The influence of corner stress singularities on the vibration characteristics of rhombic plates with combinations of simply supported and free edges

This paper offers accurate flexural vibration solutions for rhombic plates with simply supported and free edge conditions. A cornerstone here is that the analysis explicitly considers the bending stress singularities that occur in the two opposite, hinged–hinged and/or hinged–free corners having obtuse angles of the rhombic plates. These singularities become significant to the vibration solution as the rhombic plate becomes highly skewed (i.e. the obtuse angles increase). The classical Ritz method is employed with the assumed normal displacement field constructed from a hybrid set of (1) admissible and mathematically complete algebraic polynomials, and (2) comparison functions (termed here as “corner functions”) which account for the bending stress singularities at the obtuse hinged–hinged and/or hinged–free corners. It is shown that the corner functions accelerate the convergence of solutions, and that these functions are required if accurate solutions are to be obtained for highly skewed plates. Accurate nondimensional frequencies and normalized contours of the vibratory transverse displacement are presented for rhombic plates having a large enough skew angle of 75° (i.e. obtuse angles of 165°), so that the influence of the stress singularities is large. Frequencies and mode shapes of isosceles triangular, hinged–free plates are also available from the data presented.     

Interlaminar stresses of a rectangular laminated plate with simply supported edges subject to free vibration

The interlaminar stresses in a laminated rectangular orthotropic plate with four sides simply supported edges during free vibration was determined by using the integration method involving the dynamic inertia terms and displacements. The approximate stresses solutions are obtained under the effect of frequencies of vibration for four-layer symmetric cross-ply laminates with the ply configurations [0°/90°]_s and [90°/0°]_s, angle-ply laminates with the ply configuration [45°/−45°]_s. Numerical results show that the natural frequency has significant effects on the dominant interlaminar stresses in the stacking sequences [0°/90°]_s, [90°/0°]_s and [45°/−45°]_s.     

Nonlinear free and forced vibration of simply supported shear deformable laminated plates with piezoelectric actuators

This paper deals with the nonlinear vibration and dynamic response of simply supported shear deformable cross-ply laminated plates with piezoelectric actuators subjected to mechanical, electrical and thermal loads. The material properties are assumed to be independent of the temperature and electric field. Theoretical formulations are based on the higher order shear deformation plate theory and general von Kármán-type equation, which includes thermo-piezoelectric effects. Due to the bending and stretching coupling effects, a nonlinear static problem is first solved to determine the pre-vibration deformation caused by temperature field and control voltage. By adding an incremental dynamic state to the pre-vibration state, the equations of motion are solved by an improved perturbation technique to determine nonlinear frequencies and dynamic responses of hybrid laminated plates. The numerical illustrations concern nonlinear vibration characteristics of unsymmetric cross-ply laminated plates. The results presented show the effects of temperature rise, applied voltage and stacking sequence on the nonlinear vibration and dynamic response of the plates.     

Natural frequencies of shear deformable rhombic plates with clamped and simply supported edges

The natural vibrations of thick and thin rhombic plates with clamped and simply supported edges are analyzed, using assemblages of nine-node Lagrangian isoparametric quadrilateral C⁰ continuous finite elements based on a higher-order shear deformable thick plate theory. Here, additional nodal displacement degrees of freedom are derived by retaining higher-order powers of the thickness coordinate in the in-plane displacement fields, which in turn allows for the proper representation of the transverse shear strains of thick plates. Essential rotary inertia terms are derived and included in the present analysis. Nondimensional frequencies are calculated for thick and thin rhombic plates having various combinations of clamped and simply supported edge conditions, and skew angles. The efficacy of using higher-order shear deformable plate finite elements for predicting the in-plane vibration modes of rhombic plates is found to increase as the span-to-thickness ratio decreases and the skew angle increases. The present work shows that higher-order shear deformable finite elements essentially eliminate the transverse shear over-correction of thick rhombic plate frequencies that is produced when finite elements based on the widely used first-order Reissner-Mindlin plate theory are utilized.     

