Free vibration analyses of axially loaded laminated composite beams based on higher-order shear deformation theory

The dynamic stiffness matrix method is introduced to solve exactly the free vibration and buckling problems of axially loaded laminated composite beams with arbitrary lay-ups. The Poisson effect, axial force, extensional deformation, shear deformation and rotary inertia are included in the mathematical formulation. The exact dynamic stiffness matrix is derived from the analytical solutions of the governing differential equations of the composite beams based on third-order shear deformation beam theory. The application of the present method is illustrated by two numerical examples, in which the effects of axial force and boundary condition on the natural frequencies, mode shapes and buckling loads are examined. Comparison of the current results to the existing solutions in the literature demonstrates the accuracy and effectiveness of the present method.