Vibrations of an elastic cylindrical shell near the lowest cut-off frequency

A new asymptotic approximation of the dynamic equations in the two-dimensional classical theory of thin-elastic shells is established for a circular cylindrical shell. It governs long wave vibrations in the vicinity of the lowest cut-off frequency. At a fixed circumferential wavenumber, the latter corresponds to the eigenfrequency of in-plane vibrations of a thin almost inextensible ring. It is stressed that the well-known semi-membrane theory of cylindrical shells is not suitable for tackling a near-cut-off behaviour. The dispersion relation within the framework of the developed formulation coincides with the asymptotic expansion of the dispersion relation originating from full two-dimensional shell equations. Asymptotic analysis also enables refining the geometric hypotheses underlying various ad hoc set-ups, including the assumption on vanishing of shear and circumferential mid-surface deformations used in the semi-membrane theory. The obtained results may be of interest for dynamic modelling of elongated cylindrical thin-walled structures, such as carbon nanotubes.