Dynamic stiffness matrix of continuous element for vibration of thick cross-ply laminated composite cylindrical shells

This paper investigates the vibration analysis of thick laminated composite cylindrical shells by a continuous element constructed from the dynamic stiffness matrix. Based on the analytical solutions of the differential equations of thick composite cylindrical shell taking into account the shear deflection effects, the dynamic stiffness matrix has been built from which natural frequencies are easily calculated. A computer program is developed for performing the numerical calculations and results from specific case studies are presented. Results on natural frequencies and harmonic responses of this work are compared to published analytical and Finite Element Method (FEM) results. Numerical examples demonstrate that the proposed model can be used to solve efficiently the vibration analysis of thick cross-ply composite cylindrical shell with many advantages: size of model reduced, time of computing saved, higher precision, direct acquisition of harmonic response and suitable for the analysis of medium and high frequency range.