Large amplitude free vibrations of annular plates of varying thickness

The non-linear (i.e., large deflection) free vibrations of thick, orthotropic annular plates with varying thickness are calculated. The formulation is based on the more general Reissner plate equations as well as the von Kármán plate equations for variable thickness annular plates. Numerical results for the ratio of the non-linear period to the linear period of natural vibration are compared with those existing in the literature. New results are also included for future comparisons.     

Effect of an elastic foundation on axisymmetric vibrations of polar orthotropic annular plates of variable thickness

Free axisymmetric vibrations of a polar orthotropic annular plate of linearly varying thickness resting on an elastic foundation of Winkler type are studied on the basis of classical theory of plates. The fourth order linear differential equation with variable coefficients governing the motion is solved by using the quintic spline interpolation technique for three different combinations of boundary conditions. The effect of the elastic foundation together with the orthotropy on the natural frequencies of vibration is illustrated for different values of the radii ratio and the thickness variation parameter for the first three modes of vibration. Transverse displacements and moments are presented for a specified plate. The validity of the spline technique is demonstrated by presenting a comparison of present results with those available in the literature.     

EFFECT OF ELASTIC FOUNDATION ON ASYMMETRIC VIBRATION OF POLAR ORTHOTROPIC LINEARLY TAPERED CIRCULAR PLATES

Asymmetric vibrations of polar orthotropic circular plates of linearly varying thickness resting on an elastic foundation of Winkler type are discussed on the basis of the classical plate theory. Ritz method has been employed to obtain the natural frequencies of vibration using the functions based upon the static deflection of polar orthotropic plates, which has faster rate of convergence as compared to the polynomial co-ordinate functions. Frequency parameter of the plate with elastically restrained edge conditions are presented for various values of taper parameter, rigidity ratio and foundation parameter. A comparison of the results with those available in the literature obtained by finite element method, receptance method and polynomial co-ordinate functions shows an excellent agreement.     

On the non-linear vibrations of rectangular plates

A solution, based on a one-term mode shape, for the large amplitude vibrations of a rectangular orthotropic plate, simply supported on all edges or clamped on all edges for movable and immovable in-plane conditions, is found by using an averaging technique that helps to satisfy the in-plane boundary conditions. This averaging technique for satisfying the immovable in-plane conditions can be used to resolve many anisotropic and skew plate problems where otherwise, when a stress function is used, the integration of the u and v equations becomes difficult, if not impossible. The results obtained herein are compared with those available in the literature for the isotropic case and excellent agreement is found. Results available for the one-term mode shape solutions of these problems are compared and the non-linear effect is presented as functions of aspect ratio and of the orthotropic elastic constants of the plate. The results are further compared with those based on the Berger method and the detailed comparative studies show that the use of the Berger approximation for large deflection static and dynamic problems and its extension to anisotropic plates, skew plates, etc., can lead to quite inaccurate results.     

Axisymmetric vibrations of polar orthotropic mindlin annular plates of variable thickness

Analysis and numerical results are presented for the axisymmetric vibrations of polar orthotropic annular plates with linear variation in thickness, according to Mindlin's shear theory of plates. A chebyshev collocation technique has been employed to obtain the frequency equations for the transverse motion of such plates, for three different boundary conditions. Frequencies, mode shapes and moments for the first three modes of vibration have been computed for different plate parameters. A comparison of frequencies with the corresponding values obtained by classical plate theory leads to some interesting conclusions.     

Large amplitude flexural vibration of stiffened plates

The large amplitude free flexural vibration of thin, elastic orthotropic stiffened plates is studied. The boundary conditions considered are either simply supported on all edges or clamped on all edges and the in-plane edge conditions are either immovable or movable. The governing dynamic equations are derived in terms of non-dimensional parameters describing the stiffening achieved, and the solutions are obtained on the basis of an assumed one-term vibration mode shape for various stiffener combinations. In all cases, the non-linearity is found to be of the hardening type (i.e., the period of non-linear vibration decreases with increasing amplitude). Some interesting conclusions are drawn as to the effect of the stiffening parameters on the non-linear behaviour. A simple method of predicting the postbuckling and static large deflection behaviour from the results obtained in this analysis is included.     

