Free Vibration and Buckling Analysis of Sandwich Beams with Functionally Graded Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Composite Face Sheets

This paper investigates the free vibration and elastic buckling of sandwich beams with a stiff core and functionally graded carbon nanotube reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) face sheets within the framework of Timoshenko beam theory. The material properties of FG-CNTRCs are assumed to vary in the thickness direction, and are estimated through a micromechanical model. The governing equations and boundary conditions are derived by using Hamilton's principle and discretized by employing the differential quadrature (DQ) method to obtain the natural frequency and critical buckling load of the sandwich beam. A detailed parametric study is conducted to study the effects of carbon nanotube volume fraction, core-to-face sheet thickness ratio, slenderness ratio, and end supports on the free vibration characteristics and buckling behavior of sandwich beams with FG-CNTRC face sheets. The vibration behavior of the sandwich beam under an initial axial force is also discussed. Numerical results for sandwich beams with uniformly distributed carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (UD-CNTRC) face sheets are also provided for comparison.