Implication of conservative and gyroscopic forces on vibration and stability of an elastically tailored rotating shaft modeled as a composite thin-walled beam

Problems related with the implications of conservative and gyroscopic force s on vibration and the stability of a circular cylindrical shaft modeled as a thin-walled composite beam and spinning with constant angular speed abou t its longitudinal axis are addressed. Taking into account the directionali ty property of fiber reinforced composite materials, it is shown that for a shaft featuring flapwise-chordwise-bending coupling, a dramatic enhancemen t of both the vibrational and stability behavior can be reached. In additio n, the effects played in the same context by transverse shear, rotatory ine rtias as well as by the various boundary conditions are discussed and perti nent conclusions are outlined. (C) 2001 Acoustical Society of America.