Dynamics of the wave turbulence spectrum in vibrating plates: A numerical investigation using a conservative finite difference scheme

The dynamics of the local kinetic energy spectrum of an elastic plate vibrating in a wave turbulence (WT) regime is investigated with a finite difference, energy-conserving scheme. The numerical method allows the simulation of pointwise forcing together with realistic boundary conditions, a set-up which is close to experimental conditions. In the absence of damping, the framework of non-stationary wave turbulence is used. Numerical simulations show the presence of a front propagating to high frequencies, leaving a steady spectrum in its wake. Self-similar dynamics of the spectra are found with and without periodic external forcing. For the periodic forcing, the mean injected power is found to be constant, and the frequency at the cascade front evolves linearly with time resulting in a increase of the total energy. For the free turbulence, the energy contained in the cascade remains constant while the frequency front increases as t1/3. These self-similar solutions are found to be in accordance with the kinetic equation derived from the von Kármán plate equations. The effect of the pointwise forcing is observable and introduces a steeper slope at low frequencies, as compared to the unforced case. The presence of a realistic geometric imperfection of the plate is found to have no effect on the global properties of the spectra dynamics. The steeper slope brought by the external forcing is shown to be still observable in a more realistic case where damping is added. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.