Exact vibration results for stepped circular plates with free edges

A pontoon-type, very large floating structure (VLFS) is often modeled as a huge plate with free edges when performing a hydroelastic analysis under the action of waves. The analysis consists of separating the hydrodynamic analysis from the dynamic response analysis of the VLFS. The deflection of the plate is decomposed into vibration modes where as many higher modes as possible should be used to capture the actual deflection shapes and the stresses. It is generally accepted that finite element method and the Ritz-type energy method fail to model zones with steep gradients which are encountered in, for instance, the stress resultants near the free edges of plates [Journal of Engineering Mechanics 1983;109(2):537–56]. Moreover, the natural boundary conditions are not satisfied completely because they are not enforced a priori [International Journal of Solids and Structures 2001;38:6525–58, Journal of Computational Structural Engineering 2001;1(1):49–57, Journal of Structural Engineering ASCE 2002;128(2):249–57, Computers and Structures 2002:80(2):145–54]. Exact solutions for frequencies, mode shapes and modal stress resultants are thus very important as they provide valuable benchmarks for assessing the convergence, accuracy and validity of numerical results obtained using the finite element method. To this end, we present the exact vibration results for stepped circular plates with free edges. When employed in a hydroelastic analysis, these exact vibration solutions yield accurate deflections and stress resultants (stresses) for circular VLFSs with stepped drafts.     

A study of the fundamental frequency characteristics of eccentrically and concentrically simply supported stiffened plates

The paper investigates the fundamental frequency characteristics of eccentrically and concentrically simply supported stiffened supported plates. As a first stage, a numerical procedure for the computation of the fundamental frequency is presented. The strain energy of the assembled plate/stiffener elements is derived in terms of generalized in- and out-of-plane displacement functions and Mathematical Programming is then used to determine the lowest natural frequency. The prediction of the described algorithm is verified with other numerical procedures like finite-element, finite-strip and finite-difference methods. Results are then presented showing the influence of the plate/stiffener geometric parameters on the fundamental frequency of the structure with various concentric and eccentric stiffening configurations.     

Approximation formulae for natural frequencies of simply supported skew plates

By using the reduction method proposed previously by the author and the exact relation between natural frequencies of an isotropic simply supported skew plate and a skew membrane with the same boundary shape, a few approximation formulae for estimating the natural frequency of simply supported isotropic and orthotropic skew plates are derived from the natural frequency of skew membranes without solving the partial differential equation governing the free vibration of the orthotropic skew plate.     

Postbuckling behavior of rectangular orthotropic plates with two free side edges

The postbuckling behavior of rectangular orthotropic plates with two free side edges is studied based on a perturbation method. Both exact and approximate solutions of the second-order perturbation equations are given. Numerical results for plates having various elastic properties are also presented.     

Buckling and vibration of stiffened plates subjected to partial edge loading

The buckling and vibration characteristics of stiffened plates subjected to in-plane partial and concentrated edge loadings are studied using finite element method. The initial stresses are obtained considering the pre-buckling conditions. Buckling loads and vibration frequencies are determined for different plate aspect ratios, edge conditions and different partial non-uniform edge loading cases. The non-uniform loading may also be caused due to the supports on the edges. The analysis presented determines the stresses all over the region for different kinds of loading and edge conditions. In the structural modelling, the plate and the stiffeners are treated as separate elements where the compatibility between these two types of elements is maintained. The vibration characteristics are discussed and the results are compared with those available in the literature. Buckling results show that the stiffened plate is less susceptible to buckling for position of loading near the supported edges and near the position of stiffeners as well.     

Axisymmetric free vibration of thick annular plates

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the axisymmetric free vibration of moderately thick annular plates using the differential quadrature method (DQM). The plates are described by Mindlin’s first-order shear-deformation theory. The first five axisymmetric natural frequencies are presented for uniform annular plates, of various radii and thickness ratios, with nine possible combinations of free, clamped and simply supported boundary conditions at the inner and outer edges of the plates. The accuracy of the method is established by comparing the DQM results with some exact and finite element numerical solutions and, therefore, the present DQM results could serve as a benchmark for future reference. The convergence characteristics of the method for thick plate eigenvalue problems are investigated and the versatility and simplicity of the method is established.     

