Three-dimensional free vibration analysis of functionally graded fiber reinforced cylindrical panels using differential quadrature method

Three dimensional solutions for free vibrations analysis of functionally graded fiber reinforced cylindrical panel are presented, using differential quadrature method (DQM). The orthotropic panel is simply supported at the edges and is assumed to have an arbitrary variation of reinforcement volume fraction in the radial direction. Suitable displacement functions that identically satisfy the simply supported boundary condition are used to reduce the equilibrium equations to a set of coupled ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients, which can be solved by differential quadrature method to obtain natural frequencies. The main contribution of this work is presenting useful results for continuous grading of fiber reinforcement in the thickness direction of a cylindrical panel and comparison with similar discrete laminate composite ones. Results indicate that significant improvement is found in natural frequency of a functionally graded fiber reinforced composite panel due to the reduction in spatial mismatch of material properties.