Improved High-Order Analysis of Linear Vibrations of a Thick Sandwich Panel with an Electro-Rheological Core by Using Exponential Shear Deformation Theory

In this paper, the behavior of free vibrations of the thick sandwich panel with multi-layer face sheets and an electrorheological (ER) fluid core using Exponential Shear Deformation Theory were investigated. For the first time, Exponential shear deformation theory is used for the face sheets while the Displacement field based on the second Frostig's model is used for the core. The governing equations and the boundary conditions are derived by Hamilton’s principle. Closed form solution is achieved using the Navier method and solving the eigenvalues. Primary attention is focused on the effects of electric field magnitude, geometric aspect ratio, and ER core layer thickness on the dynamic characteristics of the sandwich plate. The rheological property of an ER material, such as viscosity, plasticity, and elasticity may be changed when applying an electric field. When an electric field is applied, the damping of the system is more effective. The effects of the natural frequencies and loss factors on the dynamic behavior of the sandwich plate are studied. The natural frequency of the sandwich plate increases and the modal loss factor decreases. With increasing the thickness of the ER layer, the natural frequencies of the sandwich plate are decreased.