EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL MODAL ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE LAMINATED SHELLS WITH CUT-OUT

The presence of cutouts at different positions of laminated shell component in marine and aeronautical structures facilitate heat dissipation, undertaking maintenance, fitting auxiliary equipment, access ports for mechanical and electrical systems, damage inspection and also influences the dynamic behaviour of the structures. The aim of the present study is to establish a comprehensive perspective of dynamic behavior of laminated deep shells (length to radius of curvature ratio less than one) with cut-out by experiments and numerical simulation. The glass epoxy laminated composite shell has been prepared in the laboratory by resin infusion. The experimental free vibration analysis is carried out on laminated shells with and without cut-out. The mass matrix is developed by considering rotary inertia in a lumped mass model in the numerical modeling. The results obtained from numerical and experimental studies are compared for verification and the consistency between mode shapes is established by applying modal assurance criteria.