the in-plane normal and shear stresses
through the thickness. This yields non-zero transverse
shear stresses on the plate bounding planes, and there-
fore shear correction factors are required. On the other
hand, the high-order shear deformation theory ( HSDT ),
proposed by Reddy [5, 6 ], leads to a non-linear distri-
bution of the shear stresses through the thickness. It
provides a parabolic distribution, by which the con-
ditions on the boundary plane are ful
lled and the need
for shear correction factors is removed. Both FSDT and
HSDT have been widely used to study the free vibration
of laminated plates [7, 8].
These theories have been applied to some extent to
study the behaviour of sandwich plates. Several papers
have appeared in the literature that deal with sandwich
plate analysis. Whitney [9] presented an FSDT for stress
analysis of laminated composite /sandwich plates. Later,
Pandya and Kant [10] developed a simple isoparametric

nite element formulation based on the HSDT for ex-
ural analysis of multilayer symmetric sandwich plates.
Whereas a substantial amount of work has been done
on the static analysis of sandwich plates, the authors
have found little work on the free vibration of sandwich
plates. The
rst dynamic study of sandwich plates was
undertaken in 1972 by Chan and Cheung [11], who car-
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C Downloaded from pic.sagepub.com at COLUMBIA UNIV on September 25, 2014
ried out a dynamic analysis of multilayered sandwich
plates using linear elastic theory. Reddy and Kuppusamy
[12] studied the free vibration of laminated and sandwich
rectangular plates using three-dimensional elasticity
equations and the associated
nite element model.
Kanetmatsu et al. [13] proposed, through the principle
of minimum total potential energy, the study of the
bending and vibration of fully clamped sandwich plates.
Recently, Wang [14] studied the vibration of sandwich
plates on the basis of the Reisser–Mindlin shear defor-
mation plate theory, via KirchoV solutions. Lee and Fan
[15] carried out a
nite element analysis of composite
sandwich plates. In their theory, the face plates are mod-
elled on the basis of Mindlin’s plate theory and the dis-
placement
elds of the core are linearly interpolated in
terms of the displacement of the faces. None of the
papers quoted above considered the possibility of using
analytical methods based on either Reddy’s FSDT or
HSDT to analyse the dynamic characteristics of FRP
sandwich plates.
Consequently, the aim of the present paper is to study
the feasibility of using analytical methods based on either
FSDT or HSDT to study the free vibration behaviour
of FRP sandwich plates and also to investigate the inu-
ence of material property parameters and plate geometry
related variables on natural frequencies.
2 THEORY
The rectangular sandwich plates studied in this paper
are composed of two FRP composite laminated faces
and a rigid core of thickness h . The
bre orientation in
c
each lamina of the faces is represented by an angle õ.
This angle is measured from the x axis. Therefore, when
the
bres are parallel to the x axis, õ is equal to 0°, and
when they are parallel to the y axis, õ is equal to 90°.
The studied plate is assumed to have length a, width b
and total thickness h, as shown in Fig. 1. The faces are
considered to be made of thin orthotropic layers, while
the theory allows the core material to be either isotropic
or orthotropic. Since a PVC foam core is being con-
sidered, the core is assumed to be isotropic for the rest
of the study.
Fig. 1 Plate geometry
C06498 © IMechE 1999
 FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PLATES 717

Using analytical methods for the dynamic study of
this type of plate leads to some constraints. Indeed, it is
well known that the behaviour of laminated plates that
have an arbitrary geometry, are constructed of arbi-
trarily oriented layers, and are subjected to arbitrary
boundary conditions that cannot be studied using
closed-form analytical techniques. However, analytical
solutions have been obtained for simply supported rec-
tangular plates made of speci
c lamination schemes,
namely cross-ply and antisymmetric angle-ply laminated
plates. The same restrictions exist in the study of sand-
wich plates. Therefore, the analysis is carried out for
simply supported sandwich plates comparable with
angle-ply or cross-ply rectangular plates to which a sym-
metric isotropic foam core has been added in the middle
(see Fig. 2).
derived from the equations of motion and depend on
the theory used, the boundary conditions, the mode con-
sidered and the material and geometric properties that
are included in the stiVness and inertia terms. The
expressions of these last terms are presented below for
both FSDT and HSDT applied to the study of FRP
rectangular sandwich plates.
2.1 FSDT
In the case of laminated composite plates consisting of
n layers, the in-plane stiVness, A , the coupled bending–
1 ij
stretching stiVness, B and the bending stiVness, D , are
ij ij
given by

