The effect of prescribed delamination on natural frequencies of laminated composite beam
specimens is examined both experimentally and theoretically. Delamination is of particular
interest because it can cause catastrophic failure of the composite structure. One
consequence of delamination in a composite structure is a change in its stiffness. This
change in stiffness will degrade the modal frequencies of the composite structure. Modal
testing of a perfect beam and beams with different delamination size is conducted using …

The effect of prescribed delamination on natural frequencies of laminated composite beam
specimens is examined both experimentally and theoretically. Modal testing of a perfect
beam and beams with different delamination size is conducted using polyvinylidene fluoride
film (PVDF) sensors and piezoceramic (PZT) patch with sine sweep actuation. Modal testing
of beams is also conducted using PVDF sensors and instrumented hammer excitation. The
experimental modal frequencies are compared with the results obtained using a simplified …