Influence of Geometric Imperfections and In-Plane Constraints on Nonlinear Vibrations of Simply Supported Cylindrical Panels

This papers deals with the effects of initial geometric imperfections on large-amplitude vibrations of cylindrical panels simply supported along all four edges. In-plane movable and in-plane immovable boundary conditions are considered for each pair of parallel edges. Depending on whether the number of axial and circumferential half waves are odd or even, the presence of geometric imperfections (taken to be of the same shape as the vibration mode) of the order of the shell thickness may significantly raise or lower the linear vibration frequencies. In general, an increase (decrease) in the linear vibration frequency corresponds to a more pronounced soft-spring (hard-spring) behavior in nonlinear vibration.