Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483

www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Nonlinear free vibration analysis of laminated composite shells

in hygrothermal environments
z
N.V. Swamy Naidu *, P.K. Sinha
CADES Digitech Private Limited, Anchorage, #100/1, Richmond Road, Bangalore 560 025, India

Available online 28 February 2006

Abstract

The nonlinear free vibration behaviour of laminated composite shells subjected to hygrothermal environments is investigated using
the finite element method. The present finite element formulation considers doubly curved shells, and the Green–Lagrange type nonlinear
strains are incorporated into the first-order shear deformation theory. The analysis is carried out using quadratic eight-noded isopara-
metric elements. The validity of the model is demonstrated by comparing the present results with the solutions available in the literature.
A parametric study is carried out varying the curvature ratios and side to thickness ratios of composite cylindrical shell, spherical shell
and hyperbolic paraboloid shell panels with simply supported boundary conditions.
 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: Hygrothermal; Finite element; Green–Lagrange; Free vibration

1. Introduction literature dealing with vibration analysis of laminated com-

The increased utilization of laminated composite struc-
tural components in the construction of aerospace and
other engineering structures is mainly due to several attri-
butes of composites such as light weight, high specific
strength, high specific stiffness as well as excellent fatigue
and corrosion resistance properties. Moisture and temper-
ature may have a significant effect on the free vibration
behaviour of laminated composite structures. The
degraded properties of composites as well as the residual
stresses due to moisture and temperature may influence
the free vibration behaviour considerably.
When the transverse vibration of a uniformly heated
structure is analyzed with small deflection theories, the
thermal effect is converted into a body force and the results
show no difference from those of a structure without tem-
perature change [1]. There are a few investigations in the
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 80 51939000.
E-mail addresses: nvswamynaidu@yahoo.com (N.V. Swamy Naidu),
pksinha@aero.iitkgp.ernet.in (P.K. Sinha).
z
Deceased.
posite structures in hygrothermal environments. Whitney
and Ashton [2] considered the effect of environment on
the free vibration of laminated plates. They used the Ritz
method to analyze symmetric and un-symmetric laminates,
based upon the classical laminated plate theory. Sai Ram
and Sinha [3] and Patel et al. [4] presented the effects of
moisture and temperature on the linear free vibration of
laminated composite plates using first-order and higher-
order shear deformation theories.
Chang and Jen [5] presented an analysis of nonlinear
free vibrations of a heated orthotropic rectangular thin
plate under various boundary conditions. Galea and White
[6] investigated the effects of temperature on the dynamic
response of thin CFRP plates experimentally and using
finite element method. The large amplitude vibrations of
heated angle-ply laminated plates were presented by Bhi-
maraddi and Chandrashekhara [7] using the parabolic
shear deformation theory. The effects of large amplitude
vibrations on mode shapes and natural frequencies of thin
elastic structures are investigated experimentally by Bena-
mar et al. [8]. A system of governing equations for nonlinear
vibrations of heated sandwich shallow shells were derived
by Ohnabe [9] using Hamilton’s principle in combination

0263-8223/$ - see front matter  2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2005.08.002
476 N.V. Swamy Naidu, P.K. Sinha / Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483

with Reissner–Hellinger’s variational principle. A vibration z n

analysis of laminated composite plates subjected to temper-
h/2 k
ature changes was performed by Liu and Huang [10]. The zk
zk+1
first-order shear deformation theory with nonlinear terms
in the von Karman sense was included in their finite ele- h/2
ment formulation. 2
1
The literature on the geometrically nonlinear free vibra-
tion of laminated composite shells subjected to moisture Fig. 2. Laminate configuration.
and temperature is limited. Due to nonlinear nature of
the vibration of laminated composite structures in hygro-
thermal environments and the relatively lower transverse
" 2 2 2 #
ou w 1
 
ou w ov w ow u
shear modulus of composites, it could be more appropriate exx ¼ þ þ þ þ þ þ 
ox Rx 2 ox Rx ox Rxy ox Rx
that the transverse shear deformation and geometric non-
linearity are taken into account. In the present investiga- " 2 2 2 #
ov w 1
 
