Nonlinear free vibration of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite beams

This paper investigates the nonlinear free vibration of functionally graded nanocomposite beams reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) based on Timoshenko beam theory and von Kármán geometric nonlinearity. The material properties of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composites (FG-CNTRCs) are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction and estimated though the rule of mixture. The Ritz method is employed to derive the governing eigenvalue equation which is then solved by a direct iterative method to obtain the nonlinear vibration frequencies of FG-CNTRC beams with different end supports. A detailed parametric study is conducted to study the influences of nanotube volume fraction, vibration amplitude, slenderness ratio and end supports on the nonlinear free vibration characteristics of FG-CNTRC beams. The results for uniformly distributed carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (UD-CNTRC) beams are also provided for comparison. Numerical results are presented in both tabular and graphical forms to investigate the effects of nanotube volume fraction, vibration amplitude, slenderness ratio, end supports and CNT distribution on the nonlinear free vibration characteristics of FG-CNTRC beams.  2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.