Structural dynamic modification of cylindrical shells with variable thickness

In this paper, the effects of some geometrical parameters on dynamic behavior of cylindrical shells with constant and variable thickness are studied. The equation of motion for the shell with constant thickness is extracted based on classical shell theory using Hamilton’s principle. These equations which are a system of coupled partial differential equations are solved analytically and the natural frequency is determined for cylindrical shells with constant thickness. The natural frequency for cylindrical shells with variable thickness is determined using finite element method by employing ANSYS. The results are compared and the effect of different geometric parameters such as length, thickness, and radius on natural frequency is discussed. The specific ranges for geometric parameters have been determined in which there is no significant difference between shells with constant or variable thickness. Cylindrical shells with variable thickness have better stress and strain distribution and optimum weight, in compare with the shells with constant thickness and it is important to know in which ranges of dimensions and geometrical parameters, there are some significant differences between their mechanical properties such as natural frequency. The results are compared with some other references