The vibration and post-buckling of geometrically imperfect,simply supported,rectangular plates under uni-axial loading,part II: Experimental investigation

The paper describes the experimental part of a theoretical and experimental study of the post-buckling and free vibrational behaviour of thin, rectangular, simply supported plates having initial geometrical imperfection and subject to uni-axially applied, in-plane, compressive loads. The experimental apparatus and procedure used are described. The fundamental natural frequency and central deflection of several plates of different thickness and degree of initial imperfection, subject to loads varying from zero to several times the critical buckling value, are compared with values predicted by using the Rayleigh-Ritz solution described in the companion paper. For one plate, comparisons of theoretically predicted and experimentally measured strains are given. Close agreement is shown to exist between the theoretical and experimental results. An approximate linear relationship between a load-frequency parameter and the central deflection, discussed in the theoretical study, is also shown to exist for the experimental plates.     

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.     

Vibration and stability of a circular plate of unidirectionally varying thickness

An analysis is presented for the vibration and stability of an elastically restrained circular plate of unidirectionally varying thickness subjected to an in-plane force. For this purpose, the transverse deflection of a circular plate of variable thickness is written in a series of the deflection functions of a uniform circular plate without the action of a force. The dynamical energies of the plate are evaluated analytically, and the frequency equation of the plate is derived by the Ritz method. The analysis is applied to circular plates of unidirectionally tapered or stepped thickness; the natural frequencies and the divergence loads are calculated numerically, and the effects of the varying thickness and edge conditions on the vibration and stability are studied.     

Large deflection vibration of cross-ply laminated plates with certain edge conditions

This paper deals with the large deflection flexural vibration of unsymmetric cross-ply laminated plates which are simply supported at two opposite edges and clamped at the other two edges. Stress-free and movable in-plane boundary conditions are considered. Non-linear frequency is obtained as a function of lamination parameters, material constants, aspect ratio, linear frequency and amplitude of vibration. Non-linear frequency to linear frequency ratio versus amplitude curves are presented for isotropic, glass-epoxy, graphite-epoxy and boron-epoxy plates.     

In-plane vibration of thin elliptic plates submitted to uniform pulsed microwave irradiations

The technique of acoustic generation by microwave excitation in structures is applied here to study the in-plane vibration of full or hollowed elliptic plates. The absorption of pulsed microwave irradiations by a material causes a sudden rise of its temperature and the generation of an acoustic wave by thermoelastic effect. A semi-analytic theoretical model is developed to predict the in-plane displacement fields in elliptic thin plates submitted to a uniform temperature rise. It is assumed that the isotropic and viscoelastic plate constitutive material is submitted to a thermoelastic excitation under a plane stress state. The wave equations that govern the Helmholtz displacement potentials are resolved in an elliptic cylindrical system of coordinates by means of infinite angular and radial Mathieu functions series. The displacement field is finally obtained by taking into account the zero stress conditions on the boundaries of the plates. The comparison between the theoretical and the experimental responses of full and hollowed elliptic plates shows a good agreement that permits the validation of the developed model.     

Natural frequencies and mode shapes of flexural vibration of plates: laser-interferometry detection and solutions by Ritz's method

This paper presents an experimental and theoretical study of flexural symmetric vibration modes of a linear elastic plate. A laser interferometer is used as detector of the free vibration of a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped aluminium plate. The vibration spectrum gives the lowest natural frequencies of the sample. Assumption that the vibration of the plates may be described by some approximate theories is proven to be inconsistent. The Ritz method, with products of powers of the co-ordinates as basis functions, is applied to obtain the lowest flexural natural frequencies. Three-dimensional solutions are obtained, unlike those provided by simpler theories. The experimental results are compared with the numerical predictions and a good agreement is obtained. Finally, forced motion is applied to the centre of the plate and the out-of-plane and in-plane displacement components for the first symmetric mode are measured. A good fit of the calculated values to the experimental values is found.     

