Axisymmetric free vibration

analysis of conical shells

David P. Thambiratnam and Yan Zhuge
School of Civil Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street,
Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
(Received February 1991, revised version received December 1991)

A simple finite element method is presented for the axisymmetric free

vibration analysis of conical shells with uniform or varying wall thickness. The method is based on an analogy with a beam on elastic foundation, where the foundation modulus and beam flexural rigidity are
replaced by appropriate parameters pertaining to the shell under consideration. The technique is attractive for implementation on a
microcomputer and with few elements it gives good results which
compare well with other solutions.
Keywords: finite element method, conical shells, vibration analysis

Conical shell structures find increasing use today in

many areas of engineering application. In addition to the
response of the shell to static loads, a knowledge of its
free vibration characteristics is important for the general
understanding of the behaviour of the shell and its
industrial application. With respect to the latter, the
natural frequencies of vibration of the structure must be
known in order to avoid the destructive effects of
resonance with nearby rotating or reciporcating equipment or other dynamic excitations. Moreover, free
vibration analysis is the forerunner of the dynamic
analysis of the shell by the mode-superposition method.
Free vibration analysis of conical shells has received
attention and is available in the literature. Results from
some of the prominent investigators have been compiled
in the monographs by Leissa ~, Kraus 2 and Magraab 3.
All the above analytical work pertains to conical shells
having constant thickness. Shells with varying wall
thickness are difficult, if not impossible, to analyse in
order to determine the frequencies of vibration. With the
development of the finite element methods and the
availability of digital computers, it is now possible to
analyse shell structures of arbitrary geometry and boundary conditions. However, the use of shell finite
elements which are implemented in most computer programs, has two distinct disadvantages, namely; the shell
theory used in the derivation of the basic properties of
shell elements is much more complicated than those used
for other elements, and the shell element has generally
more degrees of freedom (DOF), thereby resulting in a
much larger computer capacity and more computational
effort and time.
In this paper, a simple finite element technique is
developed and applied for axisymmetric free vibration
analysis of conical shell structures with constant or varying wall thickness. This is accomplished by considering
the analogy between the theories of a beam on elastic

foundation (BEF) and the bending of a conical shell.

This analogy provides the analytical basis for the derivation of the stiffness properties of a shell finite element,
with any variation in wall thickness, by considering an
equivalent 'finite beam on elastic foundation'. The foundation modulus and the beam flexural rigidity are
replaced by appropriate parameters pertaining to the
shell under consideration. In an earlier paper 4, the BEF
analogy was used to treat conical shells under axisymmetric static loads.
In the context of resonance and vibration isolation,
optimization of the fundamental frequency of a structure, which is usually not axisymmetric, is most important. However, for a conical shell structure it was
shown ~ that during the process of optimization, both
the fundamental frequency and the lowest axisymmetric
frequency increase continuously and that they attain
their maximum values simultaneously. It was also
shown that frequency optimization can therefore be
achieved much more easily by treating the simpler (twodimensional) axisymmetric problem. Hence the importance of axisymmetric free vibration analysis in vibration
isolation problems.

Theoretical considerations
Analogy to a beam on elastic foundation
The analogy between a beam on an elastic foundation
and the bending of an axisymmetrically loaded conical
shell is given here briefly. Consider an axisymmetrically
loaded thin walled conical shell as shown in Figure 1 (a).
A typical element/j of length (Lj - Li) bounded by two
horizontal planes and two radial planes is also shown in
Figure 1. This element deforms in a manner similar to
that of a beam on an elastic foundation produced by rings
whose diameter increases from the apex of the cone. At

0141-0296/93/020083-07
1993 B u t t e r w o r t h - Heinemann Ltd

Eng. Struct. 1993, Vol. 15, No 2

83

Vibration analysis of conical shells: D. P. Thambiratnam and Y. Zhuge

Ix

2r.
i

~=L.
I
x=L.

~'\o !

