Vibration analysis of thin-walled composite beams with I-shaped cross-sections

A general analytical model applicable to the vibration analysis of thin-walled composite I-beams with arbitrary lay-ups is developed. Based on the classical lamination theory, this model has been applied to the investigation of load–frequency interaction curves of thin-walled composite beams under various loads. The governing differential equations are derived from the Hamilton’s principle. A finite element model with seven degrees of freedoms per node is developed to solve the problem. Numerical results are obtained for thin-walled composite I-beams under uniformly distributed load, combined axial force and bending loads. The effects of fiber orientation, location of applied load, and types of loads on the natural frequencies and load–frequency interaction curves as well as vibration mode shapes are parametrically studied.