Effect of Delamination, Stacking Sequence, and Boundary Conditions on the Vibration Response of CNT-Reinforced CFRP Plates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31181/rme534Keywords:
Carbon Nanotubes, Finite Element Analysis, MATLAB Solver, Composite Material, Natural Frequency, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer, Delamination, Vibration Analysis, Rayleigh-Ritz MethodAbstract
Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite structures are widely used in the field of aerospace, automotive and marine construction because they are very stiff compared to their weight, but dynamic performance is extremely vulnerable to delamination damage and laminate geometry. Nanotechnology developments in the recent past have also suggested that carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforcement may effectively improve matrix-dominated properties and damage tolerance. This paper provides an investigation of the behavior of delaminated CNT-reinforced CFRP composite plate under vibration with the combined effects of CNT contents, delamination size, stacking sequence, and boundary conditions. The application is done in the form of a predictive of natural frequencies and mode shapes via the use of finites element modeling in ANSYS and a developed mode-based formulation of prediction of natural frequencies and mode shapes through an analytical RayleighRitz modeling of MATLAB. The process of experimental modal testing is carried out in order to confirm the numerical and analytical findings. Cross-ply, angle-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates of 0%, 0.5% and 1.0% CNT weight are considered with simply supported, clamped clamped and free-free boundary conditions. These findings prove that CNT reinforcement brings about a significant rise in natural frequencies and gives a significant reduction in stiffness degradation caused by delamination, and quasi-isotropic laminates are the most sensitive to CNT enhancement. The natural frequencies in all configurations decrease monotonically with the delamination size and the clamped boundary condition always gives the highest frequency values. Close agreement is observed between the finite element predictions, analytical solutions, and experimental results, with mean absolute percentage errors within 4.3%. The results provide quantitative data that are relevant to the vibration-based design and damage-tolerant optimization of CNT-enhanced composite structures in advanced mechanical engineering applications.
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