Free vibrations of skirt supported pressure vessels — an engineering application of timoshenko beam theory

Timoshenko beam theory is applied to the study of the free vibrations of skirt supported pressure vessels in this paper; such systems are used in the process and power generation industries as well as aboard nuclear powered vessels. It is shown that the analysis is not significantly more complicated than the analysis of skirt-vessel combinations by Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. This latter analysis is provided in an appendix. Two sets of boundary conditions are considered: namely, the cases of (a) a cantilevered system and (b) a fixed-pinned system. The first two natural frequencies of nine typical cases are calculated and compared with the corresponding results obtained from Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. The numerical differences are significant so that if a beam theory is adequate to model the system, it is clear that Timoshenko beam theory is the appropriate one to use. In addition, the first two mode shapes for a particular case are presented for comparison with the corresponding mode shapes predicted by Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. Finally, some comments on the modeling and analysis of specific, real systems are made. It is emphasized that the purpose of the paper is to demonstrate that Timoshenko beam theory is not unduly difficult to apply to problems of engineering interest when a beam theory model is suitable.     

Free vibrations of laminated composite shells with uniformly distributed attached mass using higher order shell theory including stiffness effect

In this paper, free vibrations of a cross-ply composite shell with or without a uniformly distributed attached mass are analyzed using higher order shell theory. The results of free vibrations without distributed attached mass are validated by previous literatures. The stiffness effect of this distributed attached mass are also considered and compared with those well-known published results in which this effect is ignored. Various results for composite shells under a variety of conditions such as variations in the thickness of the shell, variation in the thickness of the distributed attached mass, variation in the radii of curvatures and various elasticity moduli are presented in this paper. In some cases, to verify the novel results, first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is also used. In this paper, parameters which influence the natural frequencies of the shells with attached mass including the stiffness of the mass are investigated. Parameters which are investigated in this paper are thickness of the shell, thickness of the distributed attached mass, elasticity moduli of the distributed attached mass and radius of curvatures of shells. Increasing the thickness or elasticity moduli of the distributed attached mass will increase the fundamental natural frequency of the shell. The effect of the stiffness of the distributed attached mass is decreased by decreasing the radii of curvatures or increasing the thickness of the shells.     

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.     

Transverse vibrations of hybrid laminated plates

In this paper, an attempt is made to obtain the free vibration response of hybrid, laminated rectangular and skew plates. The Galerkin technique is employed to obtain an approximate solution of the governing differential equations. It is found that this technique is well suited for the study of such problems. Results are presented in a graphical form for plates with one pair of opposite edges simply supported and the other two edges clamped. The method is quite general and can be applied to any other boundary conditions.     

Free vibrations of a mono-coupled periodic system

Vibration problems of periodic systems can be analyzed efficiently by means of the transfer matrix method. The frequency equation for the whole system is shown to be obtained in terms of the eigenvalues, or their natural logarithms, which are often called “propagation constants”, of the transfer matrix for a single periodic subsystem. In case of a mono-coupled system this frequency equation may be solved graphically by using the propagation constant curve, thereby saving a great deal of computational effort. Two types of mono-coupled systems are considered as numerical examples: a spring-mass oscillating system and a continuous Timoshenko beam resting on regularly spaced knife-edge supports. Depending on whether the transfer matrix is derived by an analytical procedure or by the finite element method, the numerical solutions become either exact or approximate.     

Radial vibrations of orthotropic laminated hollow spheres

The three-dimensional elasticity problem of the radial vibrations of a composite hollow spherical shell laminated of spherically orthotropic layers is considered. After formulating the equations, the exact determinantal equation from which the frequencies of vibration can be extracted is developed. Some calculated results for combinations of isotropic and orthotropic materials indicate the sensitivity of the frequencies to the geometry and material make up of the shells.     

Free vibrations of a tire as a toroidal membrane

A tire is modeled as a toroidal membrane under internal pressure and mounted on a rim, to investigate its free vibration characteristics using a 12 d.o.f. rectangular membrane finite element. Such a modeling is valid if the tire is assumed to be incapable of supporting any weight in the absence of internal pressure. To verify the formulations of the membrane finite element, a flat rectangular membrane subject to in-plane loads and a circular cylindrical membrane under internal pressure are first analyzed. Analytical solutions for these cases are also derived. The analytical and numerical results are in good agreement. A toroidal membrane under internal pressure, assumed to model a low pressure tire, is studied next. Both the analytical derivation and the finite element solutions are presented. For the analytical solution the equations of motion yield a complicated differential equation for which an approximate solution is obtained by assuming that the parallel circle radius is constant as in the case of a bycycle wheel. The finite element solution successfully predicts the symmetrical and the twisting modes of vibration documented by other researchers, and is also in good agreement with the analytical results. The present formulations are useful to obtain a good first approximation of the free vibration response of a tire.     

Free localized vibrations of a semi-infinite cylindrical shell

Free vibrations of a semi-infinite cylindrical shell, localized near the edge of the shell are investigated. The dynamic equations in the Kirchhoff-Love theory of shells are subjected to asymptotic analysis. Three types of localized vibrations, associated with bending, extensional, and super-low-frequency semi-membrane motions, are determined. A link between localized vibrations and Rayleigh-type bending and extensional waves, propagating along the edge, is established. Different boundary conditions on the edge are considered. It is shown that for bending and super-low-frequency vibrations the natural frequencies are real while for extensional vibrations they have asymptotically small imaginary parts. The latter corresponds to the radiation to infinity caused by coupling between extensional and bending modes.     

Forced non-linear vibrations of a damped sandwich beam

Forced, damped, non-linear, low-frequency flexural motions of a clamped-clamped sandwich beam with thin face sheets and a soft viscoelastic core are examined experimentally and theoretically. The theory employed neglects the extensional rigidity of the core and treats the face sheets as membranes. The non-linearity stems from axial stretching of the face sheets. Damping is taken into account by modeling the core as a Kelvin solid, with the material parameters used being obtained experimentally as functions of frequency and temperature. Theoretical frequency-amplitude relations are obtained using Galerkin's procedure and the method of harmonic balance. Results on fundamental natural frequencies, mode shapes, and stability are also presented. In the experiment, mechanical contact with the specimen was avoided by employing electromagnetic forcing and using a proximeter to measure displacements. Also, special attention was given to the interface bonds and to the reproduction, as close as possible, of clamped-clamped conditions. Agreement between the theoretical and experimental results is, in general, quite good.     

Free vibrations of two rods connected by multi-spring-mass systems

This study deals with the longitudinal free vibrations of a system in which two rods are coupled by multi-spring-mass devices. The dynamics of this system are coupled through the motion of the masses. By using the transfer matrix method and considering the compatibility requirements across each spring connection position, the eigensolutions (natural frequencies and mode shapes) of this system can be obtained easily for different boundary conditions. The characteristic equation encompasses a function of the eigenvalues, the location of the spring connection positions, the ratio of the stiffness of the springs, the ratio of the lengths of the rods, the ratio of the sectional properties of the rods and the suspended masses. Some numerical results are presented to demonstrate the method proposed in this article.     

Free vibrations of a plate with an inner support

The title problem is tackled by using a simple polynomial co-ordinate function and the Rayleigh-Schmidt method. It is assumed that the inner support is parallel to the free edge. When the support coincides with the free edge the frequency equation degenerates properly into the case of a simply supported edge. Numerical results are presented for the situation where two opposite edges are simply supported and the edge parallel to the free edge is either clamped or simply supported.