Nonlinear Vibration of Elastic Skew Plates Exhibiting Rectilinear Orthotropy

The governing equations for large amplitude flexural vibrations of orthotropic skew plates are obtained from the corresponding static equations derived in this paper. Making use of an approximation originally due to Berger, corresponding simplified equations are also derived. Considering the large amplitude free flexural vibration of orthotropic skew plates clamped along all the edges, it is shown that the Berger approximation leads to results good enough for engineering purposes. Amplitude vs period curves are presented for different aspect ratios and skew angles of the plate under two in-plane edge conditions. It is observed that the amplitude vs period behaviour is of the hardening type, i.e. period decreases with increasing amplitude.