STRUCTURAL RESPONSE OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE SHELLS SUBJECTED TO BLAST LOADING: COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL METHODS

The results from a theoretical and experimental investigation of the dynamic response of cylindrically curved laminated composite shells subjected to normal blast loading are presented. The dynamic equations of motion for cylindrical laminated shells are derived using the assumptions of Love's theory of thin elastic shells. Kinematically admissible displacement functions are chosen to represent the motion of the clamped cylindrical shell and the governing equations are obtained in the time domain using the Galerkin method. The time-dependent equations of the cylindrically curved laminated shell are then solved by the Runge-Kutta-Verner method. Finite element modelling and analysis for the blast-loaded cylindrical shell are also presented. Experimental results for cylindrically curved laminated composite shells with clamped edges and subjected to blast loading are presented. The blast pressure and strain measurements are performed on the shell panels. The strain response frequencies of the clamped cylindrical shells subjected to blast load are obtained using the fast Fourier transformation technique. In addition, the effects of material properties on the dynamic behaviour are examined. The strain-time history curves show agreement between the experimental and analysis results in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical panels. However, there is a discrepancy between the experimental and analysis results in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical panels. A good prediction is obtained for the response frequency of the cylindrical shell panels.     

Vibration of cylindrical shells of bimodulus composite materials

A theory is formulated for the small amplitude free vibration of thick, circular cylindrical shells laminated of bimodulus composite materials, which have different elastic properties depending upon whether the fiber-direction strain is tensile or compressive. The theory used is the dynamic, shear deformable (moderately thick shell) analog of the Sanders best first approximation thin shell theory. By means of tracers, the analysis can be reduced to that of various simpler shell theories, namely Love's first approximation, and Donnell's shallow shell theory. As an example of the application of the theory, a closed form solution is presented for a freely supported panel or complete shell. To validate the analysis, numerical results are compared with existing results for various special cases. Also, the effects of the various shell theories, thickness shear flexibility, and bimodulus action are investigated.     

Dynamic Modeling and Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade of Piezoelectric Plate Shell

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of vibration control technology of wind turbine blades made of piezoelectric intelligent structures. The design of the blade structure, which is made from piezoelectric material, is approximately equivalent to a flat shell structure. The differential equations of piezoelectric shallow shells for vibration control are derived based on piezoelectric laminated shell theory. On this basis, wind turbine blades are simplified as elastic piezoelectric laminated shells. We establish the electromechanical coupling system dynamic model of intelligent structures and the dynamic equation of composite piezoelectric flat shell structures by analyzing simulations of active vibration control. Simulation results show that, under wind load, blade vibration is reduced upon applying the control voltage.     

TRANSIENT ANALYSIS OF RING-STIFFENED COMPOSITE CYLINDRICAL SHELLS WITH BOTH EDGES CLAMPED

A theoretical method is developed to investigate the effects of ring stiffeners on vibration characteristics and transient responses for the ring-stiffened composite cylindrical shells subjected to the step pulse loading. Love's thin shell theory combined with the discrete stiffener theory to consider the ring stiffening effect is adopted to formulate the theoretical model. The ring stiffeners are laminated with a composite material and have a uniform rectangular cross-section. The Rayleigh-Ritz procedure is applied to obtain the frequency equation. The modal analysis technique is used to develop the analytical solutions of the transient response. The analysis is based on an expansion of the loads, displacements in the double Fourier series that satisfy the boundary conditions. The effect of stiffener's eccentricity, number, size, and position on transient response of the shells is examined. The theoretical results are verified by comparison with FEM results.     

考虑铺层角的复合材料圆柱壳自由振动三维弹性准确解

为了获得任意角度铺层的多层复合材料圆柱壳的自由振动准确解,在三维弹性理论的基础上,结合分层理论和状态空间法,建立横向位移和应力的传递矩阵,轴向和环向位移采用双螺旋模式的位移函数,对任意角度铺层复合材料圆柱壳简支边界条件下的自由振动进行了理论推导,得到了自由振动方程的精确形式。与文献理论解和有限元计算结果对比,结果表明,关注频率在2倍的环频率以下时,薄壳的固有频率计算精度能控制在1%以内,厚壳的固有频率计算精度能控制在2%以内。对于厚壳的计算可将壳体沿厚度方向划分为多层来处理,这样能有效提高计算精度。计算分析了铺层角对壳体固有频率的影响,环向模态数较低时,固有频率随着铺层角的增加呈抛物线变化趋势;环向模态数较高时,固有频率随着铺层角的增大单调递增。该理论方法同样适用于均质各向同性壳和正交各向异性圆柱壳。      

