Chaotic oscillations of a shallow cylindrical shell with a concentrated mass under periodic excitation

This paper presents effects of a concentrated mass on chaotic oscillations of a shallow cylindrical shell under gravity and periodic acceleration. The rectangular shell is simply supported and is elastically in-plane constrained. Assuming mode functions, the Donnell equation with inertia force is reduced to non-linear coupled differential equations by the Galerkin method. The chaotic response is calculated numerically and is examined by the maximum Lyapunov exponent. Dominant chaotic responses are generated within restricted frequency regions of sub-harmonic resonance of 1/2 order. As the concentrated mass increases, the chaotic response is shifted to the lower frequency region. The increment of the concentrated mass decreases the maximum Lyapunov exponent.