Dynamic Instability Analysis and Design Charts of Curved Panels with Linearly Varying Periodic In-Plane Load

Abstract

The present paper reports an extensive study on dynamic instability characteristics of curved panels under linearly varying in-plane periodic loading employing finite element formulation with a quadratic isoparametric eight nodded element. At first, the influences of three types of linearly varying in-plane periodic edge loads (triangular, trapezoidal and uniform loads), three types of curved panels (cylindrical, spherical and hyperbolic) and six boundary conditions on excitation frequency and instability region are investigated. Further, the effects of varied parameters, such as shallowness parameter, span to thickness ratio, aspect ratio, and Poisson’s ratio, on the dynamic instability characteristics of curved panels with clamped–clamped–clamped–clamped (CCCC) and simply supported-free-simply supported-free (SFSF) boundary conditions under triangular load are studied. It is found that the above parameters influence significantly on the excitation frequency, at which the dynamic instability initiates, and the width of dynamic instability region (DIR). In addition, a comparative study is also made to find the influences of the various in-plane periodic loads, such as uniform, triangular, parabolic, patch and concentrated load, on the dynamic instability behavior of cylindrical, spherical and hyperbolic panels. Finally, typical design charts showing DIRs in non-dimensional forms are also developed to obtain the excitation frequency and instability region of various frequently used isotropic clamped spherical panels of any dimension, any type of linearly varying in-plane load and any isotropic material directly from these charts without the use of any commercially available finite element software or any developed complex model.