Torsional vibration of functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced conical shells

The present study deals with the free torsional vibration of a composite conical shell made of a polymeric matrix reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Distribution of CNTs across the thickness of the conical shell may be uniform or functionally graded. Five different cases of functionally graded reinforcements are considered. First-order shear deformable shell theory compatible with the Donnell kinematic assumptions is used to establish the motion equations of the shell. These equations are two coupled equations which should be treated as an eigenvalue problem. The generalized differential quadrature method is used to obtain a numerical solution for the torsional frequency parameters and the associated mode shapes of the shell. After validating the results of this study for the cases of isotropic homogeneous cone and annular plates, parametric studies are carried out to analyze the influences of geometrical characteristics of the shell, volume fraction of CNTs, and grading profile of the CNTs. It is shown that volume fraction of CNTs is an important factor with regard to torsional frequencies of the shell; however, grading profile does not change the torsional frequencies significantly.