P
n zk
Reddy and Phan [8] and later on Reddy [16 ] have (A , B , D )= æ1 C ê(k)( 1, z, z2) dz,
explained the derivation of the free vibration equation ij ij ij ij
k=1 zkÕ 1
for cross-ply and angle-ply simply supported laminated
i, j=1, 2, 6
plates using FSDT and HSDT. Consequently, the theory

P
covered here concentrates only on the implementation n zk
A = æ1 K K Cê(k) dz, i, j=4, 5
of these methods to sandwich plates. ij i j ij
For convenience, the free vibration relation, also k= 1 zkÕ 1
(2)
known as the eigenvalue equation, is repeated here. For
any
xed value of the mode number (m, n), it is given The normal inertia, I , the coupled normal–rotary
1
by

C DG H C DG H G H
K K K K K U M M M M M U 0
11 12 13 14 15 11 12 13 14 15
K K K K V M M M M V 0
22 23 24 25 22 23 24 25
K K K W
ö2 M M M W = 0 (1)
33 34 35 33 34 35
K K X M M X 0
44 45 44 45
(sym.) Y K (sym.) M Y 0
55 55
By solving equation (1), the fundamental frequencies
ö of the (m, n) mode of vibration associated with inertia, I , and the rotary inertia, I , for the same lami-
2 3
the corresponding mode shapes {U, V, W, X, Y}T can be nated plate are given by
determined. In this equation, K and M are respectively
ij ij
P
n zk
the coeYcients of the stiVness and mass matrix. These (I , I , I )= æ1 r(k)(1, z, z2 ) dz (3)
coeYcients can be found in the Appendix. They are 1 2 3
k=1 zkÕ 1

Fig. 2 Comparison of the cross-sections for (a) the base laminate and (b) the sandwich panel studied

C06498 © IMechE 1999 Downloaded from pic.sagepub.com at COLUMBIA UNIV on September 25, 2014 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 213 Part C
718 M MEUNIER AND R A SHENOI

When FRP rectangular sandwich plates with n layers (A , B , D , E , F , H )

2 ij ij ij ij ij ij
in each skin, as shown in Fig. 2, are studied, equations

P
n zk
( 2) and ( 3) should be rewritten in the following form: = æ1 Cê(k)(1, z, z2, z3, z4, z6) dz,
ij
k= 1 zkÕ 1

P
n zk
(A , B , D )= æ2 Cê(k)(1, z, z2) dz i, j=1, 2, 6
ij ij ij ij

P
k= 1 zkÕ 1 n zk
(A , D , F )= æ1 Cê(k)(1, z2, z4 ) dz,
ij ij ij ij
P
h /2
+ c Cê(core)(1, z, z2) dz k= 1 zkÕ 1
ij i, j=4, 5
Õ hc/2
(6)
2n2+ 1 zk
+ æ
+
k= n2 2 zkÕ 1
P
Cê(k)(1, z, z2) dz,
ij The inertia terms I , I , I , I , I and I for the same
1 2 3 4 5
laminated plate are given by
7
i, j=1, 2, 6
(I , I , I , I , I , I )
1 2 3 4 5 7

P
n zk
P P
n zk h /2
(A ) = æ2 K K Cê(k) dz+ c K K C ê(core) dz = æ1 r(k)(1, z, z2, z3, z4, z5, z7) dz (7)
ij i j ij i j ij
k= 1 zkÕ 1 Õhc/2 k= 1 zkÕ 1
2n2+ 1 zk When FRP rectangular sandwich plates with n layers
P
2
+ æ K K Cê(k) dz, i, j=4,5 in each skin, as shown in Fig. 2, are studied, equations
i j ij
k= n2+ 2 zkÕ 1 (6) and (7) should be rewritten in the following form:
(4)
(A , B , D , E , F , H )
ij ij ij ij ij ij

P
and n zk
= æ2 Cê(k)(1, z, z2, z3, z4, z6) dz
ij
k= 1 zkÕ 1
P
n zk
(I , I , I )= æ2 r(k)(1, z, z2) dz
P
1 2 3 h /2
k= 1 zkÕ 1 + c Cê(core)(1, z, z2, z3, z4, z6) dz
ij
Õhc/2
P
h /2
+ c r (1, z, z2) dz 2n2+ 1 zk
Õ hc/2
2n2+ 1 zk
c + æ
k= n2+ 2 zkÕ 1
P
C ê(k)( 1, z, z2, z3, z4, z6) dz,
ij

