Effects of Symmetric Multi-Vibration Absorbers on the Nonlinear Vibration Control of Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Composite Marine Panels

In this paper, the nonlinear vibration (NV) response of carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (CNTRC) marine panels (MPs) fitted with symmetric multi-vibration absorbers (MVAs) subjected to steady, velocity-dependent hydrodynamic loads is investigated. To model actual marine conditions more realistically, the lift and drag forces varying with flow velocity were taken into account using experimentally supported Matveev-based formulations for a specific ship. Within the shell, three carbon nanotube (CNT) distribution schemes are considered: one uniformly distributed (UD) CNT configuration and two functionally graded (FG) CNT patterns, namely FG-V and FG-X. The analytical framework is further constructed using classical shell theory (CST) by incorporating geometric nonlinear terms, and the Galerkin technique is employed to obtain a reduced-order model. Thereafter, the NV response of the CNTRC-MPs is predicted through the P-T method, which relies on the joint application of the piecewise constant argument and Taylor series expansion. The results indicate that symmetric MVAs can effectively suppress NV behavior and significantly decrease the maximum NV amplitude of the panel. Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed configuration is shown to depend on both the absorber characteristics and the reinforcement pattern of CNTs. The study demonstrates that the use of symmetric absorber systems offers a practical and efficient passive vibration-control solution for advanced marine composite panels.