INFLUENCE OF FIBER ORIENTATION ON THE DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF ROTATING LAMINATED COMPOSITE BLADES

A finite element technique is used to investigate the free-vibration c haracteristics of rotating laminated composite blades. The structure i s discretized using a multilayered degenerated-solid shell element. Be cause of the geometry and the loading, a geometrically non-linear anal ysis is required. The model is applied to an advanced propeller geomet ry (propfan). Both titanium and composite materials with different sta cking sequences are considered and compared. Natural frequencies, mode shapes and structural damping are computed in all cases. The signific ant potential variation of these quantities emphasizes the interest of using tailoring techniques to control the behaviour of composite blad es. Some possible limits of automatic tailoring techniques are highlig hted. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.