Experimental and numerical investigations on nonlinear snap-through vibrations of an asymmetrically composite laminated bistable thin plate simple supported at four corners

Abstract

The nonlinear and snap-through vibrations of the bistable asymmetric composite laminated thin square plate with four corners simple support (FCSS) are investigated through the experimental testing and numerical simulations. Four corners simply support boundary conditions are designed to capture the nonlinear dynamic snap-through phenomena of the bistable asymmetric composite laminated thin square plate. An electromechanical shaker is utilized to excite the FCSS bistable thin square plate. Under the appropriate excitation amplitude and frequency, the FCSS bistable thin square plate is able to generate large vibrations around two stable states, namely, the snap-through vibrations. The vibration signals are acquired by using a laser displacement sensor. The complicated nonlinear dynamics are experimentally investigated for focusing on the nonlinear snap-through vibrations. Analyzing the vibration experiment, the various and interesting dynamic responses of the FCSS bistable asymmetric composite laminated thin square plate are obtained through using the amplitude-frequency response curves, force-amplitude response curves and bifurcation diagrams. Based on the dynamic model, numerical simulations are utilized to analyze the periodic and chaotic snap-through vibrations of the FCSS bistable asymmetric composite laminated thin square plate. The snap-through phenomena are successfully captured. The excitation amplitude and frequency of the snap-through regions are summarized. Comparing the experimental and numerical critical parameters of the snap-through regions, the results of the experiment and numerical simulations are a good qualitative agreement.