Vibration of sandwich plates with random material properties using improved higher-order zig-zag theory

Abstract

An improved higher-order zig-zag theory for vibration of soft core sandwich plates in random environment is proposed. It exploits all the merits of layer-wise theory, includes the effect of core transverse normal strain and simultaneously enjoys the benefits of single layer theory in terms of computational efficiency. The core is modeled as a 3-D elastic continuum. An efficient C0 finite element is developed for the implementation of the proposed theory. A first order perturbation approach is employed to handle the randomness in the lamina material properties. Second order statistics of natural frequencies are computed and validated with independent Monte Carlo simulation. Copyright � Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.