+ æ
k= n2+ 2 zkÕ 1
P
r(k)(1, z, z2) dz (5) i, j=1, 2, 6

P
n zk
(A , D , F )= æ2 Cê(k)(1, z2, z4 ) dz
Generally, when laminated plates are studied, the multi- ij ij ij ij
k= 1 zkÕ 1
plication of the two shear correction factors K and K

P
i j h /2
is assumed to be equal to 5/6 and is denoted as k . This
s + c C ê(core)(1, z2, z4) dz
assumption was found to be accurate for multilayer lami- ij
Õhc/2
nated plates [12]. However, it is essential to be aware 2n2+ 1 zk
that the shear correction factors generally depend on the
constituent ply properties, the lamination scheme and
+ æ
k= n2+ 2 zkÕ 1
ijP
Cê(k)(1, z2, z4) dz,

the type of structure. Therefore, with the insertion of a i, j=4, 5

PVC foam core material in the sandwich plates, new (8)
values for the shear correction factors might be required.
and
To the knowledge of the present authors, no such values
have yet been published in the literature, and therefore (I , I , I , I , I , I )
1 2 3 4 5 7
the
rst numerical study in this paper will consist in their

P
n zk
determination. = æ2 r(k)(1, z, z2, z3, z4, z6) dz
k= 1 zkÕ 1

P
h /2
+ c r ( 1, z, z2, z3, z4, z6) dz
c
Õhc/2
2n2+ 1 zk
P
2.2 HSDT
+ æ r(k)(1, z, z2, z3, z4, z6) dz
(9)
In the case of laminated composite plates composed of +
k= n2 2 zkÕ 1
n layers, the stiVnesses A , B , D , E , F and H are The use of equations (4) and (5 ) for the FSDT or equa-
1 ij ij ij ij ij ij
given by tions (8) and (9) for the HSDT allows, along with the
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 FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PLATES 719

Table 1 Material properties of unidirectional glass
bre in a polyester resin matrix

Material properties E E G G G r î
1 2 12 13 23 s s
Values 24.51 GPa 7.77 GPa 3.34 GPa 3.34 GPa 1.34 GPa 1800 kg /m3 0.078

equations given in the Appendix, the determination of sandwich plate considered, a value of 0.19 can be chosen
the stiVness and mass coeYcients for a given sandwich for k . However, this value is valid only for a speci
c
s
plate. Then, the eigenvalue equation (1) can be solved FRP sandwich plate. Indeed, Table 4 indicates that, by
using standard procedures which yields the estimations changing the core material properties to the HEREX
for the natural frequencies and mode shapes of vibration. C70.40, the optimum factor k is changed.
s
The shear correction factors are therefore dependent
upon the core material and need to be determined for
3 VALIDATION AND CHOICE OF LAMINATE each study. This makes the FSDT inconvenient to use
THEORY with FRP sandwich plates if the shear correction factors
are not yet known.
3.1 Determination of the shear correction factors for the
FSDT Table 3 EVect of shear correction factors on dimensionless
natural frequencies [ȫ = ö (a2/h) (r /E )] for a
The range of validity of the
rst-order shear deformation c c
[0°/90°/0°/core/0°/90°/0°] square glass/polyester plate
theory is strongly dependent on the factor used in with a HEREX C70.130 core
adjusting the transverse shear stiVness of the plate.
Therefore, appropriate shear correction factors, K and Shear
i correction
K , need to be used in equation (4) for each speci
c ȫ ȫ
j Mode factors DiVerence
study. The aim of this part of the paper is then to deter- (m, n) (ANSYS) (k =K K ) (FSDT ) (%)
s i j
mine whether the shear correction factors used for lami-
(1, 1) 15.14 5/6 19.31 27.54
nated plate are adequate for sandwich plate and, if not, 0.2 15.39 1.65
which factors must be used. For this study, the results 0.19 15.22 0.53
obtained for diVerent
xed values of k , which represents 0.18 14.99 1.00
s (1, 2) 28.16 5/6 41.54 47.51
the multiplication of the shear correction factors K and
i 0.2 28.26 0.36
K , are compared with results obtained using a
nite 0.19 27.75 1.46
j 0.18 27.21 3.37
element model performed with the package ANSYS. The
(2, 1) 28.82 5/6 46.26 60.51