Natural vibrations and stability of shells of revolution interacting with an internal fluid flow

A finite-element algorithm is proposed to investigate the dynamic behavior of elastic shells of revolution containing a quiescent or a flowing inviscid fluid in the framework of linear theory. The fluid behavior is described using the perturbed velocity potential. The shell behavior is treated in the framework of the classical shell theory and variational principle of virtual displacements incorporating a linearized Bernoulli equation for calculation of hydrodynamic pressure acting on the shell. The problem reduces to evaluation and analysis of the eigenvalues in the connected system of equations obtained by coupling the equations for velocity perturbations with the equations for shell displacements. For cylindrical shells, the results of numerical simulations are compared with recently published experimental, analytical and numerical data. The paper also reports the results of studying the dynamic behavior of shells under various boundary conditions for the perturbed velocity potential. The investigation made for conical shells has shown that under certain conditions an increase in the cone angle can change a divergent type of instability to a flutter type.     

Buckling of 2D-FG Cylindrical Shells under Combined External Pressure and Axial Compression

This paper presents the stability of two-dimensional functionally graded (2D-FG) cylindrical shells subjected to combined external pressure and axial compression loads, based on classical shell theory. The material properties of functionally graded cylindrical shell are graded in two directional (radial and axial) and determined by the rule of mixture. The Euler's equation is employed to derive the stability equations, which are solved by GDQ method to obtain the critical mechanical buckling loads of the 2D-FG cylindrical shells. The effects of shell geometry, the mechanical properties distribution in radial and axial direction on the critical buckling load are studied and compared with a cylindrical shell made of 1D-FGM. The numerical results reveal that the 2D-FGM has a significant effect on the critical buckling load.     

ELASTIC WAVE SCATTERING AND DYNAMIC STRESS CONCENTRATIONS IN CYLINDRICAL SHELLS WITH A CIRCULAR CUTOUT

In this paper, based on the theory of elastic wave motion for open cylindrical shell, wave scattering and dynamic stress concentrations in open cylindrical shells with a hole are studied by making use of small parameter perturbation methods and boundary-integral equation techniques. The boundary-integral equations and iterative imminent series of scattered waves around the cavity of the cylindrical shell are derived. By employing this method, the approximately analytical solutions of scattered waves on the edge of cutout are gained. The computational formula for getting the dynamic stress concentration factors on the contour of cavity is developed. As an example, the numerical results of these dynamic stress concentration factors are graphically presented and discussed. The analytical methods put forward in the present work have practical significances for solving the problem of elastic wave scattering and dynamic stress concentrations in cylindrical shells with a circular cutout.     

Free vibration of non-circular cylindrical shells with variable circumferential profile

An analysis is presented of the free vibration of non-circular cylindrical shells with a variable circumferential profile expressed as an arbitrary function. The applicability of thin-shell theory is assumed and the governing equations of vibration of a non-circular cylindrical shell are written in a matrix differential equation by using the transfer matrix of the shell. Once the transfer matrix has been determined by numerical integration of the matrix equation, the natural frequencies and mode shapes of vibration are calculated numerically in terms of the matrix elements. The method is applied to cylindrical shells of three or four-lobed cross-section, and the effects of the length of the shell and the radius at the lobed corners on the vibration are studied.     

Mechanics and finite elements for the damped dynamic characteristics of curvilinear laminates and composite shell structures

Integrated mechanics and a finite element method are presented for predicting the damping of doubly curved laminates and laminated shell composite structures. Damping mechanics are formulated in curvilinear co-ordinates from ply to structural level and the structural modal loss factors are calculated using the energy dissipation method. The modelling of damping at the laminate level is based on first order shear shell theory. An eight-node shell damping finite element is developed. Comparisons of the present model with classical and discrete layer laminate damping theory predictions are shown. Modal damping and natural frequencies of composite plates and open cylindrical shells were measured and correlated with predicted results. Parametric studies illustrate the effect of curvature and lamination on modal damping and natural frequency.     

