Free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates during progressive failure (Q2190160)

In this paper, natural frequencies of laminates during its progressive failure are investigated using finite element method. The finite element formulation is based on seven degrees of freedom displacement field, deduced for an orthotropic material. Free vibration analysis is carried out during ply-by-ply failure for a laminate subjected to uniformly distributed load. The variation of the fundamental frequency with material and geometric properties is also presented. This study illustrates the effect of ply failure on the natural frequencies of a laminate. The prediction of failed ply and failure mode is accomplished via Hashin failure criterion. Ply-discount material degradation model is adopted to modify the elastic constants of the failed ply. The effect of fibre orientation, failure mode and failed-ply on natural frequencies is highlighted in this paper. Jacobi iterative method is used to evaluate the natural frequencies of laminate. For the analysis, a computer code is written using FORTRAN based on the finite element formulation. For validation, a square simply supported four-ply laminate is studied to evaluate the fundamental frequency. A large amount of data is presented both in graphical and tabular form for direct use by design engineers. The presentation is clear and easy to understand.