Vibration Analysis of Complete Conical Shells with Variable Thickness

A three-dimensional (3D) method of analysis is presented for determining the free vibration frequencies of complete (not truncated) conical shells with linearly varying thickness. The complete conical shells free or clamped at the bottom edge with a free vertex are investigated. Unlike conventional shell theories, which are mathematically 2D, the present method is based upon the 3D dynamic equations of elasticity. Displacement components u_r, u_θand u_zin the radial, circumferential and axial directions, respectively, are taken to be periodic in θ and in time, and expressed by algebraic polynomials in the r- and z-directions. Potential (strain) and kinetic energies of the complete conical shell are formulated. The Ritz method is used to solve the eigenvalue problem, yielding the upper bound values of the frequencies by minimization. As the degree of the polynomials is increased, frequencies converge to the exact values, with four-digit exactitude demonstrated for the first five frequencies. The frequencies from the present 3D method are compared with those from other 3D approaches and 2D shell theory by previous researchers.