Dynamics of a supercritical composite shaft mounted on viscoelastic supports

The damping in a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate is greater than that which occurs in most metallic materials. In the supercritical regime, the damping can trigger unstable whirl oscillations, which can have catastrophic effects. The vibrations occurring in a supercritical composite drive shaft are investigated here in order to predict instabilities of this kind. A simply supported carbon/epoxy composite tube mounted on viscoelastic supports is studied, using an approximation of the Rayleigh-Timoshenko equation. The damping process is assumed to be hysteretic. The composite behavior is described in terms of modulus and loss factor, taking homogenized values. The critical speeds are obtained in several analytical forms in order to determine the effects of factors such as the rotatory inertia, the gyroscopic forces, the transverse shear and the supports stiffness. Assuming that the hysteretic damping can be expressed in terms of the equivalent viscous model, the threshold speed is obtained in the form of an analytical criterion. The influence of the various factors involved is quantified at the first critical speed of a subcritical composite shaft previously described in the literature. The influence of the coupling mechanisms on the unsymmetrical composite laminate and the end fittings is also investigated using a finite element model. None of these parameters were found to have a decisive influence in this case. Those having the greatest effects were the transverse shear and the supports stiffness. The effects of the composite stacking sequence, the shaft length and the supports stiffness on the threshold speed were then investigated. In particular, drive shafts consisting only of ±45° or ±30° plies can be said to be generally unstable in the supercritical regime due to their very high loss factors.