nite element model is implemented by using the element 0.2 30.93 7.32
SOLID 46 which is an eight-node solid element designed 0.19 30.36 5.34
to model layered thick solids. A square sandwich plate 0.18 29.75 3.23
(2, 2) 37.54 5/6 61.34 63.4
made of HEREX C70.130 closed-cell foam core and 0.2 39.21 4.45
glass/polyester skins is considered. The properties of the 0.19 38.43 2.37
skin and the core can be found in Tables 1 and 2 0.18 37.6 0.16
respectively.
The results from the analysis are presented in Table 3.
These are in the form of natural frequencies obtained Table 4 EVect of shear correction factors on dimensionless
natural frequencies [ȫ = ö (a2/h) (r /E )] for a
from the ANSYS model as compared with FSDT using c c
[0°/90°/0°/core/0°/90°/0°] square glass/polyester plate
diVerent values of k . It is obvious from Table 3 that it
s with a HEREX C70.40 core
is not possible to use the same shear correction factors
for the FRP sandwich plates as for laminated plates. In Shear
order to
nd the relevant factors, an empirical method correction
Mode ȫ factors ȫ DiVerence
is used. By comparing the results obtained for diVerent (m, m) (ANSYS) (k =K , K ) (FSDT ) (%)
s i j
shear coeYcient values, it appears that, for the FRP
(1, 1) 16.43 0.1 16.56 0.79
0.095 16.28 0.91
Table 2 Material properties of the range of HEREX C70 0.09 15.97 2.80
foam core products (1, 2) 27.22 0.1 28 2.87
0.095 27.42 0.73
Material HEREX HEREX HEREX HEREX HEREX 0.18 26.78 1.61
properties C70.40 C70.55 C70.75 C70.90 C70.130 (2, 1) 31.01 0.1 30.67 1.10
0.095 30 3.26
E (MPa) 22.69 37.81 56.95 73.11 103.63 0.09 29.3 5.51
c
G (MPa) 14 22 30 38 50 (2, 2) 37.88 0.1 38.07 0.50
c
r (kg /m3) 40 55 75 90 130 0.095 37.21 1.77
îc 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.09 36.32 4.12
c

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720 M MEUNIER AND R A SHENOI

