Cutout effects on the dynamic analysis of laminated composite plates resting on two-parameter elastic foundation

This paper investigates the free vibration analysis of cutout laminated composite plates resting on an elastic foundation of the Winkler and Pasternak type. An efficient isoparametric 9-noded Lagrangean C-0 finite element method is developed based on five degrees of freedom (d.o.f) first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), which has the benefit of the requirement of only one variable along the thickness to model the plate equations to obtain the numerical results from the formulation. The equation of motion of the plate is derived using the virtual work principle. The accuracy and efficiency of the current formulation are validated with established results concerning free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates on elastic foundations and plates containing cutouts. It is found that the results obtained using the present formulation have variation within +/- 1.5% of the established results. After sufficient validation of the present formulation, new parametric results are given for cutout laminated composite plates resting on elastic foundations with varying elastic foundation stiffness parameters, boundary conditions, cutouts, side-to-thickness ratios, and the aspect ratio of plate and fiber angle orientations. The impact of cutouts on the dynamic behavior of laminated composite plates is investigated, and interestingly, it is observed that cutouts alter the frequency response of plates when introduced to plates without elastic foundations or plates resting on elastic foundations having low stiffness parameters; however, when cutouts are introduced to plates with high elastic foundation stiffness, the cutouts have very negligible impact on the dynamic behavior of plates. It is observed that the layout and the pattern of the cutout in the laminated composite plate affect the dynamic behavior of plates at all elastic foundation stiffnesses.