Dynamic properties of composite plates with different amounts of soft cores

Purpose The composite Sandwich structures possess outstanding integrated performance, and are already used to limit structure noise and vibration. The dynamic characteristics of this structure were investigated and the variation patterns were obtained. This provides a theoretical foundation for the design theory and application research of composite structures with different amounts of soft layers. Design/methodology/approach First, the first-order shear theory was used to deduce the structural geometric equation and constitutive relationship. Then, the dynamic equations of composite structures with different amounts of soft cores were established employing the Rayleigh–Ritz method for investigating the dynamic properties. Finally, the dynamic equations under the simply supported boundary conditions were solved using the Navier method to access the natural frequencies (NF) and loss factor (LF). Findings The influence of structural parameters on NF and LF is presented by a parametric study. The structural geometric parameters have a significant impact on their dynamic characteristics, and the influence of these parameters is interrelated. Therefore, by comprehensively considering the combined effect of geometric parameters and selecting appropriate geometric parameters, the structure can maintain the stiffness requirements while significantly improving its damping performance and enhancing the vibration and noise reduction capabilities. Originality/value A generic mathematical model was stated to describe the dynamic analytical model, and several fresh findings on the dynamic properties of composite structures with different amounts of soft cores are presented in this paper. The theoretical model proposed and the conclusions obtained have significant guiding significance for the theoretical research and practical application of composite material damping structures.