Free vibration analysis of simply supported composite laminated panels

In this paper, the free vibrations characteristics of simply supported anisotropic composite laminates are investigated using analytical approach. The formulation is based on the first-order shear deformation theory and the shear correction factors employed are based on energy consideration that depends on the lay-up as well as material properties. The governing equations are obtained using energy method. For this purpose, a displacement model with a combination of sine and cosine functions in the form of double Fourier series is taken. The effectiveness of the integrated formulation is tested for global behaviors considering examples related to multi-layered laminates having various values for curvatures, thickness ratio, and lay-up for which solutions are available. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.