Dynamic properties of sandwich beams with MWNT/polymer nanocomposites as core materials

The dynamic properties of sandwich beams with MWNT/polymer nanocomposites as core materials were investigated. The faces of sandwich beams are graphite/epoxy laminates. Epoxy and phenolic resins served as a matrix material, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) provided reinforcement of the fabricated MWNT/polymer nanocomposites as core materials for sandwich beams. The frequency responses of sandwich beams under excitation were measured experimentally with a signal analyzer; the half-power method was used to find the loss factors of the sandwich beams for each mode. The finite element method was used for free vibration analysis of the sandwich beams; the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the sandwich beams were calculated numerically. The numerical and experimental results agreed satisfactorily.