Impact-induced nonlinear damped vibration of fabric membrane structure: Theory, analysis, experiment and parametric study

Fabric membrane, a typical composite material, is widely applied in building structures, agricultural facilities, packaging engineering, and aeronautical engineering, etc. However, it may fail subject to large-amplitude vibration induced by impact due to its lightweight and small stiffness properties. Herein, the nonlinear damped vibration of a pretensioned rectangular orthotropic membrane structure under impact loading is studied by analytical, numerical and experimental methods. The governing equation is derived based on the von Kármán large deflection theory, and the analytical solution is obtained by the Bubnov-Galerkin method and the Krylov-Bogolubov-Mitropolsky (KBM) perturbation method. Meanwhile, the numerical and experimental analysis are carried out for validation of analytical model and good agreement is achieved. Furthermore, parametric study is also performed to find the sensitivity of the design parameters to the vibration response. The results obtained in the paper lay solid foundation for the vibration control and dynamic design of orthotropic membrane structures.