Dynamic Stiffness Method and CUF-based Component-Wise Theories Applied to Free Vibration Analysis of Composite, Thin-Walled, and Viscoelastic Sandwich Structures
Xiao LIU, Alfonso PAGANI, Erasmo CARRERA, Xiang LIU
Abstract. This paper presents a unified CUF(LE)–DSM/DDSM framework for free vibration analysis of composite, thin-walled, and viscoelastic sandwich structures. Higher-order three-dimensional displacement fields are expanded using Lagrange polynomials, enabling layer-wise and component-wise modeling of heterogeneous cross-sections. Intrinsic composite damping and frequency-dependent viscoelastic behavior are introduced through complex constitutive properties. The governing equations are derived through the principle of virtual displacements and solved analytically to construct frequency-domain dynamic stiffness matrices. The Wittrick–Williams algorithm is used for undamped systems, while its extension combined with the homotopy perturbation method extracts complex eigenvalues of damped systems. Comparisons with three-dimensional finite element solutions demonstrate high accuracy with substantially fewer degrees of freedom, providing an efficient framework for broadband vibration analysis and damping-oriented design.
Keywords
Carrera Unified Formulation, Dynamic Stiffness Method, Damped Dynamic Stiffness, Component-Wise Approach, Composite Structures, Free Vibration
Published online 11/8/2026, 6 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Xiao LIU, Alfonso PAGANI, Erasmo CARRERA, Xiang LIU, Dynamic Stiffness Method and CUF-based Component-Wise Theories Applied to Free Vibration Analysis of Composite, Thin-Walled, and Viscoelastic Sandwich Structures, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 73, pp 274-279, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904459-53
The article was published as article 53 of the book Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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