Determination of the steady state response of viscoelastically point-supported rectangular specially orthotropic plates by an energy-based finite difference method

A method based on a variational procedure in conjunction with a finite difference method is used to examine the free vibration characteristics and steady state response to a sinusoidally varying force applied at the center of a viscoelastically point-supported orthotropic elastic plate of rectangular shape. Using the energy-based finite difference method, the problem is reduced to the solution of a system of algebraic equations. The influence of the mechanical properties, and of the damping of the supports to the mode shapes and to the steady state response of viscoelastically point-supported rectangular plates is investigated numerically for a concentrated load at the center for various values of the mechanical properties characterizing the anisotropy of the plate material and for various damping ratios. The results are given for the frequencies and mode shapes of the first three symmetrical modes. Convergence studies are made. The validity of the present approach is demonstrated by comparing the results with other solutions based on the Kirchhoff-Love plate theory.