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.