'\\ iI

\i

~ O-zero

Ni

1
N.
I

b
Figure 1

Conical shell structure. (a), f r o n t elevation, (b), plan; (c),

end elevation

the radius ri, if the lateral deflection (perpendicular to

the element) is yg the circumferential (or hoop) force
per unit length is given by

Ni =

E
~

1<

yihi

In the above equations, b~ and r, will vary with the element and this has to be accounted for. The radius r,,
however, cannot be allowed to be zero. Hence in complete conical shells, either a small hole of a rigid cap of
very small radius must be introduced at the apex and
appropriate boundary conditions used.
The analogy between the behaviour of axisymmetrically loaded conical shells'and a beam on elastic
foundation was first presented by Hetenyi 6 and applied
by Hetenyi and by Ghali and Neville 7. For static
analysis, Hetenyi pursued closed form solutions while
Ghali and Neville suggested a finite difference solution
to the governing equations. It will be obvious that when
the thickness of the shell is not uniform the closed form
solution might become untractable. In an earlier paper
the BEF analogy was used to treat the response of conical shells subjected to axisymmetric static loads 4. Thus
far no effort has beeen made to use the BEF anlogy for
free vibration analysis of conical shells. In the present
study a simple finite element solution is proposed using
the BEF analogy for the free vibration analysis of conical shell structures. The analysis can be conveniently
programmed on a microcomputer and can be useful to
practising engineers in their design office.
A typical element with two degrees of freedom per
node is shown in Figure 2(a), where the nodal degrees
of freedom are the lateral deflection and rotation. The
thickness of the element h is taken to vary linearly so as
to accomodate conical shells with varying wall
thickness. Because of the axial symmetry of the deformation of the shell wall, the edges of any element must
remain in radial planes, and lateral extension or contraction (caused by bending of the element in the radial plane)
is prevented. This restraining influence is equivalent to
a bending moment M, = , M where M is the bending
moment in the longitudinal direction (i.e. parallel to a
generatrix) and u is the Poisson's ratio of the material.
The stiffening effect of/14, on the bending deformation
of the elemental beam can be taken into account by
increasing the second moment of area of the strip in the
ratio 1/(1 - u2) . Hence the flexural rigidity of the element of width bi is

(1)
D -

Where h i is the thickness at i, Ri = ri/cos a, a = semivertical angle, and E = modulus of elasticity. The resultant F~ of Ni acting on both the logitudinal sides of the
element will be directed towards the axis of the cone
(Figure 1 (b)) and will be of magnitude

Nibi
F i - Ri

Ehibi cos 2 a
ri-~

y~

Ebihi3

Axial effects are important in free vibration analysis of

conical shells. But such effects being independent of the
BEF analogy, their contribution to the stiffness and mass
matrices will be worked out separately and added.

(2)

v1

r i-

84

Eng. Struct. 1993, Vol. 15, No 2

v.

where bi is the breadth of the element at i. Equation (2)

shows that the force Fi at the point i in the shell is proportional to the lateral deflection at that point. Hence an
element of an axisymmetrically loaded conical shell
can be regarded as a beam on an elastic foundation, having an equivalent modulus kI given by

Ehibi cos 2 a

(4)

12(1 - ~,2)

E ............................................................................
,.... )

-iT

(3)
Figure 2

Beam on elastic foundation e l e m e n t

Vibration analysis of conical shells: D. P. Thambiratnam and Y. Zhuge

Element stiffness matrix

The (4 4) stiffness matrix kB is thus given by

Consider a shell element ij of length (Lj - Li) as shown

in Figure 2, with linearly varying wall thickness and
regarded as a finite beam on elastic foundation. The
(4 4) stiffness matrix k of the element is obtained by
adding the (4 4) stiffness matrices kB and kv pertaining to the usual beam bending and foundation modulus,
respectively. Since there are four end displacements (or
degrees of freedom), a cubic variation in displacement
is assumed in the form

V = Aa

(5)

where A = (1, x, x 2, x 3) and a r= (al, a2, a3, a4). The

four degrees of freedom corresponding to the displacements v~, v3 and the rotation v2, v4 at the longitudinal
nodes are given by

q = Ca

(6)

where q r = 0q, v2, P3, v4) and C is the connectivity

matrix for the element (j between x = Li and x = Li

(Figure 1 (c)).
From equations (5) and (6)

v = AC-~q

(7)

If the radius ri and the width bi are expressed in

terms of the independent variable x (see Figure 1 ) in the
form ri = x sin a, bi = box, then D and kj for a conical
shell element become

D-

Eh~box

(8)

12(1 - u2)

ky = Ehibo cos 2 a

(9)