THE EFFECTS OF LARGE VIBRATION AMPLITUDES ON THE MODE SHAPES AND NATURAL FREQUENCIES OF THIN ELASTIC SHELLS. PART II: A NEW APPROACH FOR FREE TRANSVERSE CONSTRAINED VIBRATION OF CYLINDRICAL SHELLS

The non-linear dynamic behaviour of infinitely long circular cylindrical shells in the case of plane strains is examined and results are compared with previous studies. A theoretical model based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis previously developed for non-linear vibration of thin straight structures (beams and plates) is extended here to shell-type structures, reducing the large-amplitude free vibration problem to the solution of a set of non-linear algebraic equations. In the present work, the transverse displacement is assumed to be harmonic and is expanded in the form of a finite series of functions corresponding to the constrained vibrations, which exclude the axisymmetric displacements. The non-linear strain energy is expressed by taking into account the non-linear terms due to the considerable stretching of the shell middle surface induced by large deflections. It has been shown that the model presented here gives new results for infinitely long circular cylindrical shells and can lead to a good approximation for determining the fundamental longitudinal mode shape and the associated higher circumferencial mode shapes (n>3) of simply supported circular cylindrical shells of finite length. The non-linear results at small vibration amplitudes are compared with linear experimental and theoretical results obtained by several authors for simply supported shells. Numerical results (non-linear frequencies, vibration amplitudes and basic function contributions) of infinite shells associated to the first four mode shapes of free vibrations, are obtained, using a multi-mode approach and are summarized in tables. Good agreement is found with results from previous studies for both small and large amplitudes of vibration. The non-linear mode shapes are plotted and discussed for different thickness to radius ratios. The distributions of the bending stresses associated with the mode shapes are given and compared with those obtained via the linear theory.     

Non-linear axisymmetric transient analysis of orthotropic thin annular plates with a rigid central mass

The geometrically non-linear, axisymmetric transient elastic response is determined of cylindrically orthotropic thin annular plates with a rigid central mass subjected to a uniformly distributed load on the plate as well as a central load on the rigid mass. The dynamic analogue of the von Kármán equations in terms of the normal displacement w and the stress function Ψ are employed. The displacement w and stress function Ψ are expanded in finite power series and the orthogonal point collocation method in the space domain and the Newmark β scheme in the time domain are used. The response of isotropic and orthotropic, clamped as well as simply supported, annular plates with a rigid central mass, subjected to step function and sinusoidal pulse loads, has been calculated for two values of the annular ratio. The influence of the mass ratio and the magnitude of the step load on the deflection response has been determined. The effect of mass ratio, amplitude and duration of sinusoidal pulse on the deflection response has also been studied.     

On radially symmetric vibrations of orthotropic non-uniform disks including shear deformation

This paper deals with the free axisymmetric vibrations of orthotropic circular plates with linear variation in thickness. The analysis is based on a set of two differential equations derived by an extension of Mindlin's shear theory for plates. On simplification and algebraic manipulation, one of the dependent variables is eliminated from the governing equations of motion, giving rise to a fourth order linear differential equation with variable coefficients. The resulting differential equation is solved numerically by the Chebyshev collocation technique. Frequencies and mode shapes for the first five modes of vibration are computed for different plates.     

Effects of large amplitude and transverse shear on vibrations of triangular plates

In this paper an analytical investigation of large amplitude free flexural vibrations of isotropic and orthotropic moderately thick triangular plates is carried out. The governing equations are expressed in terms of the lateral displacement, w, and the stress function, F, and are based on an improved non-linear vibration theory which accounts for the effects of transverse shear deformation and rotatory inertia. Solutions to the governing equations are obtained by using a single-mode approximation for w, Galerkin's method and a numerical integration procedure. Numerical results are presented in terms of variations of non-linear frequency ratios with amplitudes of vibrations. The effects of transverse shear, rotatory inertia, material properties, aspect ratios, and thickness parameters are studied and compared with available solutions wherever possible. Present results are in close agreement with those reported for thin plates. It is believed that all of the results reported here that are applicable for moderately thick plates are new and therefore, no comparison is possible.     

The effects of large vibration amplitudes on the axisymmetric mode shapes and natural frequencies of clamped thin isotropic circular plates. Part I: iterative and explicit analytical solution for non-linear transverse vibrations

