Nonlinear periodic response of viscoelastic laminated composite plates using shooting technique

Abstract

The nonlinear periodic response of viscoelastic laminated composite plates subjected to harmonic excitation is carried out in time domain using the generalized Maxwell model in the form of a Boltzmann integral. The integral form of the viscoelastic constitutive relation is converted to the incremental form for the finite element formulation based on the Reissner–Mindlin plate theory incorporating von Karman geometric nonlinearity. The recursive relations are developed to compute the current time-step solution using only the previous time-step solution. The periodic response is obtained using shooting technique coupled with Newmark’s time integration and arc length continuation method. The implementation of the shooting technique for the Boltzmann Integral based viscoelasticity done for the first time in this study involves derivation of a number of additional recursive relations and initial conditions at the beginning of each shooting cycle. The nonlinear periodic vibration characteristics such as frequency response, damping factor, steady-state response history, phase plane plots, and frequency spectra are presented for viscoelastic plates with different boundary conditions and lamination schemes. Further, the influence of relaxation time and number of Maxwell elements on the frequency response characteristics are investigated. It is seen that the shooting technique is capable of predicting periodic responses of viscoelastic dynamical systems directly from the second-order equations of motion and is more efficient than the direct time integration method. The nonlinear response of viscoelastic plates predicted using the equivalent elastic model with Rayleigh proportional damping (having same linear frequency response) is found to be significantly different from the one predicted using viscoelastic constitutive model.