Multiple mode large amplitude vibration of thick orthotropic circular plates

This paper is analytically concerned with the large amplitude vibration of thick orthotropic circular plates incorporating the effects of transverse shear and rotatory inertia. Von Kármán-type field equations written in terms of the three displacement components of the plate are utilized to obtain solutions to clamped stress-free and immovable plates. By means of Galerkin's technique and a numerical Runge-Kutta procedure a multiple-mode analysis is carried out in both cases. Exact solutions are reported for two of the three governing equations. Effects of transverse shear deformation and modal interaction are found to be significant for orthotropic thick plates. The method given here could be extended to the multiple-mode analysis of circular plates with other boundary conditions.