Bending,vibration and buckling of simply supported thick multilayered orthotropic plates: An evaluation of a new displacement model

Based upon a piecewise linear displacement field which allows the contact conditions for the displacements and the transverse shearing stresses at the interfaces to be satisfied simultaneously, the non-linear (in the von Kármán sense) equations of motion for thick multilayered orthotropic plates are developed. Successively, the equations are specified to the linear boundary value problem of the bending and to the linear eigenvalue problems of the undamped vibration and buckling of rectangular plates. In order to assess the accuracy of the proposed theory, the sample problem of the bending, free undamped vibration and buckling of a three-layered, symmetric cross-ply, square plate simply supported on all edges is investigated. For purposes of comparison, numerical results from the exact elasticity theory, the classical lamination (Kirchhoff) theory and the shear deformation theory (Timoshenko and Mindlin) with three different values of the shear correction factor are also presented. It is found that the proposed approach is very efficient in predicting the global responses (deflection, natural frequencies and buckling loads) of thick multilayered plates and models effects, such as the distortion of the deformed normals, not attainable from the classical lamination theory, as well as the shear deformation theory.     

Vibrations of rectangular plates with elastically restrained edges

The Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to determined natural frequencies in transverse vibration of rectangular plates with elastically restrained edges. By treating an elastically restrained edge as intermediate between an appropriate pair of classical boundary conditions and using the corresponding vibration mode shapes of beams with classical boundary conditions as assumed functions, a relatively small number of functions is required; consequently only a modest quantity of computation is necessary. The good accuracy of the method is demonstrated by solving test problems. The method can be applied to a wide range of elastic restraint conditions, any aspect ratio and for higher modes in addition to the fundamental. The usefulness and accuracy of existing simplified approaches to the problem are assessed. The effect of in-plane forces on the natural frequencies and the determination of critical loads for plates with these restraint conditions are considered also.     

Free vibration of polar-orthotropic sector plates

The free vibration of ring-shaped polar-orthotropic sector plates is analyzed by the Ritz method using a spline function as an admissible function for the deflection of the plates. For this purpose, the transverse deflection of a sector plate is written in a series of the products of the deflection function of a sectorial beam and that of a circular beam satisfying the boundary conditions. The deflection function of the sectorial beam is approximately expressed by a quintic spline function, which satisfies the equation of flexural vibration of the beam at each point dividing the beam into small elements. The frequency equation of the plate is derived by the conditions for a stationary value of the Lagrangian. The present method is applied to ring-shaped polar-orthotropic sector plates with some combination of boundary conditions, and the natural frequencies and the mode shapes are calculated numerically up to higher modes. This method is very effective for the study of vibration problems of variously shaped anisotropic plates including these sector plates.     

Quantifying in-plane deformation of plate elements using vibration characteristics

Plate elements are used in many engineering applications. In-plane loads and deformations have significant influence on the vibration characteristics of plate elements. Numerous methods have been developed to quantify the effects of in-plane loads and deformations of individual plate elements with different boundary conditions based on their natural frequencies. However, these developments cannot be applied to the plate elements in a structural system as the natural frequency is a global parameter for the entire structure. This highlights the need for a method to quantify in-plane deformations of plate elements in structural framing systems. Motivated by this gap in knowledge, this research has developed a comprehensive vibration based procedure to quantify in-plane deformation of plate elements in a structural framing system. This procedure with its unique capabilities to capture the influence of load migration, boundary conditions and different tributary areas is presented herein and illustrated through examples.     

Aero-thermo-mechanical characteristics of imperfect shape memory alloy hybrid composite panels

A nonlinear finite element model is provided to predict the static aero-thermal deflection and the vibration behavior of geometrically imperfect shape memory alloy hybrid composite panels under the combined effect of thermal and aerodynamic loads. The nonlinear governing equations are obtained using Marguerre curved plate theory and the principle of virtual work taking into account the temperature-dependence of material properties. The effect of large deflection is included in the formulation through the von Karman nonlinear strain-displacement relations. The thermal load is assumed to be a steady-state constant-temperature distribution, whereas the aerodynamic pressure is modeled using the quasi-steady first-order piston theory. The Newton-Raphson iteration method is employed to obtain the nonlinear aero-thermal deflections, while an eigenvalue problem is solved at each temperature step and static aerodynamic load to predict the free vibration frequencies about the deflected equilibrium position. Finally, the nonlinear deflection and free vibration characteristics of a composite panel are presented, illustrating the effects of geometric imperfection, temperature rise, aerodynamic pressure, boundary conditions and shape memory alloy fiber embeddings on the panel response.     