ou w ov w ow v
tion, the nonlinear free vibration response of laminated eyy ¼ þ þ þ þ þ þ 
oy Ry 2 oy Rxy oy Ry oy Ry
composite shell panels in hygrothermal environments is
studied using nonlinear finite element method. The geomet- 1h 2 i
ric nonlinearity is introduced through the Green–Lagrange ezz ¼ hz þ hx þ h2y þ h2z
2
strains.   
ow v ou w
cyz ¼ hy þ  þ hx þ
2. Nonlinear finite element formulation oy Ry oy Rxy
   
ov w ow v
A doubly curved laminated composite shell of length a, þhy þ þ hz 
oy Ry oy Ry
width b and thickness h with n arbitrarily oriented layers
(each lamina may be oriented at an arbitrary angle / with
  
ow u ou w
the x-axis of the coordinate system shown in Fig. 1 and cxz ¼ hx þ  þ hx þ
ox Rx ox Rx
laminate configuration shown in Fig. 2) is considered.    
The displacement model assumed for the composite shell ov w ow u
þhy þ þ hz 
element is based on the first-order shear deformation the- ox Rxy ox Rx
ory and the displacements u, v and w at any point (x, y, z) ou ov 2w

ou w

ou w

are given by cxy ¼ þ þ þ þ þ
oy ox Rxy ox Rx oy Rxy
uðx; y; zÞ ¼ u0 ðx; yÞ þ zhx ðx; yÞ
     
ov w ov w ow u ow v
þ þ þ þ  
ox Rxy oy Ry ox Rx oy Ry
vðx; y; zÞ ¼ v0 ðx; yÞ þ zhy ðx; yÞ ð1Þ
ð2Þ
wðx; y; zÞ ¼ w0 ðx; yÞ þ zhz ðx; yÞ
In this paper, an eight-noded isoparametric quadrilateral
where u, v and w are the displacements along the x-, y- and element with six degrees of freedom viz., u0, v0, w0, hx, hy
z-directions, respectively; u0, v0 and w0 are the mid-plane and hz at each node is adopted. The displacements are ex-
displacements and hx, hy and hz are the shear rotations. pressed in terms of their nodal values using the element
The following equations define a strain field (e) measure shape functions (N) [11]:
commonly known as Green–Lagrange strain:
8
X 8
X 8
X
u0 ¼ N i u0i ; v0 ¼ N i v0i ; w0 ¼ N i w0i ;
i¼1 i¼1 i¼1

8
X 8
X 8
X
hx ¼ N i hxi ; hy ¼ N i hyi and hz ¼ N i hzi ð3Þ
i¼1 i¼1 i¼1
φ
0
y, v , θ y x, u0, θ x Rewriting the above equation into the matrix form
z, w0, θ z fug ¼ ½N fd e g ð4Þ
Ry Rx where
b a
T
fug ¼ u0 v0 w0 hx hy hz

T ð5Þ
fd e g ¼ u0i v0i w0i hxi hyi hzi

Fig. 1. Doubly curved composite shell configuration.
 N.V. Swamy Naidu, P.K. Sinha / Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483 477