The effects of large vibration amplitudes on the first two axisymmetric mode shapes of clamped thin isotropic circular plates are examined. The theoretical model based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis developed previously by Benamar et al. for clamped-clamped beams and fully clamped rectangular plates is adapted to the case of circular plates using a basis of Bessel's functions. The model effectively reduces the large-amplitude free vibration problem to the solution of a set of non-linear algebraic equations. Numerical results are given for the first and second axisymmetric non-linear mode shapes for a wide range of vibration amplitudes. For each value of the vibration amplitude considered, the corresponding contributions of the basic functions defining the non-linear transverse displacement function and the associated non-linear frequency are given. The non-linear frequencies associated to the fundamental non-linear mode shape predicted by the present model were compared with numerical results from the available published literature and a good agreement was found. The non-linear mode shapes exhibit higher bending stresses near to the clamped edge at large deflections, compared with those predicted by linear theory. In order to obtain explicit analytical solutions for the first two non-linear axisymmetric mode shapes of clamped circular plates, which are expected to be very useful in engineering applications and in further analytical developments, the improved version of the semi-analytical model developed by El Kadiri et al. for beams and rectangular plates, has been adapted to the case of clamped circular plates, leading to explicit expressions for the higher basic function contributions, which are shown to be in a good agreement with the iterative solutions, for maximum non-dimensional vibration amplitude values of 0.5 and 0.44 for the first and second axisymmetric non-linear mode shapes, respectively.     

Non-linear axisymmetric transient analysis of an orthotropic thin circular plate with an elastically restrained edge

Results are presented for the geometrically non-linear axisymmetric transient elastic stress and deflection responses of a cylindrically orthotropic thin circular plate with an elastically restrained edge, including both rotational and in-plane displacements. In the analysis the dynamic analogue of the von Kárman governing differential equations in terms of the normal displacement w and the stress function ψ are employed. The displacement w and stress function ψ are expanded in finite power series. The orthogonal point collocation method in the space domain and the Newmark-β scheme in the time domain are used. Four types of uniformly distributed transient loadings have been considered: step function, sinusoidal and N-shaped pulses, and exponentially decaying loads. The influence of the orthotropic parameter β and the elastic rotational and in-plane edge restraint parameters (K_b, K_i) on the large amplitude response has been investigated. The effect of a prescribed in-plane displacement on the non-linear transient response has also been studied.     

Index to volume 95

The linear and non-linear (large amplitude), axisymmetric free vibration of a circular plate of variable thickness, with immovable edges, is analyzed by applying the transfer matrix method. Two types of circular plate are studied: the stepped thickness plate and the continuously variable thickness plate. Numerical calculations are carried out for these two types of plate, with both simply supported and clamped edges, and the backbone curves and mode shapes are determined. The results are compared with those of other authors.     

Axisymmetric vibrations of linearly tapered annular plates under an in-plane force

Analysis and numerical results are presented for the axisymmetric vibrations of circular annular plates with linear variation in thickness under the action of a hydrostatic in-plane force on the basis of the classical theory of plates. The governing differential equation with variable coefficients has been solved by Chebyshev collocation technique. The effect of inplane force on the natural frequencies of vibration has been investigated for two different boundary conditions and for different radii ratio and taper constant. Transverse displacements, moments and the critical buckling loads in compression with thickness variation have also been computed for the first two modes.     

IMPROVEMENT OF THE SEMI-ANALYTICAL METHOD, FOR DETERMINING THE GEOMETRICALLY NON-LINEAR RESPONSE OF THIN STRAIGHT STRUCTURES: PART II—FIRST AND SECOND NON-LINEAR MODE SHAPES OF FULLY CLAMPED RECTANGULAR PLATES

In a previous series of papers, a semi-analytical model based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis has been developed for geometrically non-linear free vibrations occurring at large displacement amplitudes of clamped-clamped beams and fully clamped rectangular homogeneous and composite plates. In Part I of this series of papers, concerned with geometrically non-linear free and forced vibrations of various beams, a practical simple “multi-mode theory”, based on the linearization of the non-linear algebraic equations, written in the modal basis, in the neighbourhood of each resonance has been developed. Simple explicit formulae, ready and easy to use for analytical or engineering purposes have been derived, which allows direct calculation of the basic function contributions to the first three non-linear mode shapes of the beams considered. Also, various possible truncations of the series expansion defining the first non-linear mode shape have been considered and compared with the complete solution, which showed that an increasing number of basic functions has to be used, corresponding to increasingly sized intervals of vibration amplitudes; starting from use of only one function, i.e., the first linear mode shape, corresponding to very small amplitudes, for which the linear theory is still valid, and ending by the complete series, involving six functions, corresponding to maximum vibration amplitudes at the beam middle point up to once the beam thickness. For higher amplitudes, a complementary second formulation has been developed, leading to reproduction of the known results via the solution of reduced linear systems of five equations and five unknowns. The purpose of this paper is to extend and adapt the approach described above to the geometrically non-linear free vibration of fully clamped rectangular plates in order to allow direct and easy calculation of the first, second and higher non-linear fully clamped rectangular plate mode shapes, with their associated non-linear frequencies and non-linear bending stress patterns. Also, numerical results corresponding to the first and second non-linear modes shapes of fully clamped rectangular plates with an aspect ratio α=0·6 are presented. Data concerning the higher non-linear modes, the aspect ratio effect, and the forced vibration case will be presented later.     

