Non-linear vibrations of a flat plate with initial stresses

Non-linear free vibrations of a simply supported rectangular elastic plate are examined, by using stress equations of free flexural motions of plates with moderately large amplitudes derived by Herrmann. A modal expansion is used for the normal displacement that satisfies the boundary conditions exactly, but the in-plane displacements are satisfied approximately by an averaging technique. Galerkin technique is used to reduce the problem to a system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations for the modal amplitudes. These nonlinear differential equations are solved for arbitrary initial conditions by using the multiple-time-scaling technique. Explicit values of the coefficients that appear in the forementioned Galerkin system of equations are given, in terms of non-dimensional parameters characterizing the plate geometry and material properties, for a four-mode case, for which results for specific initial conditions are presented. A comparison of the results with those obtained in previous studies of the problem is presented. In addition, effects of prescribed edge loadings are examined for the four-mode case.