and Substituting Eqs. (9), (10), (14), (15) into Eq. (7), and it can
2
Ni 0 0 0 0 0
3 be written in the finite element form for an element as
6
6 0 Ni 0 0 0 0 7
7 ½Mfd€e g þ ½t0 K fd e g ¼ 0 ð16Þ
0 0 0 0 0
6 7
6 Ni 7 where ½t0 K  is the secant stiffness matrix and can be ex-
½N  ¼ 6 7 ð6Þ
6
6 0 0 0 Ni 0 0 77 pressed as [13]
0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1
6 7
Ni
½t0 K  ¼ ½t0 K 0  þ ½t0 N 1 ðd e Þ þ ½t0 N 2 ðd e Þ
4
ð17Þ
0 0 0 0 0 N i i¼1;2;...;8 2 3
where
Z
2.1. Virtual work principle ½t0 K 0  ¼
T
½t0 B L  ½D½t0 B L  0 dA ð18Þ
A0
The governing equilibrium equation is obtained by Z 
applying the principle of virtual work. At a time t + Dt ½t0 N 1 ðd e Þ ¼ ½t0 B L T ½D½t0 B NL  þ ½t0 B NL T ½D½t0 B L 
A0
the nonlinear dynamic equilibrium equation in a total 
T
Lagrangian formulation for free vibration problems may þ½t0 G ½t0 S L ½t0 G 0 dA ð19Þ
be written as (in absence of any dissipation) Z  
Z
 tþDt T tþDt 0
Z
 tþDt T tþDt 0 ½t0 N 2 ðd e Þ ¼ ½t0 B NL T ½D½t0 B NL  þ ½t0 GT ½t0 S NL ½t0 G 0 dA
d 0 u ½q u dA þ
0€ d 0e 0S dA ¼ 0 A0
A0 A0
ð20Þ
ð7Þ
and
where ftþDt0 S g; ftþDt0 eg are the second Piola–Kirchhoff Z
T
stress and Green–Lagrange strain vectors, respectively in ½M ¼ ½N  ½q½N  0 dA ð21Þ
the configuration at a time t + Dt. Also, A0 is the initial A0

configuration area of the body and [q] is the laminate mass In the above equations, ½t0 B and ½t0 G are the linear and
matrix. nonlinear strain displacement transformation matrices
The second Piola–Kirchhoff stress is written in the form (same as [B] and [G] in Ref. [14]); ½t0 S L  and ½t0 S NL  are cal-
of linear and nonlinear parts [12] as culated from the [S0] in Ref. [14], and
tþDt tþDt tþDt
0S ¼ 0S L þ 0 S NL ð8Þ
I1 0 0 I2 0 0
2 3
Since the stresses ftþDt0 S g and strains ftþDt0 eg are unknown, 60 I1 0 0 I2 07
the following decompositions are used:
6 7
60 0 0 0
6 7
I1 I2 7
ftþDt0 Sg ¼ ft0 S g þ f0 Sg ð9Þ ½q ¼ 6 7;
6I
6 2 0 0 I3 0 07 7
ftþDt0 eg ¼ ft0 eg þ f0 eg ð10Þ 40 0 0 I3 05
6 7
I2
where ft0 S g; ft0 eg
are the known stress and strain vectors in 0 0I2 0 0 I3
the configuration at time t, i.e.,
Z h=2
ðI 1 ; I 2 ; I 3 Þ ¼ qðzÞð1; z; z2 Þ dz
ft0 S g ¼ fS L g þ fS NL g ð11Þ h=2

where
fS L g ¼ ½DðfeL g  fe0 gÞ
with {e0} is the initial strain vector due to hygrothermal
load and
fS NL g ¼ ½DfeNL g
{0S} and {0e} are the increments in the stress and strain
vectors, respectively. Using displacement definition of
Green–Lagrange strain vector, it follows from Eq. (10) that
fd tþDt0 eg ¼ fd0 eg and strain increment may still be decom-
posed into linear {0e} and nonlinear {0g} parts
f0 eg ¼ f0 eg þ f0 gg
The incremental stresses are related to incremental strains
given as
f0 Sg ¼ ½Df0 eg
2.2. Solution process
ð12Þ
Assembling the finite elements and applying the bound-
ary conditions, the equations of motion for the nonlinear
ð13Þ free vibration of a laminated composite shell may be
expressed from Eq. (16) as
½Kfug ¼ k½Mfug ð22Þ
k is the eigenvalue and is a non-dimensional parameter in
terms of the natural frequency xn. The lowest vibrating
mode, that is, the minimum value of xn is considered in
ð14Þ the present investigation. A subspace iteration method
[15] is used to obtain the eigenvalues and associated eigen-
vectors ({u}). The nonlinear eigenvalue problem is solved
using iterative procedure [10]. The frequency convergence
ð15Þ criteria employed in the free vibration problem is given by
478 N.V. Swamy Naidu, P.K. Sinha / Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483

