FREE-VIBRATION OF COMPOSITE PLATES WITH DELAMINATIONS AROUND CUTOUTS

A finite element approach is presented in this study to analyze the fr ee vibration of square and circular composite plates with delamination s around internal cutouts. Numerical examples including composite plat es with delaminations around circular holes or square cutouts are pres ented. The effects of the cutouts and the delaminations around the cut outs on the natural frequencies and mode shapes are discussed. It is f ound that the effect of; the delamination on the natural frequencies i s mode-dependent. In certain cases, delaminations may have significant effect on some natural frequencies, even though the mode shapes of th e plates are not significantly affected by the delaminations.