Identification of the bending stiffness matrix of symmetric laminates using regressive discrete Fourier series and finite differences

It is known that the elastic constants of composite materials can be identified by modal analysis and numerical methods. This approach is nondestructive, since it consists of simple tests and does not require high computational effort. It can be applied to isotropic, orthotropic, or anisotropic materials, making it a useful alternative for the characterization of composite materials. However, when elastic constants are bending constants, the method requires numerical spatial derivatives of experimental mode shapes. These derivatives are highly sensitive to noise. Previous works attempted to overcome the problem by using special optical devices. In this study, the elastic constant is identified using mode shapes obtained by standard laser vibrometers. To minimize errors, the mode shapes are first smoothed by regressive discrete Fourier series, after which their spatial derivatives are computed using finite differences. Numerical simulations using the finite element method and experimental results confirm the accuracy of the proposed method. The experimental examples reported here consist of an isotropic steel plate and an orthotropic carbon–epoxy plate excited with an electromechanical shaker. The forced response is measured at a large number of points, using a laser Doppler vibrometer. Both numerical and experimental results were satisfactory.