DxðiÞ In the present investigation, the non-dimensional funda-

n
6 105 ð23Þ
ðiÞ
xn mental frequencies k = [xna2(q/E2h2)1/2] are presented for
different R/a and a/h ratios of [02/ ± 30]2 laminated cylin-
where DxðiÞn is the change in nonlinear frequency during the drical (Rx = 1, Ry = R and Rxy = 1), spherical
ith iteration cycle. (Rx = Ry = R and Rxy = 1) and hyperbolic paraboloid
(Rx = Ry = R and Rxy = 1) shell panels. All of laminae
3. Results and discussion are assumed to be of same thickness and material proper-
ties at elevated moisture concentrations (C) and tempera-
A FE computer code in C++ language has been written tures (T) [3] used in the present analysis are shown in
following the analysis procedure described above. In order Tables 3 and 4. Values of q and E2 at C = 0% or
to validate the present formulation, a simply supported lam-
inated composite spherical shells (a/h = 100 and R/a = 5,
10) at different moisture concentrations have been analyzed. Table 3
The elastic properties of graphite/epoxy lamina [16] are Elastic moduli of graphite/epoxy lamina at different moisture concentra-
assumed as E1 = 172.5 GPa, E2 = 6.9 GPa (C = 0), tions: m12 = 0.3, G12 = G13, G23 = 0.5G12, b1 = 0, b2 = 0.44,
E2 = 6.72 GPa (C = 0.25%), E2 = 6.54 GPa (C = 0.5%), qk = 1.6 · 106 kg/mm3
E2 = 6.36 GPa (C = 0.75%), E2 = 6.17 GPa (C = 1.0%), Elastic moduli (GPa) Moisture concentration C (%)
m12 = 0.25, G12 = G13 = 3.45 GPa, G23 = 1.38 GPa, q = 0 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
1600 kg/m3, b1 = 0 and b2 = 0.44 for this example. Table 1 E1 130 130 130 130 130
shows the comparison of linear natural frequencies of spher- E2 9.5 9.25 9.0 8.75 8.5
ical shells at different moisture concentrations. G12 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0
A simply supported symmetric cross-ply [0/90]s laminate
under uniform temperature change is considered. The
mechanical properties of each layer [10] are assumed to Table 4
be E1 = 40 MPa, E2 = 1.0 MPa, G12 = G13 = 0.6 MPa, Elastic moduli of graphite/epoxy lamina at different temperatures:
m12 = 0.3, G12 = G13, G23 = 0.5G12, a1 = 0.3 · 106/K, a2 = 28.1 · 106/
G23 = 0.5 MPa, m12 = 0.25, a1 = 1.14E6 and K, qk = 1.6 · 106 kg/mm3
a2 = 11.4E6. The total thickness of the laminate is
Elastic moduli (GPa) Temperature T (K)
h = 0.1 m, and a/h = 10, a/b = 1. The non-dimensional
fundamental linear and nonlinear frequencies k = [xna2 300 325 350 375 400 425
(q/E2h2)1/2] are compared in Table 2 with those of Liu E1 130 130 130 130 130 130
and Huang [10]. In both the above cases, the present results E2 9.5 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 6.75
G12 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.75 4.5
are found to be in good agreement with the published ones.

Table 1
The fundamental natural frequency, f1 (Hz) for spherical shells (Rx = Ry = R, Rxy = 1) at different moisture contents
Stacking sequence Source C=0 C = 0.25% C = 0.5% C = 0.75% C = 1.0%
R/a = 5
[0/90]2 Present 201.82 201.81 201.77 201.73 201.68
Parhi et al. [16] 202.02 201.91 201.82 201.72 201.64
[45/45]2 Present 347.07 345.66 344.29 342.96 341.67
Parhi et al. [16] 347.52 346.35 345.23 344.18 343.18
R/a = 10
[0/90]2 Present 129.13 128.71 128.31 127.92 127.54
Parhi et al. [16] 129.20 128.96 128.73 128.52 128.32
[45/45]2 Present 301.33 296.91 292.64 288.53 284.59
Parhi et al. [16] 301.13 297.03 293.09 289.32 285.75

