Dynamic Variational-Asymptotic Procedure for Laminated Composite Shells—Part II: High-Frequency Vibration Analysis

Shell theories intended for low-frequency vibration analysis are frequently constructed from a generalization of the classical shell theory in which the normal displacement (to a first approximation) is constant through the thickness. Such theories are not suitable for the analysis of complicated high-frequency effects in which displacements may change rapidly along the thickness coordinate. Clearly, to derive by asymptotic methods, a shell theory suitable for high-frequency behavior requires a different set of assumptions regarding the small parameters associated with the characteristic wavelength and timescale. In Part I such assumptions were used to perform a rigorous dimensional reduction in the long-wavelength low-frequency vibration regime so as to construct an asymptotically correct energy functional to a first approximation. In Part II the derivation is extended to the long-wavelength high-frequency regime. However, for short-wavelength behavior, it becomes very difficult to represent the three-dimensional stress state exactly by any two-dimensional theory; and, at best, only a qualitative agreement can be expected. To rectify this difficult situation, a hyperbolic short-wave extrapolation is used. Unlike published shell theories for this regime, which are limited to homogeneous and isotropic shells, all the formulas derived herein are applicable to shells in which each layer is made of a monoclinic material.