Development of beam modal function for free vibration analysis of FML circular cylindrical shells

The free vibration of fiber–metal laminate (FML) thin circular cylindrical shells with different boundary conditions has been studied in this research. Strain–displacement relations have been obtained according to Love’s first approximation shell theory. To satisfy the governing equations of motion, a beam modal function model has been used. The effects of different FML parameters such as material properties lay-up, volume fraction of metal, fiber orientation, and axial and circumferential wavenumbers on the vibration of the shell have been studied. The frequencies of shells have been calculated for carbon/epoxy and glass/epoxy as composites and for aluminum as metal. The results demonstrate that the influences of FML lay-up and volume fraction of composite on the frequencies of the shell are remarkable.