CNT-woven glass fiber laminated composite for folded plate application: 2D-GDQ and Experimental study

Abstract

This paper presents the advantages of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in fortifying the glass fiber reinforced polymeric (GFRP) composites. Bolted steel straps are utilized at the edges of composite plate to create clamped conditions in the test setup. To reduce the uncertainties induced by bolt attachments, a genetic algorithm based model updating has been carried out by adopting artificial linear springs at the margins to create more balance between theory and reality. After checking the validity of plate’s results, mechanical properties of randomly dispersed CNTs are incorporated in the formulations of folded plates. Remarkably, the motion equations are brought forward by the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). Thereafter, two-directional generalized differential quadrature (2D-GDQ) technique has been used to extract natural frequencies from available motion, continuity and boundary equations. Results of the folded plate are validated first by an experimental modal testing and then some effective parameters such as folding angle, CNT weight ratio, boundary condition and flange-shape length are inspected.