Calculation of Wave Dispersion Curves in Multilayered Composite-Metal Plates

Abstract

The major purpose of this paper is the development of wave dispersion curves calculation in multilayered composite-metal plates. At first, equations of motion and characteristic equations for the free waves on a single-layered orthotropic plate are presented. Since direction of wave propagation in composite materials is effective on equations of motion and dispersion curves, two different cases are considered: propagation of wave along an axis of material symmetry and along off-axes of material symmetry. Then, presented equations are extended for a multilayered orthotropic composite-metal plate using the transfer matrix method in which a global transfer matrix may be extracted which relates stresses and displacements on the top layer to those on the bottom one. By satisfying appropriate boundary conditions on the outer boundaries, wave characteristic equations and then dispersion curves are obtained. Moreover, presented equations may be applied to other materials such as monoclinic, transversely isotropic, cubic, and isotropic materials. To verify the solution procedure, a number of numerical illustrations for a single-layered orthotropic and double-layered orthotropic-metal are presented.