Influence of Mechanical Properties on Modal Analysis of Natural Fiber Reinforced Laminated Composite Trapezoidal Plates

Present work concentrates on modal parameters of laminated composite plates composed of natural fibers reinforced with unsaturated polyester resin. The selected jute and ramie fibers underwent alkaline treatment to improve mechanical properties. Upon compression molding, the laminated composite plates such as ramie/polyester (R plate), jute/polyester (J plate) and combination of ramie and jute (RJ plate) are fabricated. The physical, mechanical and elastic properties are calculated as per ASTM standards. Using obtained elastic properties, the free undamped vibration analysis of composite plates are computed using finite element software ANSYS 18.1 for trapezoidal plates, with respect to a/b = 1 and 2, c/b = 0.25 to 1 and a/h = 50. The natural frequency and mode shape of the plates are obtained for various boundary conditions such as CFFF, CFCF, CCCC, SFSF and SSSS (C-Clamped, F-Free and S-Simply supported). The dimensionless frequency and mode shapes of R, J and RJ plates are compared with literatures which are in good agreement.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the modal parameters of laminated composite plates made of natural fibers reinforced with unsaturated polyester resin. Different combinations of jute and ramie fibers were treated and analyzed for their physical, mechanical, and elastic properties. Using the obtained elastic properties, free undamped vibration analysis was conducted on trapezoidal plates with different boundary conditions to determine the natural frequency and mode shapes, which showed good agreement with existing literature.