A comparison of shell theories for large-amplitude vibrations of circular cylindrical shells: Lagrangian approach

Large-amplitude (geometrically non-linear) vibrations of circular cylindrical shells subjected to radial harmonic excitation in the spectral neighbourhood of the lowest resonances are investigated. The Lagrange equations of motion are obtained by an energy approach, retaining damping through Rayleigh's dissipation function. Four different non-linear thin shell theories, namely Donnell's, Sanders-Koiter, Flügge-Lur’e-Byrne and Novozhilov's theories, which neglect rotary inertia and shear deformation, are used to calculate the elastic strain energy. The formulation is also valid for orthotropic and symmetric cross-ply laminated composite shells. The large-amplitude response of perfect and imperfect, simply supported circular cylindrical shells to harmonic excitation in the spectral neighbourhood of the lowest natural frequency is computed for all these shell theories. Numerical responses obtained by using these four non-linear shell theories are also compared to results obtained by using the Donnell's non-linear shallow-shell equation of motion. A validation of calculations by comparison with experimental results is also performed. Both empty and fluid-filled shells are investigated by using a potential fluid model. The effects of radial pressure and axial load are also studied. Boundary conditions for simply supported shells are exactly satisfied. Different expansions involving from 14 to 48 generalized co-ordinates, associated with natural modes of simply supported shells, are used. The non-linear equations of motion are studied by using a code based on an arclength continuation method allowing bifurcation analysis.     

Higher-dimensional chaotic dynamics of a composite laminated piezoelectric rectangular plate

The analysis on the chaotic dynamics of a six-dimensional nonlinear system which represents the averaged equation of a composite laminated piezoelectric rectangular plate is given for the first time. The theory of normal form and the energy-phase method are combined to investigate the higher-dimensional chaotic dynamics of the composite laminated piezoelectric rectangular plate. Firstly, the theory of normal form is used to reduce the six-dimensional averaged equation to the simpler normal form. Then, the energy-phase method is extended to analyze the global bifurcations and chaotic dynamics of a six-dimensional nonlinear system. The analysis results indicate that there exist the homoclinic bifurcation and Shilnikov type multi-pulse chaos for the composite laminated piezoelectric rectangular plate. Finally, numerical simulations are also used to investigate the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of the composite laminated piezoelectric rectangular plate. The results of numerical simulations also demonstrate that there exist the chaotic motions and the multi-pulse jumping orbits of the composite laminated piezoelectric rectangular plate.     

DYNAMICS AND DISTRIBUTED CONTROL OF CONICAL SHELLS LAMINATED WITH FULL AND DIAGONAL ACTUATORS

Nozzles, rocket fairings and many engineering structures/components are often made of conical shells. This paper focuses on the finite element modelling, analysis, and control of conical shells laminated with distributed actuators. Electromechanical constitutive equations and governing equations of a generic piezo(electric)elastic continuum are defined first, followed by the strain-displacement relations and electric field-potential relations of laminated shell composites. Finite element formulation of a piezoelastic shell element with non-constant Lamé parameters is briefly reviewed; element and system matrix equations of the piezoelastic shell sensor/actuator/structure laminate are derived. The system equation reveals the coupling of mechanical and electric fields, in which the electric force vector is often used in distributed control of shells. Finite element eigenvalue solutions of conical shells are compared with published numerical results first. Distributed control of the conical shell laminated with piezoelectric shell actuators is investigated and control effects of three actuator configurations are evaluated.     

Rotationally symmetric vibrations of orthotropic layered cylindrical shells

The derivation of the general equations of motion for the analysis of laminated cylindrical shells consisting of layers of orthotropic laminae, and the equations of motion for rotationally symmetric deformation made previously by the authors are used in this study. The three coupled differential equations governing the rotationally symmetric motion of each layer of a cylindrical shell with rotary inertia neglected are replaced by another set of three differential equations where the solutions can be obtained systematically. General solutions for laminated cylindrical shells of finite length are presented. Coupled frequencies and several mode shapes for a fixed-end cylindrical shell with one and two orthotropic layers of various geometric dimensions are calculated for illustrative purposes. The results based on the present analysis for a single layered shell are compared to the results obtained according to the classical analysis.     

Free vibrations of laminated composite cylindrical shells with an interior rectangular plate

The free vibration analysis of a laminated composite cylindrical shell with an interior rectangular plate is performed by the analytical and experimental methods. The frequency equations of vibration of the shell including the plate are formulated by using the receptance method. To obtain the free vibration characteristics before the combination of two structures, the energy principle based on the classical plate theory and Love's thin shell theory is adopted. The numerical results are compared with the results from an experiment, as well as a finite element analysis, to validate the current formulation. The influences of the length-to-radius ratio (L_S/a) and radius-to-thickness ratio (a/h_S) of the shell and fiber orientation angles (Θ) of symmetric cross- and angle-ply composite materials on the natural frequencies of a cylindrical laminated combined shell are also discussed in details.     

