A reduction method for problems of vibration of orthotropic plates

It is shown that the problem of vibration of an orthotropic plate can be reduced to that of another orthotropic plate by a simple co-ordinate transformation, and reduction formulae are obtained. To justify the reduction formulae, fundamental natural frequencies of orthotropic rectangular plates with various boundary conditions and of a clamped orthotropic elliptical plate are discussed. As an example, an exact natural frequency of a simply supported generally orthotropic skew plate with special flexural rigidities is obtained from that of a simply supported isotropic rectangular plate.     

The flexural vibration of rectangular plates with point supports

Orthogonally generated polynomial functions are used in the Lagrangian multiplier method to study the free, flexural vibration problem of point supported, thin, flat, rectangular plates. The analysis applies to isotropic and specially orthotropic plates having any combination of clamped, simply supported or free edges with arbitrarily located point supports and to plates which are continuous over line supports parallel to the plate edges. Numerical results are presented for a number of specific problems, illustrating the accuracy and versatility of the approach, and which include natural frequencies and nodal patterns for a point supported plate which is continuous over two perpendicular line supports.     

Experimental study of coupled vibration in a finite periodic dual-layered structure with transverse connection

The analytical equations of the transfer matrix method are further derived for the multi-coupled vibration of flexural and longitudinal waves in a periodic dual-layered beam structure with connection branches, with full consideration given to the flexural and longitudinal motions that are tri-coupled at each connection. Measurements of mobilities at the junctions on the uni-layered beam and the cross-layered beam are made. The numerical results agree well with the experimental results at all frequencies from 10 to 2000 Hz, which verifies the theoretical methodology for the multi-coupled vibration in a finite dual-layered beam. The cross-layer energy transmission is calculated, which reveals that the transmitted longitudinal energy is enhanced not only at the longitudinal resonant modes but also at the flexural resonant modes of the connection branches due to the structural wave coupling. The flexural energy is excited by wave coupling and becomes stronger at the longitudinal resonant modes and the flexural resonant modes of the connection branches. The cross-layer vibration motions from coupled waves in the branches can be effectively controlled by the attached cantilevers with mass at the resonance modes. This method can be used to control the structure-borne sound transmission in multi-layer beam structures.     

Large amplitude flexural vibration of eccentrically stiffened plates

The large amplitude free flexural vibrations of thin, orthotropic, eccentrically and lightly stiffened elastic rectangular plates are investigated. Clamped boundary conditions with movable in-plane edge conditions are assumed. A simple modal form of one-term transverse displacement is used and in-plane displacements are made to satisfy the in-plane equilibrium equations. By using Lagrange's equation, the modal equations for the nonlinear free vibration of stiffened plates are obtained for the cases when the stiffeners are assumed to be smeared out over the entire surface of the plate, and when the stiffeners are located at finite intervals. Numerical results are obtained for various possibilities of stiffening and for different aspect ratios of the plate. By particularizing the problem to different known cases, the results obtained here are compared with available analytical and experimental results, and the agreement is good.     

The R-function method for the free vibration analysis of thin orthotropic plates of arbitrary shape

Free flexural vibrations of homogeneous, thin, orthotropic plates of an arbitrary shape with mixed boundary conditions are studied using the R-function method. The proposed method is based on the use of the R-function theory and variational methods. In contrast to the widely used methods of the network type (finite differences, finite element, and boundary element methods), in the R-function method all the geometric information given in the boundary value problem statement is represented in an analytical form. This allows one to seek a solution in a form of some formulas called a solution structure. These solution structures contain some indefinite functional components that can be determined by using any variational method. A method of constructing the solution structures satisfying the required mixed boundary conditions for eigenvalue plate bending problems is described. Numerical examples for the vibration analysis of orthotropic plates of complex geometry with mixed boundary conditions for illustrating the aforementioned R-function method and comparison against the other methods are made to demonstrate its merits.     

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.     

Complete flexural vibration band gaps in membrane-like lattice structures

The propagation of flexural vibration in the periodical membrane-like lattice structure is studied. The band structure calculated with the plane wave expansion method indicates the existence of complete gaps. The frequency response function of a finite periodic structure is simulated with finite element method. Frequency ranges with vibration attenuation are in good agreement with the gaps found in the band structure. Much larger attenuations are found in the complete gaps comparing to those directional ones. The existence of complete flexural vibration gaps in such a lattice structure provides a new idea for vibration control of thin plates.     

Free vibration of continuous polar orthotropic annular and circular plates

The free vibration of a polar orthotropic annular plate supported on concentric circles is analyzed by the Ritz method with use of Lagrange multipliers. A trial function for the deflection of the plate is expressed in terms of simple power series, and a frequency equation for the plate is derived by the condition for minimizing the total potential energy with the constraint equations included. In the numerical examples it is also shown that the method can directly yield quite accurate frequency values for a solid circular plate. Natural frequencies of annular and circular plates are calculated for wide ranges of the support location and orthotropic parameters.     

