Vibration Analysis of Shells Using Discrete Mass Techniques

A method for analyzing thin shells by a discrete mass technique is presented. The shells and stiffeners are idealized as a system of lumped masses and an elastic framework having the equivalent mass and stiffness of the actual shell. This method is most useful for shells without rotational symmetry, since classical solutions are not available for these cases. Four examples are presented and a comparison with experimental results and classical theory is made for a case of a symmetrically stiffened cylinder.