3.2 Accuracy of the results 4 INFLUENCE OF THE MATERIAL AND

GEOMETRIC PROPERTIES ON THE
The aim of this part is to determine the accuracy NATURAL FREQUENCIES
of both FSDT and HSDT methods when applied to
FRP sandwich plates made with PVC foam core.
In order to study the inuence of the plate dimensions
The results obtained using these methods are compared
on the natural frequencies, rectangular sandwich plates
with results from the
nite element model mentioned
composed of glass/polyester faces and a HEREX
in the previous part. The dimensionless natural
C70.130 foam core are considered. Two diVerent types
frequencies are calculated for two sandwich
of stacking sequences are adopted for the faces of the
square plates, the [0°/90°/0°/core/0°/90°/0° ] and the
sandwich plates, namely [0°/90°/0°] laid symmetrically
[45°/
45°/45°/core/
45°/45°/
45°], with the skins
about the mid-plane of the core and [45°/
45°/45° ] laid
made of glass/polyester and the core of HEREX C70.130
antisymmetrically about the mid-plane of the core.
PVC foam. The shear correction factor k for FSDT is
s The ratio of the thickness of the core to the total
taken to be 0.19, as covered earlier. The results obtained
thickness is assumed to be equal to 0.88. The eVect of
are summarized in Tables 5 and 6.
the aspect ratios a /h on the natural frequencies for
It is noted that the agreement between the HSDT and
diVerent length–width ratios is examined in Figs 3
FSDT results and the
nite element results is quite good,
and 4. It is found that for both cases the dimensionless
although they do overpredict the natural frequencies
natural frequencies of mode ( 1, 1) decrease with
compared with the
nite element method. Indeed, the
decreasing a /h. This can be explained by the fact that
percentage diVerence in all of the studied cases is less
the FRP sandwich plates are not assumed to be in
-
than 5 per cent. It can be seen that, as for laminated
nitely stiV through the thickness since the shear and
plates [8], the accuracy of the results obtained by using
rotary inertia terms are included in the analytical plate
analytical methods based on FSDT and HSDT decreases
model. The eVects of shear deformation and rotary
slightly with an increase in the mode number.
inertia are to lower the dimensionless natural frequen-
Nevertheless, the percentage diVerence is small enough
cies. These eVects become more signi
cant when the
to be able to conclude that the analytical methods based
thickness increases, which can be represented by a
on FSDT and HSDT can be used with accuracy to study
decrease in the ratio a /h and /or b /h.
the natural vibration of the types of simply supported
The next part concerns the study of the inuence of
rectangular FRP sandwich plates considered in this
the ratio of the core shear modulus to the exural modu-
paper. As both methods require approximately the same
lus and the inuence of the ratio of the exural modulus
amount of computing time, it is the lack of any need for
of the skin to that of the core on the natural frequencies.
shear correction factors with the HSDT that makes it
Since the exural modulus, E , of the skin is known, it
the more practical. 1
is possible to calculate E for any ratio E /E . This last
c 1 c
value would be used to determine the density of the core
Table 5 Dimensionless natural frequencies
material that corresponds to a given ratio E /E and is
[ȫ = ö (a2/h) (r /E )] for a square sandwich plate 1 c
c c essential to the calculation of the natural frequencies.
[0°/90°/0°/core/0°/90°/0°] with a /h=10 and h /h=
c For a given range of products, such as the HEREX C70
0.88
foam, the density varies linearly as a function of the
HSDT FSDT exural modulus, as shown in Fig. 5. Using the charac-
Mode ANSYS teristic of the HEREX C70, the density of the core mate-
(m, n) ȫ ȫ DiVerence (%) ȫ DiVerence (%)
rial for any ratio E /E is obtained by interpolation.
1 c
(1, 1) 15.14 15.28 0.92 15.22 0.53 Knowing these parameters, it is now possible to obtain
(1, 2) 28.16 28.69 1.89 27.75 1.46 the data required for the analysis.
(2, 1) 28.82 30.01 4.13 30.36 5.34
Figure 6 shows that an increase in the ratio G /E and
(2, 2) 37.54 38.86 3.52 38.43 2.37 c c
an increase in the ratio E /E result in an increase in the
1 c
natural frequencies of mode (1, 1). Figure 6 also has
Table 6 Dimensionless natural frequencies results for the HEREX C70 range of products, plotted
[ȫ = ö (a2/h) (r /E )] for a square sandwich plate for comparison. If the design of the plate requires a lower
c c
[45°/
45°/45°/core/
45°/45°/
45° ] with a /h= 10 density core for the same skins, the ratio E /E will
and h /h =0.88 1 c
c increase, leading to an increase in the natural frequencies
HSDT FSDT of mode (1, 1).
Mode ANSYS The eVect of the relative thickness of the core, rep-
ȫ ȫ ȫ
(m, n) DiVerence (%) DiVerence (%) resented by the ratio h /h, on the natural frequencies of
c
(1, 1) 16.01 16.38 2.3 16.27 1.6 mode (1, 1) is investigated next. Figure 7 shows that for
(1, 2) 28.69 29.65 3.3 29.34 2.3 diVerent a /b ratios the natural frequency of mode (1, 1)
(2, 1) 28.69 29.65 3.3 29.34 2.3 reaches a minimum value for an h /h of 0.85. From Fig. 8
(2, 2) 38.32 40.00 4.4 39.46 3 c
it can be seen that this minimum no longer exists for
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 FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PLATES 721

Fig. 3 EVect of the plate aspect ratio, a /b, and the length/thickness ratio, a /h, on the dimensionless natural
frequencies of mode (1, 1), ö (h2/a) (r /E ), of a simply supported sandwich plate with each skin
c c
made of glass/polyester [0°/90°/0°] and the core made of HEREX C70.130

