Exact vibration frequencies of segmented axisymmetric shells

Axisymmetric shells are commonly used in all fields of engineering and their dynamic characteristics are of great importance in their overall performance. Segmented shells are shells that are built of several pieces that form together an axisymmetric shell with a joint axis. These can be cylindrical, conical or plate segments, which are connected to form a complete shell. In this research, the exact dynamic stiffness matrix for each segment is derived and used in the assembly of the complete structure dynamic stiffness matrix. Then the natural frequencies of vibrations are found as the frequencies that cause this matrix to become singular. Examples are given for the frequencies and modes of segmented shells made of conical, cylindrical, and plate segments.