Free vibration of composite and sandwich laminates with a higher-order facet shell element

A simple C-0 isoparametric finite element formulation based on a shear deformable model of higher-order theory using a higher-order facet shell element is presented for the free vibration analysis of isotropic, orthotropic and layered anisotropic composite and sandwich laminates. This theory incorporates a realistic non-linear variation of displacements through the shell thickness, and eliminates the use of shear correction coefficients. The validity and efficiency of the present formulation is established by obtaining solutions to a wide range of problems and comparing them with the available three-dimensional closed-form and finite element solutions. In addition, other plate and shell solutions of different kind and available in the literature are also compiled and tabulated for the sake of completeness. The parametric effects of degree of orthotropy, length-to-thickness ratio, plate aspect ratio, number of layers and fibre orientation upon the frequencies and mode shapes are discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.