faces with either isotropic properties or a small degree obtained, which corresponds to the minimum frequency
of orthotropy, that is to say, an E /E ratio smaller of mode (1, 1).
1 2
than 5. Indeed, in these cases, when the relative thickness
of the core becomes greater than 0.85, the natural fre-
quency of mode (1, 1) keeps decreasing. 5 CONCLUSION
To understand the general trend of the curves in Fig. 8,
it is necessary to examine the eVect of stiVness on the
FSDT and HSDT have been used in order to determine
behaviour of sandwich plates. It is known that an
the natural frequencies of simply supported rectangular
increase in the stiVness of a sandwich plate leads to an
composite sandwich plates. It has been found that both
increase in its natural frequency. A stiVness increase can
theories, developed initially for relatively thick laminated
be due to an increase in the degree of orthotropy of the
plates, provide accurate results when used to study the
faces or to a decrease in the relative thickness of the core.
dynamic behaviour of composite sandwich plates.
When, as in Fig. 8, there is the combination of an
However, the shear correction factors required for the
increase in the degree of orthotropy and an increase in
FSDT are functions of the plate properties and were
the relative thickness of the core, the interaction pro-
found to be diVerent to those used for laminated plates.
duces curves with distinct sections. If the E /E ratio is
1 2 This implies the need to determine the required shear
smaller than 5, the eVect of the decrease in the relative
correction factors for each speci
c study, which makes
thickness of the core is always dominant. This is why
the use of the FSDT less practical than the HSDT.
the natural frequency of mode ( 1, 1) keeps decreasing
The inuence of the material and geometric properties
as the h /h ratio increases. For a greater E /E ratio,
c 1 2 on the
rst natural frequencies was investigated using
three diVerent stages can be identi
ed. When the h /h
c HSDT. From the results observed it can be concluded
ratio is smaller than 0.85, the eVect due to the relative
that the
rst natural frequency of simply supported com-
thickness is the principal one, whereas when h /h is
c posite sandwich plates made with PVC foam core is
greater than 0.85 it is the eVect due to the high degree
inuenced by:
of orthotropy that is greater. When the h /h ratio is equal
c
to 0.85, these two parameters have an equal eVect. In (a) the eVect of shear deformation and rotary inertia,
this case the minimum overall sandwich plate stiVness is that is to say, the aspect ratios a /h and b /h;
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722 M MEUNIER AND R A SHENOI

Fig. 4 EVect of the plate aspect ratio, a /b, and the length/thickness ratio, a /h, on the dimensionless natural
frequencies of mode (1, 1), ö (h2/a) (r /E ), of a simply supported sandwich plate
c c
[45°/
45°/45°/core/
45°/45°/
45° ] with each skin made of glass/polyester and the core made of
HEREX C70.130

Fig. 5 Flexural modulus as a function of density for the range of HEREX C70 products

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 FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PLATES 723

Fig. 6 EVect of ratio G /E and ratio E /E on the dimensionless natural frequencies of mode (1, 1),
c c 1 c
ö (h2/a) (r /E ), of a simply supported sandwich plate [0°/90°/0°/core/0°/90°/0°]
c c

Fig. 7 EVect of the plate aspect ratio, a /b, and ratio h /h on the dimensionless natural frequencies of mode
c
(1, 1), ö (h2/a) (r /E ), of a simply supported sandwich plate with each skin made of glass/polyester
s 2 Downloaded from pic.sagepub.com at COLUMBIA UNIV on September 25, 2014
[0°/90°/0°] and the core made of HEREX C70.130
724 M MEUNIER AND R A SHENOI

Fig. 8 EVect of the degree of orthotropy of the skin and ratio h /h on the dimensionless natural frequencies
c
of mode (1, 1), ö (h2/a) (r /E ), of a simply supported sandwich plate [0°/90°/0°/core/0°/90°/0°] with
s 2
the core made of HEREX C70.130