Dynamic analysis of layered composite shells using nine node degenerate shell elements

The basic objective of the work reported in this paper is to extend a nine-node degenerated shell element developed earlier for stress analysis to the free vibration analysis of thick laminated composites. The nine-noded degenerated shell element is preferable to conventional solid elements for the modeling and analysis of laminated composite shell structures since the shell element works for both thick and thin shells. An enhanced interpolation of the transverse shear strains in the natural coordinates is used in this formulation to produce a shear locking free element and an enhanced interpolation of the membrane strains in the local coordinates is used to produce a membrane locking free element. The interpolation functions used in formulating the assumed strains are based on the Lagrangian interpolation polynomials. Various numerical examples are analyzed and their results are compared with the existing exact solutions where available and the numerical solutions calculated from other shell finite element formulations, to benchmark the current formulation.     

VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF TWISTED CANTILEVERED CONICAL COMPOSITE SHELLS

The finite element method based on the Hellinger-Reissner principle with independent strain is applied to the vibration problem of cantilevered twisted plates and cylindrical, conical laminated shells. With a small number of elements, the present assumed strain finite element method is validated by convergence tests and numerical tests, comparing with the previous published vibration results for cantilevered conical shell. Computational effort and virtual storage reduce significantly due to good convergence. This study presents the twisting angle effect on vibration characteristics of conical laminated shells. Parameter studies with varying shallowness of cylindrical and conical shells are carried out. As the curvature increases, the fundamental mode shape changes from twisting mode to bending mode. For shells with a large curvature, the fundamental frequency, which is always characterized to bending mode, is almost constant independent of twisting angle. The twisting angle affects greatly twisting frequency and mode shape.     

Nonlinear vibration of functionally graded circular cylindrical shells based on improved Donnell equations

In the present work, the study of the nonlinear vibration of a functionally graded cylindrical shell subjected to axial and transverse mechanical loads is presented. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction of the shell according to a simple power law distribution in terms of volume fractions of the material constituents. Governing equations are derived using improved Donnell shell theory ignoring the shallowness of cylindrical shells and kinematic nonlinearity is taken into consideration. One-term approximate solution is assumed to satisfy simply supported boundary conditions. The Galerkin method, the Volmir's assumption and fourth-order Runge–Kutta method are used for dynamical analysis of shells to give explicit expressions of natural frequencies, nonlinear frequency–amplitude relation and nonlinear dynamic responses. Numerical results show the effects of characteristics of functionally graded materials, pre-loaded axial compression and dimensional ratios on the dynamical behavior of shells. The proposed results are validated by comparing with those in the literature.     

An Efficient Model for Layer-by-Layer Analysis of Sandwich Irregular Cylindrical Shells of Revolution

Based on the approach of layer-by-layer analysis, we consider an algorithm for constructing finiteelement models of layers for a refined calculation of the stress-strain state of sandwich cylindrical shells with the application of efficient approximations that increase the rate of convergence of the numerical results and, consequently, allow the order of the systems of equations to be reduced, which is particularly topical in the layer-bylayer analysis of laminated inhomogeneous constructions. An example of applying the models considered to calculate the stress-strain state of a sandwich cylindrical shell with through and non-through cuts is given.     

Nonlinear stability of cylindrical shells subjected to axial flow: Theory and experiments

This paper, is concerned with the nonlinear dynamics and stability of thin circular cylindrical shells clamped at both ends and subjected to axial fluid flow. In particular, it describes the development of a nonlinear theoretical model and presents theoretical results displaying the nonlinear behaviour of the clamped shell subjected to flowing fluid. The theoretical model employs the Donnell nonlinear shallow shell equations to describe the geometrically nonlinear structure. The clamped beam eigenfunctions are used to describe the axial variations of the shell deformation, automatically satisfying the boundary conditions and the circumferential continuity condition exactly. The fluid is assumed to be incompressible and inviscid, and the fluid–structure interaction is described by linear potential flow theory. The partial differential equation of motion is discretized using the Galerkin method and the final set of ordinary differential equations are integrated numerically using a pseudo-arclength continuation and collocation techniques and the Gear backward differentiation formula. A theoretical model for shells with simply supported ends is presented as well. Experiments are also described for (i) elastomer shells subjected to annular (external) air-flow and (ii) aluminium and plastic shells with internal water flow. The experimental results along with the theoretical ones indicate loss of stability by divergence with a subcritical nonlinear behaviour. Finally, theory and experiments are compared, showing good qualitative and reasonable quantitative agreement.