Vibration of pretwisted cantilever trapezoidal symmetric laminates (Q1922001)

The vibratory characteristics of pretwisted composite symmetric laminates with trapezoidal planforms are presented. A governing eigenvalue equation is derived based on the Ritz minimization procedure. This formulation shows that bending and stretching effects of these symmetric laminates are coupled by the presence of twisting curvature. For the solution method, a set of orthogonally generated shape functions is employed to approximate the transverse and in-plane displacements. The effects of angles of twist and laminated layers upon the vibration frequencies are examined. Convergence tests of selected examples are presented. It was found that an increase in the angle of twist strengthens the torsional stiffness of the laminated plates and results in higher twisting frequencies.