The appropriate variation in thickness hi, if any, has to

be given due consideration in the above equation. The
bending moment M in the element is given by

d2v

M = D - ~ = DBC-Iq

(10)

where

1~B =

B rDBdx

(14)

The above expression can be evaluated explicitly by

using the appropriate value of D in equation (8). The
potential energy Ue due to the foundation modulus is
given by
I ,~Li

where kr is given by equation (9). Using equation (7) in

equation (15) will yield

UF = ~! qr(C-')r

t' L~{ArkjAdxlC-'q

(16)

L,

The (4 x 4) stiffness matrix pertaining to the equivalent

foundation modulus is thus given by

ke = (C-I)rkFC-'

(17)

where
/~F =

t L~A rkjAdx
L,

(18)

The above expression can also be evaluated explicitly

and finally the complete stiffness matrix for the element
is

k = kB + kF

(19)

Element mass matrix

The kinetic energy T of an element due to lateral effects
is given by

where

B---

(13)

kB = ( C - I ) T k B C - I

d2A
- (0, 0, 2, 6x)
dx 2

T=2

1 ,L,
l'c, fJphf~dx

(20)

Where is the velocity (=dv/dt) and p is the mass per

unit length. Using equation (7) in the above equation, T
can be expressed as

The potential energy /-/8 due to bending is

lii'(d2v~
T=2
which upon using equations (7) and (10) becomes

UB = ~ qr(C-')r

[BrDBdxlC-~q

-1 pqT(C_l) r ,i'L, IArhAdxl(C-')q

L,

(21)

Using Lagrange's equations will given the (4 x 4) mass

matrix m in the form
(12)

m = (C-I)rr~(C -1)

Eng. Struct. 1993, Vol. 15, No 2

(22)

85

Vibration analysis of conical shells: D. P. Thambiratnarn and Y. Zhuge

Using Lagrange's equations the (2 2) matrices k4 and
mA are given by

where

l.

ffl = p
,

AThAdx

(23)

kA = (Ci I)TkACl-I

(31)

mA = (C; I)rr~AC~l

(32)

L,

The above expressions can also be evaluated explicitly.

where
Axial effects"
Though independent of the BEF analogy, axial effects
are important and need to be incorporated in the free
vibration analysis of most conical shell structures as the
lower modes of vibration will be predominantly axial in
nature. In this section the axial contributions kA and m A
to the stiffness and mass matrices (which are each 2 2)
will be evaluated and added to form the complete (6 6)
element matrices.
The axial displacement u (which is linear) in the element is given by

rhA =

AThAj dx

(34)

L,

Expressions for /~A and rhA can also be obtained

explicitly.
Governing equations

u = A Ial

(24)

where A~ = (1, x) and a~ is the vector of undermined

coefficients. In terms of the nodal values of the axial
displacements r, u can be expressed as
u = AtC(lr

(25)

where r r = (u~, u2) and C~ is the connectivity matrix for

the element. The axial strain is given by
du

e-

dx

- B, Ci Ir

(26)

The matrices k and ka, and m and m A are added to form

the (6 x 6) element stiffness and mass matrices and then
the procedure follows the usual stiffness method of
analysis. The governing equations in the absence of
damping are given by
MQ. + KQ = 0

(35)

where M and K are the structure stiffness and mass

matrices, respectively, Q the vector of displacements
and (~ = d2Q/dt 2. Substituting Q = F sin cot into the
above equation will give the eigenvalue problem as
F [ X I - G] = 0

(36)

where
Bi -

dA I

dx

where w is the circular frequency, k = 1/o~2, I is the

identity matrix and G = K-~M. The entire analysis was
conveniently programmed on a microcomputer and the
solution of the above eigenvalue problem gave the
natural frequencies of vibration and mode shapes.