Geometrically nonlinear vibrations of rectangular plates carrying a concentrated mass

Nonlinear forced vibrations of rectangular plates carrying a central concentrated mass are studied. The plate is assumed to have immovable edges and rotational springs; numerical results are presented for clamped plates. The Von Kármán nonlinear plate theory is used, but in-plane inertia in both the plate and the mass is retrained. The problem is discretized into a multi-degree-of-freedom (dof) system by using an energy approach and Lagrange equations taking damping into account. A pseudo-arclength continuation method is used in order to obtain numerical solutions. Results are presented as both (i) frequency-amplitude curves and (ii) time domain responses. The effect of gravity and the effect of the consequent initial plate deflection are also investigated.     

Vibration of rectangular plates subjected to in-plane forces by the finite strip method

The finite strip method is applied to the vibration analysis of rectangular plates subjected to in-plane forces. Several numerical examples are presented and comparison with available solutions clearly indicates the accuracy and efficiency of the method.     

Rayleigh-Ritz vibration analysis of Mindlin plates

The Rayleigh-Ritz method is applied to the prediction of the natural frequencies of flexural vibration of square plates having general boundary conditions. The analysis is based on the use of Mindlin plate theory so that the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia are included. The spatial variations of the plate deflection and the two rotations over the plate middle surface are assumed to be series of products of appropriate Timoshenko beam functions. Results are presented for a number of types of plate and these demonstrate the manner of convergence of the method as the number of terms in the assumed series increases.     

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.     

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.     

Discrete and non-discrete mixed methods applied to eigenvalue problems of plates

A mixed variational formulation for eigenvalue problems of plates is presented. Spline functions with multiple nodes are used to interpolate the displacement and moment fields. The solution procedure can be applied in either discrete or non-discrete forms. In contrast with displacement methods, the specified boundary conditions can be considered very easily by introducing multiplicity in the boundary nodes. Numerical examples include buckling and free vibration, of rectangular plates, with in-plane loading and or elastic foundations. The accuracy of the results obtained and the superiority of the mixed methods presented to conventional displacement approaches are discussed.     

Modal interaction in chaotic vibrations of a shallow double-curved shell-panel

Experimental results and analytical results are presented on chaotic vibrations of a shallow double-curved shell-panel subjected to gravity and periodic excitation. Modal interactions in the chaotic responses are discussed. The shell-panel with square boundary is simply supported for deflection. In-plane displacement at the boundary is elastically constrained. In the experiment, time histories of the chaotic responses at the spatial multiple positions of the shell-panel are measured for the inspection of modal interaction. In the analysis, the shallow shell-panel is assumed to have constant curvatures along to orthogonal directions and geometric initial imperfection. The Donnell-Mushtari-Vlasov type equation is used as governing equation with lateral inertia force. Assuming deflection with multiple modes of vibration, the governing equation is reduced to a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by the Bubnov-Galerkin procedure. Chaotic responses are integrated numerically. The chaotic responses, which are obtained by the experiment and the analysis, are inspected with the Fourier spectra, the Poincaré projections, the maximum Lyapunov exponents and the Lyapunov dimension. Contribution of modes of vibration to the chaotic responses is analyzed by the principal component analysis, i.e., Karhunen-Loève transformation.     

Orthotropic material properties of the gerbil basilar membrane

In this paper, two sets of experimental results to extract the two effective elastic moduli, the effective shear modulus, and the effective Poisson's ratio for the gerbil cochlear partition are analyzed. In order to accomplish this, a geometrically nonlinear composite orthotropic plate model is employed. The model is used to predict both out-of-plane and in-plane motion of the partition under a static finite area distributed load. This loading condition models the small, but finite size, probe tips used in experiments. Both in-plane and out-of-plane motion are needed for comparison with recent experimental results. It is shown that the spatial decay rate (the space constant) for the in-plane deflection is different than for the out-of-plane deflection, which has a significant effect on the derived partition properties. The size of the probe tip is shown to have little influence on the results. Results are presented for two types of boundary conditions. Orthotropy ratios determined from the experimental data are found to vary with longitudinal position and choice of boundary conditions. Orthotropy ratios (the ratio of the two elastic moduli) are in the range of 65 close to the base to 10 in the upper middle turn of the cochlea.