Vibration of simply supported-clamped skew plates at large amplitudest

The large amplitude, free, flexural vibration of orthotropic skew plates simply supported along two opposite edges and clamped along the other two are investigated on the basis of an assumed mode shape. The relationship between the amplitude and period is studied for both isotropic and orthotropic skew plates for various aspect ratios and skew angles under two in-plane edge conditions. It is found that the modal equation reduces to the Dufling type equation from which the period of non-linear vibration is found to decrease with increasing amplitude, exhibiting hardening type of non-linearity. The validity of the Berger approximation is investigated for the problem under consideration and this approximation is shown to give reasonably good results.     

ASYMMETRIC NON-LINEAR FORCED VIBRATIONS OF FREE-EDGE CIRCULAR PLATES. PART 1: THEORY

In this article, a detailed study of the forced asymmetric non-linear vibrations of circular plates with a free edge is presented. The dynamic analogue of the von Kàrmàn equations is used to establish the governing equations. The plate displacement at a given point is expanded on the linear natural modes. The forcing is harmonic, with a frequency close to the natural frequency ω_kn of one asymmetric mode of the plate. Thus, the vibration is governed by the two degenerated modes corresponding to ω_kn, which are one-to-one internally resonant. An approximate analytical solution, using the method of multiple scales, is presented. Attention is focused on the case where one configuration which is not directly excited by the load gets energy through non-linear coupling with the other configuration. Slight imperfections of the plate are taken into account. Experimental validations are presented in the second part of this paper.     

EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE LINEAR AND NON-LINEAR DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF A GLARE 3 HYBRID COMPOSITE PANEL

A theoretical model based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis is used to study the non-linear free vibration of hybrid composite plates made of Glare 3, a new aircraft structural material. It consists of alternating layers of metal- and fibre-reinforced composites. In previous work, the theoretical model has been used to calculate the first non-linear mode of fully clamped rectangular composite fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminated plates. This study concerns determination of the linear dynamic properties of the Glare 3 hybrid composite rectangular panel (G3HCRP) such as natural frequencies and mode shapes. The theoretical model is used to calculate the fundamental non-linear mode shape and associated flexural behaviour of the fully clamped G3HCRP. A series of experimental investigations have been conducted using a G3HCRP in order to determine linear dynamic properties. The response due to random excitation was investigated and the experimental measurements are analyzed and discussed. Comparisons are made with finite element predictions and response estimates given by the ESDU method, the latter being a “design guide” approach used by industry. Concerning the non-linear analysis, the results are given for various plate aspect ratios and vibration amplitudes, showing a higher increase of the induced bending stress near the clamps at large deflections. Comparisons between the dynamic behaviour of an isotropic plate and G3HCRP at large vibration amplitudes are presented and good results are obtained.     

Vibrations of initially imperfect circular plates including the shear and rotatory inertia effects

An analysis of the free flexural vibrations of elastic circular plates with initial imperfections is presented. The analysis includes the effects of transverse shear and rotatory inertia. The vibration amplitudes are assumed to be large, and two non-linear differential equations are obtained for free vibration of the plate and solved numerically. The period of the plate has been calculated as a function of the initial amplitude for four typical supporting conditions.     

Influence of initial geometrical imperfections on vibrations of axially compressed stiffened cylindrical shells

The vibrations of stiffened cylindrical shells having axisymmetric or asymmetric initial geometrical imperfections and axial preload are analyzed. The analysis is based on a solution of the von Kárman-Donnell non-linear shell equations, an “exact” solution of the compatibility equation, and a first order approximation by the Galerkin method of the equilibrium equation. The stiffeners are closely spaced and “smeared” stiffener theory is employed. The results of an extensive parametric study carried out on shells similar to those used in vibration and buckling tests at the Technion show that stiffening of the shell will lower the imperfection-sensitivity of its free vibrations, but the decrease depends on the type of stiffening (stringers or rings), the mode shapes of the vibration and the imperfection, the stiffener strength and eccentricity. The imperfection-sensitivity decrease, caused by the stiffeners, is greater for vibration mode shapes with high imperfection-sensitivity than for other vibration mode shapes. The sensitivity differences between stringer and ring-stiffened shells depend especially on the vibration and the imperfection mode shapes, and on their coupling. Small imperfections change the natural frequencies of stiffened shells in the same directions as for isotropic shells, but to a smaller extent. The frequency dependence on the external load is also strongly affected by the imperfection mode shape. The results correlate well with earlier ones for isotropic shells.