Improvement of the semi-analytical method, based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis, for determination of the geometrically non-linear response of thin straight structures. Part III: steady state periodic forced response of rectangular plates

Abstract In Parts I and II of this series of papers, a practical simple “multi-mode theory”, based on the linearization of the non-linear algebraic equations, written on the modal basis, in the neighbourhood of each resonance, has been developed for beams and fully clamped rectangular plates. 1 Simple explicit formulae have been derived, which allowed, via the so-called first formulation, direct calculation of the basic function contributions to the first three non-linear mode shapes of clamped–clamped and clamped–simply supported beams, and the two first non-linear mode shapes of FCRP. Also, in Part I of this series of papers, this approach has been successively extended, in order to determine the amplitude-dependent deflection shapes associated with the non-linear steady state periodic forced response 2 of clamped–clamped beams, excited by a concentrated or a distributed harmonic force in the neighbourhood of the first resonance. This new approach has been applied in the present work to obtain the NLSSPFR formulation for FCRP, SSRP, and CCCSSRP, leading in each case to a non-linear system of coupled differential equations, which may be considered as a multi-dimensional form of the well-known Duffing equation. The single-mode assumption, and the harmonic balance method, have been used for both harmonic concentrated and distributed excitation forces, leading to one-dimensional non-linear frequency response functions of the plates considered. Comparisons have been made between the curves based on these functions, and the results available in the literature, showing a reasonable agreement, for finite but relatively small vibration amplitudes. A more accurate estimation of the FCRP non-linear frequency response functions has been obtained by the extension of the improved version of the semi-analytical model developed in Part I for the NLSSPFR of beams, to the case of FCRP, leading to explicit analytical expressions for the “multi-dimensional non-linear frequency response function”, depending on the forcing level, and the amplitude of the response induced in the range considered for the excitation frequency.