(b) the general stiVness of the plate, which is a function
of the relative thickness ratio of the core, de
ned by
the h /h ratio and by the degree of orthotropy of
c 1985, 98(2), 157–170.
the faces.
REFERENCES
1 Allen, H. G. Analysis and Design of Structural Sandwich
Panels, 1969 (Pergamon Press, Oxford).
2 Zenkert, D. An Introduction to Sandwich Construction, 1995
(Chameleon Press, London).
3 Wu, C. and Vinson, J. R. Nonlinear oscillations of lami-
nated specially orthotropic plates with clamped and simply
supported edges. J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 1971, 49(5),
1561–1567.
4 Yang, P. C., Norris, C. H. and Stavsky, Y. Elastic wave
propagation in heterogeneous plates. Int. J. Solids and
Struct., 1966, 2, 665–684.
5 Reddy, J. N. A simple higher-order theory for laminated
composite plates. J. Appl. Mechanics, 1984, 51, 745–752.
6 Reddy, J. N. A re
ned nonlinear theory of plates with trans-
verse shear deformation. Int. J. Solids and Struct., 1984,
20(9/10), 881–896.
7 Reddy, J. N. and Khdeir, A. A. Buckling and vibration of
laminated composite plates using various plate theories. Am.
Inst. Aeronaut. and Astronaut. J., 1989, 27(12), 1808–1817.
8 Reddy, J. N. and Phan, N. D. Stability and vibration of
isotropic, orthotropic and laminated plates according to a
higher-order shear deformation theory. J. Sound and Vibr.,
9 Whitney, J. M. Stress analysis of thick laminated composite
and sandwich plates. J. Composite Mater., 1972, 6,
426–440.
10 Pandya, B. N. and Kant, T. Higher-order shear deformable
theories for exure of sandwich plates—
nite element
evaluations. Int. J. Solids and Struct., 1988, 24(12),
1267–1286.
11 Chan, H. C. and Cheung, Y. K. Static and dynamic analysis
of multi-layered sandwich plates. J. Mech. Sci., 1972, 14,
399–406.
12 Reddy, J. N. and Kuppusamy, T. Natural vibrations of lami-
nated anisotropic plates. J. Sound and Vibr., 1984, 94(1),
63–69.
13 Kanematsu, H. H., Hirano, Y. and Iyama, H. Bending and
vibration of CFRP-faced rectangular sandwich plates.
Composite Struct., 1988, 10, 145–163.
14 Wang, C. M. Vibration frequencies of simply supported
polygonal sandwich plates via KirchhoV solutions. J. Sound
and Vibr., 1996, 190(2), 255–260.
15 Lee, L. J. and Fan, Y. J. Bending and vibration analysis
of composite sandwich plates. Comput. and Struct., 1996,
60(1), 103–112.
16 Reddy, J. N. Energy and Variational Methods in Applied
Mechanics, 1987 (John Wiley, New York).

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 FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PLATES 725

APPENDIX StiVness matrix coeYcients for simply supported

cross-ply rectangular laminated plates using HSDT
StiVness matrix coeYcients for simply supported
K = á2A + â2A
cross-ply rectangular laminated plates using FSDT 11 11 66
K = áâ(A +A )
K = á2A + â2A 12 12 66
11 11 66

A B A B
4 4
K = áâ(A +A ) K =
á3E
áâ2(E +2E )
12 12 66 13 3h2 11 3h2 12 66
K =0
13
A B C A B D
4 4
K = á2B + â2B K = á2B
á2 E + â2 B
E
14 11 66 14 11 3h2 11 66 3h2 66
K = áâ(B +B )

C A B D
15 12 66 4
K = áâ (B +B )
(E +E )
â
K = 2A + 2A á 15 12 66 3h2 12 66
22 22 66
K =0 K = â2A + á2A
23 22 22 66
K =K
A B A B
24 15 4 4
K =
â3 E
á2 â(E +2E )
K = â2B + á2B 23 3h2 22 3h2 12 66
25 22 66

C A B D
K = á2A + â2A 4
33 55 44 K = áâ (B +B )
(E +E )
24 12 66 3h2 12 66
á
K = A
34 55

A B C A B D
K = âA 4 4
35 44 K = â2B
â2 E + á2 B
E
25 22 3h2 22 66 3h2 66
K =A + á2D + â2D
44 55 11 66 8
K = áâ(D +D ) K = á2A + â2A
(á2D + â2D )
45 12 66 33 55 44 h2 55 44
K =A + á2D + â2D
AB A B
55 44 66 22 4 2 4 2
+ (á2F + â2F ) +
h2 55 44 3h2

StiVness matrix coeYcients for simply supported ×[á4H +2(H +2H ) á2 â2+ â4H ]
11 12 66 22
angle-ply rectangular laminated plates using FSDT
AB
8 4 2
K = áA
áD + áF
K = á2A + â2A 34 55 h2 55 h2 55
11 11 66
K = áâ(A +A ) 4
12 12 66
[á3F + áâ2(F +2F )]
3h2 11 12 66
K =0
13

A B
4 2
K =2âáB + [á3H + áâ2(H +2H )]
14 16 3h2 11 12 66
K = á2B + â2B
15 16 26
AB
8 4
K = â2A + á2A K = âA
âD + âF
22 22 66 35 44 h2 44 h2 44
K =0
23 4

