Free Vibration Characteristics of Bio-Inspired Helicoidal Laminated Composite Curved Beams with Arbitrary Curvature

In this paper, the free vibration behavior of free-form bio-inspired helicoidal laminated composite (BiHLC) curved beams with five helicoidal schemes is studied. In addition, the free vibration response is obtained for the conventional cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates. The governing partial differential equations of motion are derived based on a higher-order shear deformation beam theory. Then, the isogeometric analysis (IGA) approach is utilized to solve the governing equations and determine the natural frequencies of the curved beams. The results of the present study are captured for various shapes of curved beams (circular, parabolic, semi-elliptic, and sinusoidal). The effects of geometrical parameters, boundary conditions, and lay-up configurations on the free vibration behavior are investigated in detail. It is found that the natural frequencies of the curved beams are greatly influenced by the helicoidal configurations.