- (0, 1)

The potential energy UA of the element due to axial

effects is therefore
UA = ~ E

h(:2d.x

(27)

which upon using equation (26) will take the form

UA = ~ E r r ( c -

,,w/i,J BrhB,dx 1C - ' r

(28)

:rA = 2,L,t~L/ phu 2dx

(29)

which on using equation (25) will result in

86

= 21 PpT(c

and discussion

Several numerical examples were worked out and results

were compared with those obtained from a traditional
finite element analysis, employing 140 elements.
Representative results are presented below and pertain
to a conical shell fixed at the base and free at the top with
a base radius R = 1.25 m, Young's modulus E = 30 x
109 N m-2, Poisson's ratio v = 0.15 and the density is
2410 kg m -3

L,L

The kinetic energy TA due to axial effects is given by

TA

Results

l)rtlZ~,A[hA~dxl
L,i'L
Cl lr

Eng. Struct. 1993, Vol. 15, No 2

(30)

Effect of R / H - uniform conical shells

Variations of the lowest axisymmetric frequency WA
with the R / H ratio (H being the shell height) are
presented in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) for uniform conical
shells having wall thickness 62.5 mm and semi-apex
angle of a = 40 and 60 , respectively. Corresponding
results obtained from a comprehensive finite element
package are also shown in Figure 3. It can be seen that
the two sets of results compare very well. Ten to fifteen
elements were used in the present analysis. In an earlier
paper 8 the variation of WA with R/H was presented for a

Vibration analysis of conical shells: D. P. Thambiratnam and Y. Zhuge

1100

Effect of var3'ing wall thickness

1000

For a conical shell with a semi-apex angle of 20 ,

900

R/H = 0.3 and R = 1.25 m, Figure 6 shows the variation of the lowest axisymmetric frequency ~0A with the
thickness at the base of the shell. It can be seen that as
this thickness increases, that is, as the slope of the wall
increases, the frequency keeps on increasing. However,
the rate of increase of frequency decreases with increase
in the wall thickness at the base. The above discussion
pertains to a shell with a single slope in the wall
thickness.

8o0

'~

700

600

3~ soo
4OO

300

x FEM

200,
I
100
0.10

I
I
0.30
0

I
I
O,SO

Effect of number of slopes in wall thickness

I
I
0.70

R/H
500

400

-"

3o0

"0

3,~ 200
100

0
0.10
L.

I
0

I
I
0.30
0

I
0.50
1

I
I
0.70
1

R/H

Figure 3 (a), Variation of lowest axisymmetric frequency with

R/H ratio for uniform conical shell with semi-apex angle of 40
and R = 1.25 m; (b), variation of lowest axisymmetric frequency
with R/H ratio for uniform conical shell with semi-apex angle of
60 and R = 1,25 m

It was shown in an earlier paper that during frequency

optimization both the fundamental frequency and the
lowest axisymmetric frequency increase continuously
and attain their maximum values simultaneously 5.
Because of this feature frequency optimization is made
easier by treating the simpler axisymmetric problem.
Moreover frequencies of vibration can be increased by
varying the thickness and/or the number of sloeps of the
shell wall. The effect of varying the wall thickness was
treated in the previous section. The effect of the number
of slopes on the frequency is presented in Figure 7 for
a conical shell having a semi-apex angle of 20 , and with
the cross-sectional area of the shell maintained constant
at the earlier value. It is evident that large increases in the
frequency, often in excess of 100 rad s ~ ~, take place
when the shell wall is made to have one slope. Increasing the number of slopes to two does not increase the frequency significantly. Moreover, as R/H increases the
frequencies converge, irrespective of the number of
slopes. This shows that frequency optimization is only
possible at lower values of R/H ratio, as was seen
earlier.

Conclusions
cylindrical shell and it was evident that o~A converged at
higher values of R/H. The trend towards convergence,
at higher R/H values, diminishes with the (semi) apex
angle a. At a = 60 , there is very little indication of
convergence at high R/H values.
The mode shapes at different R/H ratios for the two
shells are shown in Figures 4(a) and 4(b). As R/H
increases the contribution from the radial component
increases and at higher values of R/H ratio, the radial
mode dominates. This feature was also observed with
the cylindrical shell treated in Reference 8.
For the shell with a = 60 , the radial component
dominates even at very low R/H values. Thus frequency
elevation by varying the wall thickness may not be possible for cones with larger apex angles 5.

Effect of semi-apex angle a

At R/H = 0.3, variation of the lowest axisymmetric frequency WA with the semi-apex angle a is shown in
Figure 5 for a conical shell with wall thickness
62.5 mm, a = 0 corresponds to a cylindrical shell while
a = 90, corresponds to an annular plate, wa decreases
with a and tends to zero as a tends to 90 , as expected.

