Effect of Radial Thickness on the In-Plane Free Vibrations of Circular Annular Discs

Abstract

In this paper the in-plane free vibrations of both thick and thin circular annular discs are studied. The well-known energy method, which is based on the three-dimensional theory of elasticity, is used in the derivation of the frequency equation of the disc. The frequency equation yields all the natural frequencies for all the circumferential modes of vibration, including the breathing and beam-type modes. In order to assess the validity of the analysis experimental data were acquired on several models. The paper first describes briefly the energy method analysis, this is followed by a description of the various experimental models. Finally, the calculated values of frequencies are compared with the experimental values. A very close agreement between both the theoretical and experimental values of the resonant frequencies for all the models was obtained and this validates the energy method of analysis.