Shear-deformable finite element for free vibrations of laminated composite beams with arbitrary lay-up

Copyright © 2019 Techno-Press, Ltd. A shear-deformable finite element model (FEM) with five nodes and thirteen degrees of freedom (DOFs) for free vibrations of laminated composite beams with arbitrary lay-up is presented. This model can be capable of considering the elastic couplings among the extensional, bending and torsional deformations, and the Poisson’s effect. Lagrange’s principle is employed in derivation of the equations of motion, and thus the element matrices are obtained. Comparisons of the present element’s results with those in experiment, available literature and the 3D finite element analysis software (ANSYS®) are made to show its accuracy. Some further results are given as referencing for the future studies in vibrations of laminated composite beamst.