A simple finite element method, based on the analogy

with a beam on elastic foundation, has been developed
and applied to treat the axisymmetric free vibration
analysis of conical shell structures. The entire analysis
has been conveniently programmed on a microcomputer
and gives results which compare well with those from
traditional finite element analysis using over 100
elements.
Certain parameters such as the apex angle, radius to
height ratio (R/H), slope in the shell wall and the
numbers of slopes in the wall were identified and their
effects on the frequency were studied. In general, frequencies decreased with the apex angle and increased
with the R/H ratio, gradient of the wall slope and the
number of slopes. Maximum increases, often in excess of
100 tad s -~, were observed by changing the slope of
the wall. Frequency elevation by varying the wall
thickness was possible as long as the dominant mode of
vibration remained axial. These findings will be useful
in vibration isolation problems by frequency elevation.
The proposed technique, though approximate, is
reliable, fast and easily accessible to practising
engineers, who will therefore find it useful in their
design offices.

Eng. S t r u c t . 1 9 9 3 , Vol. 15, No 2

87

Vibration analysis of conical shells: D. P. Thambiratnam and Y. Zhuge

12.5

//
/

2.5

-I-

J
/

l//

6.25

//
"t"

1.25

/
R/H=0.10

R/H=0.50

+ Axial
x Radial

/
i

l
I

12.5

I /
-j /
I/
4-

2.5

6.25

I/

1.25

-I- x

/
/

R/H=O.IO

R/H=O.50

b
Figure 4 (a), L o w e s t a x i s y m m e t r i c m o d e s o f v i b r a t i o n f o r u n i f o r m conical shell w i t h semi-apex angle o f 4 0 and R = 1.25 m; (b), l o w e s t
a x i s y m m e t r i c m o d e s o f v i b r a t i o n f o r u n i f o r m conical shell w i t h semi-apex angle o f 6 0 and R = 1.25 m

88

Eng. Struct. 1993, Vol. 15, No 2

Vibration analysis of conical shells: D. P. Thambiratnam and Y. Zhuge

1200i
1100
1000

1400 --

x~ "

900
800
T

700

1000

x~

600
3~ 500
4O0
600

300
200
100
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

200
0.05
0

Semi-apex angle o

I
0.15

I
0.25

I
0.35
0

RIH

Figure 5 Variation of l o w e s t axisymmetric frequency with semiapex angle for uniform conical shell with R/H = 0 . 3 0 and
R = 1.25 m

Figure 7 Effect of number of slopes on lowest axisymmetric frequency for conical shell with
R = 1.25 rn

semi-apex angle of 20 and

1500

References

/x/

lOOO

50~
20
0

I
I
I
60
100
0
0
Base thickness, hB (ram)

140
0

Figure 6 Variation of lowest axisymmetric frequency with base

thickness for conical shell with semi-apex angle o f ' 2 0 , R/H
ratio = 0.30, R = 1.25 m and single slope

1 Leissa, A, W. "Vibration of shells', NASA SP-288, US Government

Printing Office, Washington D.C., 1973
2 Kraus, H. "77fin Elastic Shells', John Wiley, New York, 1967
3 Magraab, E. B. "Vibration of Elastic Structural Members', Sijthoff and
Noordhoff, The Netherlands, 1979
4 Thanlbiramam, D. P., Tin-Loi, F. and Pulmano. V. A. "Microcomputer analysis of axisymmetric shell structures under axisymmetric
loads', Trans. btst Engs, Australia, 1989, CE31, (2) 7 3 - 7 8
5 Thambiramam, D. P. and Thevendran, V. 'Optimum design of conical
shells for free vibration'. Comput. Struct. 1988, 23, (I), 133-140
6 Hetenyi, M. "Beams on Elastic Foundation', The University of
Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1961
7 Ghali, A. and Neville, A. M. "Structural Analysis - A Unified
Classical and Matrix Approach', Intext International Publications, San
Francisco. USA. 1972
8 Thambiramam, D. P., Thevendran, V., Chang, S. L. and Lee, S. L.
'Maximization of natural frequencies of cylindrical shells, Engineering
Optimisation. 1988, 13, 8 5 - 9 7

Eng. Struct.

1993,

Vol.

15, No 2

89