Stability behaviour of arbitrarily laminated composite plates with free and elastically restrained unloaded edges

In this paper, the initial buckling loads and the corresponding buckling modes of symmetric rectangular laminated plates are investigated. The considered laminates are supposed to have a uniform thickness, are subjected to a linearly distributed inplane compressive normal load and are simply supported at the two loaded edges with one free unloaded plate edge and with one simply supported unloaded edge where elastic rotational restraints are considered. Unlike in many other investigations, the composite laminates presently under consideration may have arbitrary yet symmetric lamination schemes with bending–torsion coupling. The initial buckling loads of such plates are calculated using the RITZ-method for which some especially adjusted displacement shape functions are employed. Since a series expansion of the buckling shape is performed in the load direction only while in the perpendicular direction one single displacement function can be shown to be sufficient, the present approach is numerically very efficient when compared to approaches in which a series representation is chosen with respect to both inplane directions. Comparison with reference results and with finite element computations leads to an excellent agreement. Some new findings on the general stability behaviour of this class of laminated plates are presented as a closure.     

Effect of aspect ratio on large amplitude free vibrations of simply supported and clamped rectangular Mindlin plates using coupled displacement field method

We propose a novel method, known as Coupled displacement field (CDF) method, an alternative to study large amplitude free vibration behavior of moderately thick rectangular plates. An admissible trial function was assumed for one of the variables, say, the total rotations (in both X, Y directions). The function for lateral displacement field is derived in terms of the total rotations with the help of coupling equations, where the two independent variables become dependent on one another. This method makes use of the energy formulation, where it contains only half the number of undetermined coefficients when compared with conventional Rayleigh-Ritz method. The vibration problem is simplified significantly due to the reduction in number of undetermined coefficients. The frequency-amplitude relationship for the moderately thick rectangular plates with various aspect ratios for all edges simply supported and clamped boundary conditions was obtained. Closed form expressions for linear and nonlinear fundamental frequency parameters were derived.     

Analysis of circular plates with symmetrically stiffened perforations

A method of analysis for plates with stiffened perforations is developed. Square and triangular patterns of perforations are considered under both uniform radial stress and uniform radial bending moment. The analysis derives the effective elastic modulus of the plate and the maximum stress concentration factors in terms of a “stiffening factor” which is a measure of the effectiveness of the perforation stiffener. Results of the analysis are compared with results obtained by other forms of analysis.     

On the nonlinear vibration of heated corrugated circular plates with shallow sinusoidal corrugations

The large amplitude free vibration of corrugated circular plates with shallow sinusoidal corrugations under uniformly static temperature changes is investigated. Based on the nonlinear bending theory of thin shallow shells, the governing equations for corrugated plates are established from Hamilton's principle. These partial differential equations are reduced to corresponding ordinary ones by elimination of the time variable with Kantorovich averaging method following an assumed harmonic time mode. Then by introducing the Green's function, the resulting dynamic compatible equation and corresponding boundary conditions are converted into equivalent integral equations. Taking the central maximum amplitude of the plate as the perturbation parameter, the perturbation-variation method is used to dynamic equilibrium equation with the aid of Computer Algebra Systems, Maple, from which, the third-order approximate characteristic relation of frequency vs. amplitude for nonlinear vibration of heated corrugated plates is obtained, and the frequency–amplitude characteristic curve is plotted for some specific values of temperature and geometrical parameters. It is found that the rise in temperature will decrease the frequency and vice versa. The nonlinear effect weakens when corrugations become deeper and dense. The present method can easily be expanded for the analysis of nonlinear vibration problem for other heated thin plates and shells.     

DSC-element method for free vibration analysis of rectangular Mindlin plates

A novel DSC-element method is proposed to investigate the free vibration of moderately thick plates based on the well-known Mindlin first-order shear deformation plate theory. The development of the present approach not only employs the concept of finite element method, but also implements the discrete singular convolution (DSC) delta type wavelet kernel for the transverse vibration analysis. This numerical algorithm is allowed dividing the domain of Mindlin plates into a number of small discrete rectangular elements. As compared with the global numerical techniques i.e. the DSC-Ritz method, the flexibility is increased to treat complex boundary constraints. For validation, a series of numerical experiments for different meshes of Mindlin plates with assorted combinations of edge supports, plate thickness and aspect ratios is carried out. The established natural frequencies are directly compared and discussed with those reported by using the finite element and other numerical and analytical methods from the open literature.     

