The effect of temperature on the vibration behavior of laminated composite plates

The present work is a contribution to the study of the effects of temperature on vibrations and stability of laminated composite plates using the finite element method. Thus, a DMQP/ml bending finite element with 4 nodes and 3 degrees of freedom based on the first order shear theory is extended to consider the effects of temperature on vibration and stability of laminated composite plates. The effect of the dependence of material properties on temperature as well as the effect of the of thermal stresses on the natural frequencies of laminated plates are studied simultaneously. A parametric study was carried out to highlight the effect of certain parameters on the vibration behavior of the laminated plates. The study showed that in most cases, the natural frequencies of vibration decrease with the increase in temperature. On the other hand, if the temperature inflicted on the plate coincides with the critical buckling temperature, the natural frequencies tend towards zero. Moreover, based on experimental data, this paper presents a study of the effect of temperature on the vibration behavior of a laminated T300/5208 Graphite/Epoxy plate. The study showed that temperature significantly changes the properties of the materials as well as the vibration behavior of the plate.