Forced Vibrations of Circular Plates: From Periodic to Chaotic Motions

A numerical study of the transition from periodic to chaotic motions in forced vibrations of circular plates, is proposed. A pointwise harmonic forcing of constant excitation frequency Ω and increasing values of the amplitude is considered. Perfect and imperfect circular plates with a free edge are studied within the von Ka´rma´n assumptions for large displacements (geometric non-linearity). The transition scenario is observed for different excitation frequencies in the range of the first eigenfrequencies of the plate. For perfect plate with no specific internal resonance relationships, a direct transition to chaos is at hand. For imperfect plate tuned so as to fulfill specific internal resonance relations, a coupling between internally resonant modes is first observed. The chaotic regime shows an attractor of large dimension, and thus is studied within the framework of wave turbulence.