Maximizing the Fundamental Natural Frequency of Triangular Composite Plates

While many advances were made in the analysis of composite structures, it is generally recognized that the design of composite structures must be studied further in order to take full advantage of the mechanical properties of these materials. This study is concerned with maximizing the fundamental natural frequency of triangular, symmetrically laminated composite plates. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of composite plates of general triangular planform are determined using the Rayleigh-Ritz method. The plate constitutive equations are written in terms of stiffness invariants and nondimensional lamination parameters. Point supports are introduced in the formulation using the method of Lagrange multipliers. This formulation allows studying the free vibration of a wide range of triangular composite plates with any support condition along the edges and point supports. The boundary conditions are enforced at a number of points along the boundary. The effects of geometry, material properties and lamination on the natural frequencies of the plate are investigated. With this stiffness invariant formulation, the effects of lamination are described by a finite number of parameters regardless of the number of plies in the laminate. We then determine the lay-up that will maximize the fundamental natural frequency of the plate. It is shown that the optimum design is relatively insensitive to the material properties for the commonly used material systems. Results are presented for several cases.