Capabilities of 1D CUF-based models to analyse metallic/composite rotors

The Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF) is here extended to perform free-vibrational analyses of rotating structures. CUF is a hierarchical formulation, which enables one to obtain refined structural theories by writing the unknown displacement variables using generic functions of the cross-section coordinates (x, z). In this work, Taylor-like expansions are used. The increase of the theory order leads to three-dimensional solutions while, the classical beam models can be obtained as particular cases of the linear theory. The Finite Element technique is used to solve the weak form of the three-dimensional differential equations of motion in terms of „fundamental nuclei‟, whose forms do not depend on the adopted approximation. Including both gyroscopic and stiffening contributions, structures rotating about either transversal or longitudinal axis can be considered. In particular, the dynamic characteristics of thin-walled cylinders and composite blades are investigated to predict the frequency variations with the rotational speed. The results reveal that the present one-dimensional approach combines a significant accuracy with a very low computational cost compared with 2D and 3D solutions. The advantages are especially evident when deformable and composite structures are analyzed