Free vibration of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite beam

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the free vibration behavior of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) beam. The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are aligned and distributed in polymeric matrix with different patterns of reinforcement. The material properties of the FG-CNTRC beam are estimated by using the rule of mixture. The trigonometric shear deformation beam theory is employed to deal with the problem. The mathematical models provided in this paper are numerically validated by comparison with some available results. New results of free vibration analyses of FG-CNTRC beam are presented and discussed in detail. The effects of the length to thickness ratio and CNT volume fraction are taken into investigation.