Table 2
Non-dimensional fundamental frequencies of a [0/90]s laminate for a simply supported square plate
DT Source Linear Amplitude ratio
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.5
0 Present 15.148 15.3781 16.0536 17.1339 20.2855
Liu and Huang [10] 15.150 15.3960 16.1230 17.2520 20.5060
50 Present 15.0985 15.3294 16.0068 17.0898 20.2477
Liu and Huang [10] 15.0520 15.3000 16.0320 17.1670 20.4330
 N.V. Swamy Naidu, P.K. Sinha / Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483 479

T = 300 K are chosen to make xn dimensionless. The vari-

ations in moisture concentration and temperature consid-
ered for the present analysis are C = 0.0–1.0% and
T = 300–400 K. The preselected ratio of center point
amplitude to thickness (amplitude ratio) is 0.2 considered
for nonlinear free vibration problem. The following simply
supported boundary conditions are used:
x ¼ 0; a : u0 ¼ v 0 ¼ w 0 ¼ hy ¼ hz ¼ 0
y ¼ 0; b : u0 ¼ v0 ¼ w0 ¼ hx ¼ hz ¼ 0

3.1. Laminated cylindrical shell

The effects of radius of curvature on the fundamental

Fig. 5. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
frequencies of cylindrical shell panels are examined for dif-
composite [0/0/30/30]2 cylindrical shell (a/h = 50) due to rise in moisture
ferent a/h ratios. Figs. 3–8 show the non-dimensional fun- concentration.
damental frequencies for a/h = 10, 50 and 100 ratios due
to change in uniform moisture concentration and
temperature. It is observed that the natural frequency
decreases with the increase of curvature ratio (R/a). This
is due to the fact that an increase in curvature ratio reduces

Fig. 6. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported

composite [0/0/30/30]2 cylindrical shell (a/h = 50) due to rise in
temperature.
Fig. 3. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 cylindrical shell (a/h = 10) due to rise in moisture
concentration. L—linear, NL—nonlinear.

Fig. 4. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported Fig. 7. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 cylindrical shell (a/h = 10) due to rise in composite [0/0/30/30]2 cylindrical shell (a/h = 100) due to rise in
temperature. moisture concentration.
480 N.V. Swamy Naidu, P.K. Sinha / Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483

Fig. 9. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported

Fig. 8. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 spherical shell (a/h = 10) due to rise in moisture
composite [0/0/30/30]2 cylindrical shell (a/h = 100) due to rise in
concentration.
temperature.

the stiffness of the shell. The increase in the percentage of

moisture content as well as temperature reduces the natural
frequencies. It is caused due to the increase of initial stresses
with increase in moisture concentration and temperature,
which finally reduces the stiffness. The non-dimensional lin-
ear fundamental frequencies are lower compared with the
nonlinear values for cylindrical shells of a/h = 10 and 50.
The nonlinearity increases with the increase in curvature
ratio, as the curvature terms are dominant in the nonlinear
stiffness matrix through geometric strain displacement rela-
tion. For curvature ratio, R/a = 5 and thin cylindrical shell
panel (a/h = 100), the non-dimensional linear fundamental
frequencies are lower compared to the corresponding non-
linear values up to certain moisture concentration (say,
C < 0.25% (Fig. 7)) and temperature (say, T = 350 K
(Fig. 8)). For higher values of C and T, the nonlinear values
are lower compared to the linear values. It is observed that Fig. 10. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
the shell action i.e., coupling between bending and exten- composite [0/0/30/30]2 spherical shell (a/h = 10) due to rise in
sion is dominant for lower values of hygrothermal loads temperature.
and lower values of curvature ratios (say, R/a = 5). This
coupling effect decreases with the increase of R/a ratios.
For thin shell panel (a/h = 100) having higher R/a ratios,
the non-dimensional linear fundamental frequency values
are lower compared to the corresponding nonlinear values.

