In this paper, the linear and nonlinear free vibrations of functionally graded rotating composite Timoshenko beams reinforced by carbon nanotubes are presented. The formulation is based on the assumptions of Timoshenko beam theory in addition to consideration of the nonlinear von Karman strain–displacement relationship. The effective material properties of carbon nanotube reinforced composites are determined employing the Mori–Tanaka micromechanics model and the extended mixture rule. For the carbon nanotube reinforced composite beams, uniform distribution and four types of functionally graded distribution patterns of single-walled carbon nanotube reinforcements are considered. A differential transform method is applied on the nondimensionalized equations of motion to release the flapping modeshapes and the associated natural frequencies. The direct method of multiple scales is implemented to derive the effective nonlinearity and the corresponding nonlinear natural frequency. The accuracy of the present outcomes is validated by the comparison with the results given in the literature. The numerical results are presented in both tabular and graphical forms to investigate the effects of nanotube volume fractions, distribution types of the carbon nanotubes, and rotation speed on linear and nonlinear free vibration characteristics of carbon nanotube reinforced composite beam. The results demonstrate the important role of carbon nanotube distribution profile on linear and nonlinear free vibration features.
