Vibration analysis of carbon nanotube reinforced composite plates

This paper presents an investigation on the free vibration of rectangular nanocomposite plates reinforced by aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The CNT reinforcement may be uniformly distributed (UD) or functionally graded (FG) over the thickness direction of a plate. The material properties of the CNT composite are determined through a micromechanical model. The eigenvalue equation governing the plate vibration problem is derived by the p-Ritz method through minimizing the virtual strain and kinetic energies of a CNT composite plate. The influences of CNT distribution and reinforcing angle, plate thickness ratio, aspect ratio and support conditions on the vibration behaviour of the plates are discussed.