A comparative study of the classical and higher order theory for free vibration analysis of MRE cored sandwich beam with composite skins using finite element method

In this work free vibration analysis of a sandwich beam with magneto rheological elastomer (MRE) core and composite skins has been investigated using finite element method (FEM). Both classical and higher order theories have been applied in the FE formulation. While in classical theory the strain in the transverse direction is neglected, in higher order theory the transverse strain is considered. Considering same dimensions and material properties of the sandwich beam elements natural frequencies and free vibration responses of the systems have been determined and compared for these two cases under the influence of different magnetic field. The results show that the percentage variations in modal frequencies are within 10%. While the variation in natural frequency is not much for lower modes it is significant for higher modes. The free vibration responses are for different magnetic fields have been plotted and compared.