An experimental study on free vibration of nanostructured laminated beams

This paper presents an experimental research on the influence of nanoclay on free vibration of composite beams. In this study hybrid nanocomposite beams were manufactured from laminates of 4-layers woven roving E-glass fiber in the epoxy resin made by hand lay-up technique. The nanoclay is dispersed into the epoxy resin in 3, 5 and 7wt% via sonication. Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis was carried out on nanocomposite samples. The results showed partial exfoliation and intercalation of clay in specimens containing 3wt% nanoclay and also agglomeration in 7wt% nanoclay containing samples. Natural frequency of the nanocomposite beams was determined via microphone measurement of air pressure variation. The results showed that the nanoclay dispersion in the matrix and E-glass fiber increase the beam’s natural frequencies especially in the samples containing 3wt% nanoclay.