DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF OPEN CRACKED LAMINATED COMPOSITE BEAMS

Composite beams of various orientations with fiber reinforced plastics find increasing application in structures nowadays, for their light weight, high strength and stiffness, and high damping characteristics. Determination of the dynamic characteristics of cracked laminated composite beams (CLCB) is essential not only in the design stage but also in the performance of the structure system, since the presence of cracks, with various types of fiber orientation, and boundary fixations of the beams has a dominant effect on the dynamic nature of the system. In the present paper, the dynamic characteristics laminated composite beams (LCB) with various fiber orientations and different boundary fixations have been presented and discussed in the absence and presence of cracks. A mathematical model is developed, and experimental analysis is utilized to study the effects of different crack depths and locations, boundary conditions, and various code numbers of laminates on the dynamic characteristics of CLCB. The analysis shows good agreement between experimental and theoretical results.