Subharmonic travelling waves in a geometrically nonlinear circular plate (Q1321912)

The subharmonic motions of thin, axisymmetric, geometrically nonlinear circular plates are analyzed. Such cyclic systems possess pairs of degenerate modes, i.e. modes having equal linearized natural frequencies. The nonlinear interaction of such a pair of modes is examined by discretizing the nonlinear partial differential equations of motion, and then investigating the resulting set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations analytically and numerically. Two types of forced subharmonic motions are detected, namely subharmonic standing waves and subharmonic travelling waves (STW). It is found that for sufficiently large values of frequency detuning of the forcing function the STW lose stability in a Hopf bifurcation, which leads to quasi-periodic motions of the plate.