Vibro-Acoustic Analysis of Functionally Graded 3D Graphene Foam Core Cylindrical Sandwich Panels with CNT Composite Face Sheets

This study investigates the vibro-acoustic characteristics of cylindrical sandwich panels with 3D graphene foam (3DGrF) cores and functionally graded carbon nanotube (FG-CNT) face sheets, which have significant potential for future engineering applications. An in-house MATHEMATICA[Formula: see text] code, based on Reddy’s third-order shear deformation theory, is developed to predict the vibro-acoustic response. The effectiveness of the advanced 3DGrF core is compared with a conventional aluminum core, demonstrating a substantial performance improvement. Additionally, the influence of the core porosity coefficient, porosity grading pattern, and CNT distribution in the face sheets is analyzed for core- and face sheet-dominant cylindrical sandwich panels to determine the optimal combination for enhanced vibro-acoustic characteristics. Detailed analysis shows that core-dominant cylindrical sandwich panels with a Non-uniform Variation of Porosity having a maximum at the Centre (NVPC) in the core and higher concentrations of CNTs at the outer surfaces and gradually reducing toward the core (FGX) in the face sheets exhibit superior vibro-acoustic performance.