Pseudospectral analysis of buckling and free vibration of rectangular Mindlin plates

A study of buckling and free vibration of rectangular Mindlin plates is presented. The analysis is based on the pseudospectral method, which uses basis functions that satisfy the boundary conditions. The equations of motion are collocated to yield a set of algebraic equations that are solved for the critical buckling load and for the natural frequencies in the presence of the in-plane loads. Numerical examples of rectangular plates with SS-C-SS-C boundary conditions are provided for various aspect ratios and thickness ratios, which show good agreement with those of the classical plate theory when the thickness ratio is very small. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Eung-Soo Shin Jinhee Lee received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Seoul National University and KAIST in 1982 and 1984, respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1992 and joined the Dept. of Mechanical and Design Engineering of Hongik University in Choongnam, Korea. His research interests include inverse problems, pseudospectral method, vibration and dynamic systems.     

Nonlinear free vibration of laminated composite plates on elastic foundation with random system properties

The present investigation is concerned with free vibration analysis of laminated composite plates resting on elastic foundation undergoing large amplitude oscillation with random system properties. The lamina material properties and foundation stiffness parameters are modeled as basic random variables for accurate prediction of the system behavior. The basic formulation of the problem is based on higher-order shear displacement theory including rotatory inertia effects and von Karman-type nonlinear strain displacement relations. A C⁰ finite element is used for descretization of the laminate. A direct iterative method in conjunction with first-order Taylor series based perturbation technique procedure is developed to solve random nonlinear generalized eigenvalue problem. The developed probabilistic procedure is successfully used for the nonlinear free vibration problem with a reasonable accuracy. Typical numerical results (second-order statistics) are obtained for the composite plates resting on Winkler and Pasternak elastic foundations with different support conditions, side-to-thickness ratio, aspect ratio, oscillation amplitude ratio, stacking sequences and foundation parameters for symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminates. The results are validated with existing available results and independent Monte Carlo simulation.     

Free vibration analyses of simply supported beams carrying multiple point masses and spring-mass systems with mass of each helical spring considered

In the conventional finite element method (FEM), the dynamic characteristics of a longitudinally vibrating rod with mass density ρ_r, Young's modulus E_r, cross-sectional area A_r and total length ℓ_r are considered to be the same as those of a helical spring with stiffness constant k_r=A_rE_r/ℓ_r and total mass m_r=ρ_rA_rℓ_r. For a lumped-mass model, the mass matrix of a rod element is a 2×2 diagonal one with each of its non-zero coefficients to be equal to one half of the total rod mass (i.e., 0.5m_r). Furthermore, the dynamic characteristics of a rod on the basis of last “lumped-mass” model have been found to be very close to those on the basis of “consistent-mass” model. Thus, one can easily take into account of the inertial effect of a helical spring using a massless one with “one half of its total mass”, respectively, concentrated at its two ends (in Method 2) instead of modeling it by an elastic rod with uniform mass per unit length (in Method 1). When one more spring-mass system is attached to the beam, the total number of unknown constants increases “one” in Method 2 and “two” in Method 1, thus, Method 2 will reduce more effort than Method 1 for studying the dynamic behaviors of a beam carrying a number of spring-mass systems with mass of each helical spring considered. In this paper, the formulations of Methods 1 and 2 are presented first and then the numerical examples are illustrated to confirm the reliability of the presented theory and the developed computer programs. Finally, the effect concerning mass of each helical spring of the spring-mass systems is studied.     

四边固支矩形薄板固有振动的理论计算和有限元分析

基于理论计算有限元方法分析了四边固支矩形板结构的自由振动问题,求得了四边固支矩形板的振动固有频率和振型。利用双向梁函数构造了四边固支矩形板的振型函数,并根据位移变分原理求得了矩形板的固有振动特性。在板单元理论的基础上,利用有限元法推导了薄板振动的质量矩阵和刚度矩阵。由于工程实际中只关心板结构振动的横向位移幅值,利用静力凝聚法将质量矩阵和刚度矩阵中转动自由度上的质量和刚度凝聚到横向振动自由度上,以达到降低模型阶目的,为板结构振动主动控制奠定基础。