Wave propagation in piezoelectric cylindrical composite shells reinforced with angled and randomly oriented carbon nanotubes

Wave propagation behavior in piezoelectric cylindrical composite shells reinforced with angled and randomly oriented, straight carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is analytically investigated for the first time via the first-order shear deformation shell theory including the transverse shear effects and rotary inertia. The Mori-Tanaka method is used for micromechanical modeling. Dispersion solutions are computed by solving an eigenvalue problem. The effects of CNT orientation, CNT volume fraction, and shell geometry on the dispersion solutions are examined. Various orientations of CNTs lead to different dispersion behaviors; the variation of wave phase velocities is more significant at lower axial wave numbers; and the effects of CNT volume fraction and shell geometry on wave dispersion behaviors are more obvious at higher circumferential wave numbers. The presented model and analytical results of this study can be utilized in the wave propagation analysis of piezoelectric shells reinforced with CNTs for the design of new smart structures used in structural health monitoring and/or energy harvesting applications.