Free vibration analysis of composite sandwich plates

The fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composite materials configured as sandwi ch panels are finding increased usage in a variety of structural applicatio ns. An important facet in correct usage is an understanding of the dynamic behaviour of such structural configurations. This paper addresses the issue of natural frequencies of sandwich plate panels. The closed-form solutions are obtained using Reddy's first- and higher-order shear deformation theor ies. The approaches are validated against results from a standard, commerci ally available finite element analysis package. The paper concludes with a detailed investigation of the influence of variation in material property p arameters and plate geometry variables on the natural frequency.