Wave transmission and vibration response in periodically stiffened plates using a free wave approach.

There are various structures constructed with periodically stiffened thin plates. Vibration prediction of such structures is not easy compared to the structures comprised of uniform plates only due to the mathematical complexity stemmed from the periodic nature. This study provides the analytic method to predict the wave transmission at junctions connecting two semi-infinite periodic structures and the response of a finite periodic structure to an external harmonic point force. The same theoretical framework is employed for dealing with both phenomena. First, free wave solutions are obtained by solving the governing equation for the bending motion of a periodically stiffened, infinite plate using the spatial Fourier Transform and the Floquet's theorem. Then, the free wave solutions are linearly superposed, and the linear coefficients are calculated by applying the appropriate boundary conditions. Numerical simulation is conducted. In dealing with the periodic finite structure, the result is compared with that by the finite element analysis. It is revealed that the periodic nature of the structures affects both the energy transmission and the vibration response of the periodically stiffened plates.