Influence of Fiber Angle on the Steady State Periodic Response of Annular Sectorial Plates

Structural elements in the form of annular sectorial plates are widely used in aeronautical, biomedical, and marine engineering. When these components are exposed to dynamic load, large-amplitude vibrations occur. The vibration response analysis based on the linear strain-displacement relation typically yields a conservative estimate and can be used as a first approximation to the actual solution for thin structural elements. As a result, geometric nonlinearity must be incorporated for the efficient and fail-proof design of such elements. This paper shows non-linear and linear steady-state forced vibration responses of the annular sectorial plates. The governing equations of motion have been solved in the time domain by using a modified shooting method and an arc-length/pseudo-arc length continuation technique at the bifurcation point to obtain the complete response curve comprised of stable and unstable branches. This work investigates the effect of fibre angle on the non-linear steady-state forced vibration response of annular sectorial plates. The strain/stress fluctuation throughout the thickness of the laminated annular sectorial plate is determined to explain why hardening nonlinearity has increased. The cyclic fluctuation of the non-linear steady-state normal stress during a time period at the centre of the top and bottom surface is also provided in relation to the forcing frequency ratio of peak amplitude in the non-linear response. Due to the change in restoring forces, the frequency spectra reveal much increased harmonic involvement along with the fundamental harmonic for all fibre angles.