[á2 â(F +2F ) + â3F ]
K =K 3h2 12 66 22
24 15

A B
áâ
K =2 B 4 2
25 26 + [á2 â(H +2H ) + â3H ]
3h2 12 66 22
K = á2A + â2A
33 55 44

AB
K = áA 8 4 2
34 55 K =A + á2D + â2D
D + F
44 55 11 66 h2 55 h2 55
K = âA
35 44 8
K =A + á2D + â2D
(á2F + â2F )
44 55 11 66 3h2 11 66
áâ
K = (D +D )
A B
45 12 66 4 2
+ (á2H + â2H )
K =A + 2D + â2D
á 3h2 11 66
55 44 66 22
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726 M MEUNIER AND R A SHENOI

C AB
8 8 4 2
K = áâ D +D
(F +F ) K = âA
âD + âF
45 12 66 3h2 12 66 35 44 h2 44 h2 44

A B D
4 2 4
+ (H +H )
[á2 â(F +2F ) + â3F ]
3h2 12 16 3h2 12 66 22

A B
4 2
AB
8 4 2 + [á2 â(H +2H ) + â3H ]
K =A + á2D + â2D
D + F 3h2 12 66 22
55 44 66 22 h2 44 h2 44

AB
8 8 4 2

(á2F + â2F ) K =A + á2D + â2D
D + F
3h2 66 22 44 55 11 66 h2 55 h2 55
8

(á2F + â2F )
A B
4 2 11 66
+ ( â2H + á2H ) 3h2
3h2 22 66
A B
4 2
+ (á2H + â2H )
3h2 11 66

C
8
StiVness matrix coeYcients for simply supported K = áâ D +D
(F +F )
45 12 66 3h2 12 66
angle-ply rectangular laminated plates using HSDT

A B D
4 2
K = á2A + â2A + (H +H )
11 11 66 3h2 12 16
K = áâ(A +A )
AB
12 12 66 8 4 2
K =A + á2D + â2D
D + F
55 44 66 22 h2 44 44
A B
4 h2
K =
(3á2âE + â3E )
13 3h2 16 26 8

(á2F + â2F )
3h2 66 22

A B
8
K =2âáB
áâE

A B
14 16 3h2 16 4 2
+ ( â2H + á2H )
3h2 22 66

A B
4
K = á2B + â2B
(á2E + â2E )
15 16 26 3h2 16 26
Mass matrix coeYcients for simply supported cross-ply
K = â2A + á2A
22 22 66 and angle-ply rectangular laminated plates using FSDT

A B
4 M =I
K =
(á3E +3 â2áE ) 11 1
23 3h2 16 26
M =0
12
K =K M =0
24 15 13

A B M =I
8
K =2áâB
áâE 14 2
25 26 3h2 26
M =0
15
8 M =I
K = á2A + â2A
(á2D + â2D ) 22 1
33 55 44 h2 55 44
M =0
23

AB A B
4 2 4 2
+ (á2F + â2F ) + M =0
h2 55 44 3h2 24
M =I
×[á4H +2(H +2H ) á2â2+ â4H ] 25 2
11 12 66 22 M =I
33 1
AB
8 4 2
K = áA
áD + áF M =0
34 55 h2 55 h2 55 34
M =0
4 35

[á3F + áâ2(F +2F )] M =I
3h2 11 12 66 44 3
M =0
A B
4 2 45
+ [á3H + áâ2(H +2H )]
3h2 11 12 66 M =I
55 3
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 FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE SANDWICH PLATES 727

A B
Mass matrix coeYcients for simply supported cross-ply 4
M =I
I
and angle-ply rectangular laminated plates using HSDT 25 2 3h2 4
M =I
A B
11 1 4 2
M =I + (á2+ â2)I
M =0 33 1 3h2 7
12

A B A B A B
4 4 4 2
M =
áI M =
áI + áI
13 3h2 4 34 3h2 5 3h2 7

A B A B A B
4 4 4 2
M =I
I M =
âI + âI
14 2 3h2 4 35 3h2 5 3h2 7

A B A B
M =0 8 4 2
15 M =I
I + I
M =I 44 3 3h2 5 3h2 7
22 1
M =0
A B
4 45
M =
âI
23 4
A B A B
3h2 8 4 2
M =I
I + I
M =0 55 3 3h2 5 3h2 7
24

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