Modal density of composite honeycomb sandwich panels

Honeycomb sandwich panels with composite face sheets are widely used in spacecraft applications. It is necessary to obtain the modal density of such panels to study their behaviour under acoustic excitation. The governing differential equation, with consideration of the shear flexibility of the core, is derived. From this equation the expression for the modal density is derived. Experimental results for a typical panel are also presented. These results match well with those obtained from theory. © 1996 Academic Press Limited.