A study on natural frequencies and damping ratios of composite beams with holes

In this study, free vibration and damping characteristics of composite beams with holes are investigated, experimentally and numerically. Two types of samples with different fabrics are used: unidirectional and woven. The effects of diameter, number and location of circular holes on the vibration characteristics of composite beams are examined. The effects of rotation angle and minor to major diameter ratio of the elliptical hole are also investigated numerically. Moreover, the mode shapes of all types of beams are obtained numerically. According to the results, the natural frequency decreases with increasing hole diameter but increases very little with increasing the distance between the hole center and the clamped end. Damping ratio decreases by increasing the diameter of hole. But it fluctuates by increasing the diameters of holes of beam having three holes. Furthermore it decreases by increasing the distance between hole center and clamped end except for the range 50 mm to 100 mm.