Experimental and numerical investigation of the effective parameters on vibrational behavior of unstiffened and stiffened composite cylindrical shells

Due to the widespread use of unstiffened and stiffened composite shells in different industries, investigating their vibrational behavior has great importance. In this paper, the effects of different parameters on the vibration of these shells are studied using experimental and numerical analysis. Specimens used for modal analysis are fabricated by filament winding machine. The mechanical properties of fibers and resin matrix are determined based on the standard tests as the fiber volume fraction in the shell and the stiffeners. Finally, the mechanical properties are calculated using micromechanical relations. These properties are used for finite element modeling by ABAQUS package. FE results are validated in comparison with empirical tests. Finally, the effects of different parameters on the vibrational behavior of composite shells are studied using this FE model. The results show that using the stiffeners does not necessarily increase the natural frequencies of the shell. From the vibrational point of view, the results of the stiffened shell with circumferential rings, kagome grid, and triangle grid are similar. So, considering the manufacturing procedure, stiffening the shell with circumferential rings is preferred.