Vibro-acoustic characteristics and optimization of variable angle tow composite laminated plates in hygrothermal environment

A theoretical model is developed to investigate the vibration and sound radiation of variable angle tow (VAT) composite laminated plates in hygrothermal environments. Based on first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and Hamilton’s principle, the governing equations incorporate temperature- and moisture-dependent material properties, solved using Chebyshev polynomials and validated against finite element method (FEM) and boundary element method (BEM) simulations. Parametric studies examine the effect of thermal load, moisture concentration, boundary condition, and laminate layout on the vibro-acoustic response. In addition, A hybrid genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization (GA-PSO) enables design optimization. For fundamental frequency maximization, the optimized 8-layer VAT laminate achieve a 6.7 % higher fundamental frequency than the optimized 4-layer configuration. However, for sound radiation minimization, optimized 4-, 6-, 8-layer configurations yield comparable average sound power level. This work guides the design of VAT composite laminated structures for vibration and noise reduction in hygrothermal environments.