Analysis on nonlinear dynamics of a deploying composite laminated cantilever plate

This paper presents the analysis on the nonlinear dynamics of a deploying orthotropic composite laminated cantilever rectangular plate subjected to the aerodynamic pressures and the in-plane harmonic excitation. The third-order nonlinear piston theory is employed to model the transverse air pressures. Based on Reddy’s third-order shear deformation plate theory and Hamilton’s principle, the nonlinear governing equations of motion are derived for the deploying composite laminated cantilever rectangular plate. The Galerkin method is utilized to discretize the partial differential governing equations to a two-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system. The two-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system is numerically studied to analyze the stability and nonlinear vibrations of the deploying composite laminated cantilever rectangular plate with the change of the realistic parameters. The influences of different parameters on the stability of the deploying composite laminated cantilever rectangular plate are analyzed. The numerical results show that the deploying velocity and damping coefficient have great effects on the amplitudes of the nonlinear vibrations, which may lead to the jumping phenomenon of the amplitudes for first-order and second-order modes. The increase of the damping coefficient can suppress the increase of the amplitudes of the nonlinear vibration.