Free vibration analysis of a circular cylindrical shell using a new four-variable refined shell theory

A theory is proposed to study the vibrations of homogenous isotropic circular cylindrical shells based on a developed plate vibration theory. By proposing a novel distribution of the shear stress and strain across the thickness of the shell, the arguments are adjusted such that the transverse shear strains and stresses equal zero at the shell surfaces. Due to the existing curvature in the circumferential direction, the defined shear stress and strain distributions consider a change in the position of the neutral plane toward the center of curvature. In the presented Two-Separated Lateral Displacement (TSLD) theory, the lateral displacement is defined by two bending and shear parts to provide an analytical model, referred to as the four-variable refined plate theory. The similarity to classical theory and involving only four unknowns are significant features of the introduced theory. The TSLD theory is verified against the available data in the literature. It is shown that the provided stress and stress distributions lead to more accurate results, especially in moderately thick cylinders. The proposed theory is remarkably more precise than classical shell theory and First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT). Results of the TSLD theory are as accurate as the Higher-Order Shear Deformation Theory (HOST12) for the higher frequency parameters and more thick shells, while the TSLD theory implementation is much simpler than the HOST12.