3.2. Laminated spherical shell

The effects of radius of curvature on the fundamental

frequencies of spherical shell panels are examined for differ-
ent a/h ratios. Figs. 9–14 show the variations of non-
dimensional fundamental frequencies for spherical shell
(a/h = 10, 50 and 100) panels due to change in uniform
moisture concentration and temperature. The effect of
radius of curvature is significant for spherical shell panels.
Spherical shell panels are found to be stiffer than cylindri-
cal shell panels. For curvature ratio, R/a = 5 and thin
spherical shell panel (a/h = 100), the non-dimensional lin- Fig. 11. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
ear fundamental frequencies are higher compared with composite [0/0/30/30]2 spherical shell (a/h = 50) due to rise in moisture
the nonlinear values due to moisture concentration concentration.
 N.V. Swamy Naidu, P.K. Sinha / Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483
Fig. 12. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 spherical shell (a/h = 50) due to rise in
temperature.
Fig. 13. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 spherical shell (a/h = 100) due to rise in moisture
concentration.
Fig. 14. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 spherical shell (a/h = 100) due to rise in
temperature.
481
(Fig. 13) and temperature (Fig. 14). The reason is same as
cited for the cylindrical shell case.
3.3. Laminated hyperbolic paraboloid shell
The effects of radius of curvature on the fundamental
frequencies of the hyperbolic paraboloid shell panels are
examined for different a/h ratios. Figs. 15–20 show that
the effect of radius of curvature on fundamental frequency
is significant. The fundamental linear frequencies are
higher compared to the nonlinear values for the hyperbolic
paroboloid shells having (i) R/a = 5 and 10 and a/h = 10,
50, and (ii) R/a = 100 and a/h = 100. For other cases,
i.e., R/a = 100, 1000 and a/h = 10, 50; and R/a = 1000
and a/h = 100, the fundamental linear frequencies are
lower compared with the nonlinear values. This is because
the shell action is higher for lower values of R/a ratios. For
higher values of R/a ratios, the curvature terms in the stiff-
ness matrix are more dominant and thereby the corre-
sponding nonlinear values increase.
Fig. 15. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 hyperbolic paraboloid shell (a/h = 10) due to rise
in moisture concentration.
Fig. 16. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 hyperbolic paraboloid shell (a/h = 10) due to rise
in temperature.
482 N.V. Swamy Naidu, P.K. Sinha / Composite Structures 77 (2007) 475–483
Fig. 17. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 hyperbolic paraboloid shell (a/h = 50) due to rise
in moisture concentration.
Fig. 18. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 hyperbolic paraboloid shell (a/h = 50) due to rise
in temperature.
Fig. 19. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 hyperbolic paraboloid shell (a/h = 100) due to
rise in moisture concentration.
The thin shell panels (a/h = 100) may be unstable at
higher moisture concentration and temperature levels.
Similar effects were also observed Sai Ram and Sinha [3]
Fig. 20. Non-dimensional fundamental frequency of simply supported
composite [0/0/30/30]2 hyperbolic paraboloid shell (a/h = 100) due to
rise in temperature.
for the linear case. Figs. 3–20, in general, exhibit that
the reduction in fundamental natural frequencies with an
increase in uniform moisture concentration and tempera-
ture may be linear or nonlinear depending upon moisture
concentration, temperature and the reduction in lamina
properties due to moisture concentration and temperature.
The reduction in the fundamental natural frequency with
the increase in moisture concentration and temperature
is more in the case of shell panels with higher side to
thickness (a/h) ratio.
4. Conclusions
A finite element method has been developed for the non-
linear free vibration analysis of generally layered composite
shells in hygrothermal environments. The formulation
accounts for Green–Lagrange strains to describe the geo-
metric nonlinearity. Numerical results have been presented
for the free vibration analysis of cylindrical, spherical and
hyperbolic paraboloid shell panels having different curva-
ture and side to thickness ratios. The fundamental frequen-
cies reduce with the increase of moisture concentration and
temperature levels, and thin shell panels are susceptible to
environmental effects. The effect in a thin shell panel is sig-
nificant when subjected to uniform moisture concentration
and temperature, and the panel becomes unstable at higher
moisture concentration and temperature. The effect of
radius of curvature on the natural frequency is also signif-
icant. The effect of geometric nonlinearity is found to
increase with the increase of curvature ratio.
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