Elastic characterization of isotropic plates of any shape via dynamic tests: Theoretical aspects and numerical simulations

In this paper the feasibility of application of a numerical-experimental procedure for determining the elastic constants of isotropic thin plates with contours of any shape is investigated. The procedure is based on an optimization process that determines the values of the unknown elastic parameters by minimizing the difference between the resonant frequencies of the plate under examination calculated with a numerical model and those measured experimentally. The identification of all the elastic constants is carried out simultaneously, not destructively and in a single test. The effectiveness of the procedure and its sensitivity to measurement errors have been investigated by means of a series of numerical simulations executed on plate models of various geometry.