Nonlinear damping and forced vibration analysis of laminated composite beams

The purpose of the present work it to study the damping and forced vibrations of three-layered, symmetric laminated composite beams. In the analytical formulation, both normal and shear deformations are considered in the core by using the higher-order zig-zag theories. The harmonic balance method is coupled with a one mode Galerkin procedure for a simply supported beam. The geometrically nonlinear coupling leads to a nonlinear frequency amplitude equation governed by several complex coefficients. In the first part of the paper, linear and nonlinear damping parameters of laminated composite beams are obtained. In the second part, nonlinear forced vibration analysis is carried out for small and large vibration amplitudes. The frequency response curves are presented and discussed for various geometric and material properties.