Axisymmetric Vibrations of Homogeneous and Sandwich Spherical Caps

Abstract

From the generalized variational equation of motion is derived a complete system of equations for sandwich as well as homogeneous spherical shells including the effect of thickness-shear deformation. Based on these equations the exact solution is obtained for the natural frequencies of axisymmetric vibrations of homogeneous and sandwich spherical caps with clamped edges. Emphasis in our investigation is on the transition from the vibrations of a circular disk to those of a spherical cap, for both homogeneous and sandwich cases, with numerical results showing the effects of thickness-shear and of curvature.