Vibration analysis of GFRP laminated composite sandwich plates with partially treated graphene-reinforced magnetorheological elastomer core: Numerical and Experimental approach

• Configuration ‘F’ has a higher natural frequency than other configurations. • Partially treated has a higher natural frequency than fully treated configurations. • Graphene-MRE exhibits a higher natural frequency than the MRE sandwich plate. • As the magnetic field increases, natural frequencies also increase. • Highest and lowest natural frequencies are reported in CCCC and CFFF conditions. This article investigates the vibration characteristics of a laminated composite partially treated graphene-reinforced magnetorheological elastomer (GMRE) sandwich plate. The experiment aims to determine the natural frequencies of the partially treated GMRE sandwich plate under clamped-free (CF) boundary conditions with various magnetic fields. The governing equations for the partially treated GMRE sandwich plate are derived using the classical laminated plate theory (CLPT) and solved through finite element (FE) formulation. A numerical investigation is conducted utilizing MATLAB software. The effectiveness of the FE formulation results are validated with the experimental findings and the existing literature. Additionally, the impact of the magnetic field on the natural frequencies and loss factors of the different partially treated GMRE sandwich plate configurations is analyzed. The influence of GMRE size, various end conditions, aspect ratio, and fiber ply orientations on the natural frequencies of these configurations is explored. Furthermore, the transverse vibration responses under harmonic excitation with varying magnetic fields are investigated. This study reveals that the size and location of the GMRE have a significant impact on the natural frequencies, loss factor, and transverse displacements of partially treated sandwich plates, regardless of the magnetic field intensity. This indicates that partial treatment of vital components in a large structure results in a more compact and efficient vibration control system with adjustable damping.