Vibration and Stability Analysis of Laminated Composite Structures

Summary

Laminated composite structures, formed by stacking layers of anisotropic materials with varying fibre orientations, offer exceptional stiffness‐to‐weight ratios and tailored mechanical performance. Vibration and stability analyses assess how these structures respond to dynamic loading and compressive stresses, respectively. The dynamic behaviour is characterised by natural frequencies and mode shapes, which depend on lamination scheme, boundary conditions, orthotropy ratios and aspect ratios. Stability analysis, often framed as buckling under in‐plane loads or external pressure, determines critical loads beyond which sudden deflections or collapse occur. Advanced plate and shell theories—ranging from classical laminate theory (CLT) to first‐order and higher‐order shear deformation theories (FSDT, quasi‐3D)—capture transverse shear effects and layerwise deformation. Numerical techniques such as finite element methods, meshfree approaches, differential quadrature and Ritz formulations yield accurate predictions of bending, free vibration and buckling performance. Imperfections, elastic foundations and multi‐coupling effects further enrich the analysis, making these tools indispensable for aerospace, civil and mechanical applications where lightweight, high‐performance designs are critical.

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Vibration and Stability Analysis of Laminated Composite Structures publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in vibration and stability analysis of laminated composite structures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Lamination scheme: The sequence and orientation of fibre layers within a composite, which governs stiffness, strength and coupling effects.

Natural frequency: The frequency at which a structure vibrates freely when disturbed, determined by stiffness and mass distribution.

Buckling load: The critical compressive load at which a structure undergoes instability, leading to sudden lateral deflection or collapse.

Shear deformation theory: A plate or beam theory that accounts for transverse shear strains, improving accuracy for thick laminates.

Pasternak foundation: A two‐parameter elastic foundation model that represents both normal stiffness and shear interaction between a plate and its support medium.

References

  1. Comprehensive analysis of bio-inspired laminated composites plates using a quasi-3D theory and higher order FE models. Thin-Walled Structures (2024).
  2. Optimization Design and Nonlinear Bending of Bio-Inspired Helicoidal Composite Laminated Plates. Materials (2023).
  3. Exact Solution of Nonlinear Behaviors of Imperfect Bioinspired Helicoidal Composite Beams Resting on Elastic Foundations. Mathematics (2022).

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