Vibration Analysis of Laminated Composite Beams With Acoustic Black Hole Profile Under General Boundary Conditions

Acoustic Black Hole (ABH) structures have garnered significant attention from the sound and vibration scientific community, due to their exceptional capability in passive vibration attenuation. By leveraging a gradual reduction in thickness following a power-law profile, ABH structures effectively trap and dissipate vibrational energy. In the context of laminated composite materials and functional gradation, ABH beams offer novel opportunities for enhancing vibration control, particularly when combined with general boundary conditions. This study presents an in-depth vibration analysis of ABH beams, integrating laminated composites in arbitrary boundary conditions. However, the available methods in analyzing Laminated ABH structures do not take into consideration the change in number of laminates, as the ABH structure’s thickness changes. A novel method is proposed, which could be applicable, not just to ABH laminated structures, but to any laminated structures or quasi-isotropic laminated structures with uneven cuts. The influence of laminate stacking sequence and boundary conditions on modal characteristics, frequency response and vibration attenuation is comprehensively assessed. The Rayleigh–Ritz method, with Chebyshev polynomials is employed, with a focus on convergence and the effects of boundary stiffness. Results are compared with conventional beam configurations to highlight the benefits of ABH implementation with laminated composites. The results are validated experimentally, and discussed in detail. The proposed method provides valuable insights for analyzing the vibration characteristics of laminated composite structures, not just in ABH, but in any unevenly cut structures.