Directionality of flexural intensity in orthotropic plates

This work investigates composite plates and their ability to direct flexural intensity, which has important implications for noise and vibration control. It is well known that a composite plate supports a flexural wave whose wavenumber depends strongly on its angle of propagation. This suggests that a composite plate will direct more flexural intensity in some directions than others. The present work considers a thin multi-layered plate in which each layer is constructed from an orthotropic material and has a chosen orientation relative to the other layers. Such an approach may be used to design highly directive structures. An analysis is presented in which a two-dimensional Fourier transform is analytically applied to the equation of motion, yielding algebraic expressions for displacements and stress resultants. Next, a two-dimensional discrete inverse Fourier transform is applied to compute displacements and stress resultants at discrete locations. Flexural intensity is computed at these locations.     

The flexural vibration of welded rectangular plates

A theoretical and experimental study of the effect of weld runs on the flexural vibrational characteristics of the common structural element, the rectangular plate, is described. A finite difference technique is utilized for the determination of the in-plane residual stress pattern due to the weld(s) and the Rayleigh-Ritz method, with beam characteristic functions, is used for the out-of-plane vibration analysis. The theoretical approach presented is applicable to rectangular plates of any practical aspect ratio, having any combination of out-of-plane boundary conditions for which beam functions may reasonably be used and subject to one or more weld runs parallel to any edge. Theoretical and experimental results for a number of specific plates are presented, demonstrating the effects of welding on the plate vibration and the capability and accuracy of the analytical approach in predicting these effects. Included is a study of the effect of using the full residual stress pattern as derived from the finite difference analysis, the effect of neglecting certain stress components and the effect of using simplified stress patterns developed primarily for the stress and buckling analysis of long plates.     

The buckling and frequency of flexural vibration of rectangular isotropic and orthotropic plates using Rayleigh's method

A simple approximate formula for the natural frequencies of flexural vibration of isotropic plates, originally developed by Warburton using characteristic beam functions in Rayleigh's method, is modified to apply to specially orthotropic plates and extended to include the effect of uniform, direct inplane forces. The initial buckling problem is treated simply by equating the frequency expression to zero. The approach permits the ready determination of reasonably accurate natural frequencies and/or buckling loads for a given plate involving any combination of free, simply supported or clamped edges, without requiring the aid of a sophisticated calculating device or a knowledge of plate, vibration or buckling theory. To illustrate the applicability and accuracy of the approach, numerical results for a number of specific plate problems are presented.     

Attenuation of flexural vibration for floating floor and floating box induced by ground vibration

This paper investigates the vibration isolation performance of floating floor and floating box structures to control rail vibration transmission. Simple theoretical and experimental methods are developed to analyze the effects of stiffener beam, mass and arrangement of isolator on the fundamental natural frequency of the flexural vibration of floating floor and box structure.The vibration reduction performances of floating floor and box structure are found to be degraded by flexural vibration of the floor or supporting stiffener beam. From the results of vibration measurements; stiffener beams increase the fundamental natural frequency of flexural vibration of floating floor and enhance vibration isolation. Also they can further alleviate the effect of flexural vibration using optimum isolator arrangement effectively. The proposed floating box design achieved a vibration reduction of 15-30 dB in frequency region of critical rail vibration (30-200 Hz).     

A study of modal characteristics and the control mechanism of finite periodic and irregular ribbed plates

An analytical solution is presented in this paper to investigate the control mechanism and modal characteristics of finite periodic and irregular ribbed plates. Peak responses of a finite periodic ribbed plate were examined where they were grouped into two sets of propagation zones according to the coupling mechanism at beam/plate interfaces. Details of modal characteristics in pass bands of the periodic ribbed plate were elucidated and the control mechanism was discussed. Modes in each pass band that are governed by shear force couplings were characterized by one of the beam flexural modes whose modal responses could be represented approximately by those of the corresponding orthotropic plate modes. Modes in the second set of pass bands were found to retain the resonance frequencies of the corresponding modes of the unribbed base plate. Higher order orthotropic plate modes were also identified, which could not be grouped into any pass bands defined by the classical periodic theory. The control mechanism leading to vibration confinement in disordered and irregular ribbed plates was also discussed. It was found that beam spacing irregularity attributes to localization of the group of modes associated with flexural wave couplings but not the group of modes associated with moment couplings.     

Direct analysis of dispersive wave fields from near-field pressure measurements

Flexural waves play a significant role for the radiation of sound from plates. The analysis of flexural wave fields enables the detection of sources and transmission paths in plate-like structures. The measurement of these wave fields can be carried out indirectly by means of near-field acoustic holography, which determines the vibrational wave field from pressure information measured in a plane close to the plate under investigation. The reconstruction of the plate vibration is usually obtained by inverting the forward radiation problem, i.e., by inversion of an integral operator. In this article, it is shown that a pressure measurement taken in the extreme near-field of a vibrating plate can directly be used for the approximate analysis of the dispersive flexural wave field. The inversion step of near-field acoustic holography is not necessarily required if such an approximate solution is sufficient. The proposed method enables fast and simple analysis of dispersion characteristics. Application of dispersion compensation to the measured field allows for visualizations of propagating wavefronts, such that sources and scatterers in the plate can be detected. The capabilities of the described approach are demonstrated on several measurements.     

考虑弯曲和轴向振动模态的一维梁压电阻抗模型及试验研究

同时考虑一维梁结构的弯曲和轴向振动,对其压电阻抗模型进行建模分析和试验验证。在0.02～42 kHz频段内区分并标记了一维钢梁弯曲振动模态前18阶及轴向振动模态前3阶。结果表明:在0.02～7.5kHz频段内,数值计算和试验结果中谐振峰对应频率的相对误差较大:11.7%～16.5%,其原因可能是低频时振动能量较低且波的传播受结构阻尼、边界条件及环境噪音等因素影响较为明显;在7.5～42kHz范围内,两者谐振峰位置符合良好,相对误差较小:0.11%～2.31%,表明该模型在高频段具有较好的适用性;轴向振动模态对应频率大于弯曲振动模态。本研究为结构健康监测过程中检测频段的选取及损伤信息的提取提供参考。     

Non-linear axisymmetric vibration of orthotropic thin circular plates on elastic foundations

This study deals with the large amplitude axisymmetric free vibrations of cylindrically orthotropic thin circular plates resting on elastic foundations. Geometric non-linearity due to moderately large deflections has been included. Movable and immovable simply supported plates and immovable clamped plates resting on Winkler, Pasternak and non-linear Winkler foundations have been considered. The von Kármán type governing equations have been employed. Harmonic vibrations are assumed and the time t is eliminated by the Kantorovich averaging method. An orthogonal point collocation method is used for spatial discretization. Numerical results are presented for the linear natural frequency of the first axisymmetric mode and for the ratio of the non-linear period to the linear period of natural vibration. The effects of foundation parameters, the orthotropic parameter and the edge conditions on the non-linear vibration behaviour have been investigated.     

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.     

Flexural vibration band gaps in thin plates with two-dimensional binary locally resonant structures

The complete flexural vibration band gaps are studied in the thin plates with two-dimensional binary locally resonant structures, i.e. the composite plate consisting of soft rubber cylindrical inclusions periodically placed in a host material. Numerical simulations show that the low-frequency gaps of flexural wave exist in the thin plates. The width of the first gap decreases monotonically as the matrix density increases. The frequency response of the finite periodic thin plates is simulated by the finite element method, which provides attenuations of over 20dB in the frequency range of the band gaps. The findings will be significant in the application of phononic crystals.     

ANALYSIS OF THE FLEXURAL VIBRATION OF A THIN-PLATE BOX USING A COMBINATION OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS AND ANALYTICAL IMPEDANCES

Many practical built-up thin-plate structures, e.g., a modern car body, are essentially assemblies of numerous thin plates joined at their edges. The plates are so thin that they invariably support the weight of the structure and machinery using their substantial in-plane stiffness. Consequently, vibrational power injected into the structure from sources mounted at these stiff points is controlled by high impedance long-wavelength in-plane waves in the plates. As the long in-plane waves propagate around the structure, they impinge upon the numerous structural joints at which short-wavelength flexural waves are generated in adjoining plates. These flexural waves have much lower impedance than the in-plane waves. Hence, the vibration of thin-plate structures excited at their stiff points develops into a mixture of long in-plane waves and short flexural waves. In a previous paper by the same authors, a numerically efficient finite element analysis which accommodated only the long in-plane waves was used to predict the forced response of a six-sided thin-plate box at the stiff points. This paper takes that finite element analysis and, drawing on theory developed in two additional papers by the same authors, couples analytical impedances to it in order to represent the short flexural waves generated at the structural joints. The parameters needed to define these analytical impedances are identified. The vibration of the impedances are used to calculate estimates of the mean-square flexural vibration of the box sides which compare modestly with laboratory measurements. The method should have merit in predicting the vibration of built-up thin-plate structures in the so-called “mid-frequency” region where the modal density of the long waves is too low to allow confident application of statistical energy analysis, yet the modal density of the short flexural waves is too high to allow efficient finite element analysis.     

An experimental study of the effects of resilient bars on plate vibration

Resilient bars can provide a low-cost, effective improvement to sound insulation performance. They are commonly used in timber-framed floor/ceiling assemblies in North America and Europe. Resilient bars are often modelled as springs isolating the two connected plates thereby forming a mass-spring-mass system. However, as a furring system of plates, resilient bars may modify the vibration energy distribution across a connected plate by acting as stiffeners. The authors investigate this issue by measuring acceleration levels at different locations relative to the fixing positions and thereby derive vibration waveforms for the connected plate in a small-scale structural simulation of a floor-ceiling system. The results were compared with timber-joist-ribbed, and timber-brander-ribbed, structures. The vibration modes of a suspended plate were also measured for comparative purposes. The results indicated that resilient bars did not perform as stiffeners whereas joists and timber branders did effectively stiffen their connected plates. Resilient bars neither forced orthotropic plate behaviour at low frequencies, nor separated the plate into sub-plates at higher frequencies. Resilient-bar-ribbed plates may also differ from independent plates. The modal behaviour of resilient-bar-ribbed plates is more complex and their effect on modal density and radiation efficiency are worthy of further research.