Exact resonant frequencies for the thickness-twist trapped energy mode in a piezoceramic plate

Summary Thickness-twist modes with energy trapping in a piezoceramic plate covered by infinite strip electrodes of infinitesimal thickness are analysed. By using Fourier transforms, the linear, three-dimensional equations for a piezoceramic plate are reduced to an integral equation for the charge distribution on the electrodes. Expanding the charge density in a finite series, the lowest resonant frequency as a function of the ratio with electrodes over thickness plate is computed. The computed values are compared with the results of an approximate approach given by Holland and Eer Nisse. For small values of the mentioned ratio, considerable deviations occur.     

Calculation of vibration frequencies by a hybrid element method based on a generalized complementary energy principle

Based on a generalized complementary energy principle the derivation of the element matrices is presented for calculation of natural frequencies. The degrees-of-freedom are not defined on nodal points but in an abstract way. No restrictions about the number of interpolation functions in the interior and at the boundaries of the element have been introduced. The exact solution of the discretized element equations leads to the dynamic stiffness matrix while the approximate solution results in a linear eigenvalue problem. Plate bending problems are used to study the convergence of frequencies depending on the degrees of interpolation functions within the element and on its boundaries and on the number of elements.     

Minimal assumed moments and optimal local coordinates for plate elements based upon the complementary energy functional

In most plate/shell elements founded on the complementary energy functional, the assumed mement spaces are not minimal. The reason of introducing additional moment modes is to build elements with sufficient stiffness. A new method of using incompatible deflections to select the minimal moment modes is attempted. A square 4-node and a square semiLoof plate elements are derived. They are both stable and not overflexible. To generalize the elements for distorted geometry, three different local coordinates are employed. Unexpectedly, the skew coordinates formed by the covariant base vectors of the natural coordinates are least desirable.     

Dual complementary variational principles in Reissner's plate theory

Summary Starting from dual basic equations of Reissner's plate theory a set of four new variational principles is presented. It is also shown that two of them are complementary extremum principles which can be used to determine global error bounds.     

Patch recovery based on complementary energy

In this paper a new stress recovery procedure is presented. The formulation is very simple and based on improving stresses by enforcing compatibility over local patches of elements. This is obtained by minimizing the complementary energy, properly defined for the patch thought as a separate system, among an assumed set of equilibrated stress fields. The resultant implementation is simple, cost effective and numerically stable. Several numerical tests evidence an excellent performance which promises a wide applicability of the new procedure. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An integral equation formulation of plate bending problems

Summary The mathematical theory of thin elastic plates loaded by transverse forces leads to biharmonic boundary value problems. These may be formulated in terms of singular integral equations, which can be solved numerically to a tolerable accuracy for any shape of boundary by digital computer programs. Particular attention is devoted to clamped and simply-supported rectangular plates. Our results indicate support for the generally accepted treatment of such plates and for the intuitive picture of deflection behaviour at a corner.     

A mixed finite element formulation for plate problems

A mixed triangular finite element model has been developed for plate bending problems in which effects of shear deformation are included. Linear distribution for all variables is assumed and the matrix equation is obtained through Reissner's variational principle. In this model, interelement compatibility is completely satisfied whereas the governing equations within the element are satisfied ‘in the mean’. A detailed error analysis is made and convergence of the scheme is proved. Numerical examples of thin and moderately thick plates are presented.     

Dual and complementary energy methods in electromagnetism

The use of dual and complementary variational formulations of the electromagnetic field equations is reviewed and the usefulness of such techniques explored. Particular attention is devoted to the efficient implementation of these methods in conjunction with the finite element method, and wider areas of application discussed. The use of such techniques in the development of a general structure for the field equations is outlined, and examples chosen from electrostatics, magnetostatics and time varying problems show how error bounded solutions may be achieved.     

Three-dimensional absolute nodal co-ordinate formulation: plate problem

In this investigation, an absolute nodal co-ordinate dynamic formulation is developed for the large deformations and rotations of three-dimensional plate elements. In this formulation, no infinitesimal or finite rotations are used as nodal co-ordinates, instead global displacements and slopes are used as the plate coordinates. Using this interpretation of the plate coordinates the new method does not require the use of co-ordinate transformation to define the global inertia properties of the plates. The resulting mass matrix is the same constant matrix that appears in linear structural dynamics. The stiffness matrix, on the other hand, is a non-linear function of the nodal co-ordinates of the plate even in the case of a linear elastic problem. It is demonstrated in this paper that, unlike the incremental finite element formulations, the proposed method leads to an exact modelling of the rigid body inertia when the plate element moves as a rigid body. It is also demonstrated that by using the proposed method the conventional plate element shape function has a complete set of rigid body modes that can describe an exact arbitrary rigid body displacement. Using this fact, plate elements in the proposed new formulation can be considered as isoparametric elements. As a consequence, an arbitrary rigid body motion of the element results in zero strain. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed formulation finite elements for mindlin theory plate bending

Two new finite elements are developed for the Mindlin theory plate bending problem. The formulation is based on the modified Hellinger-Reissner principle with independent transverse shear strains. Numerical examples indicate that, with properly assumed transverse shear strains, these new elements designated as PLAT8 and PLAT8H do not exhibit locking effect even for very thin plates.     

A Galerkin formulation for shear deformable plate bending dynamics

A Galerkin boundary element formulation for shear deformable plate bending dynamics is developed. The formulation makes use of the static fundamental solutions for the weighted residual integral equations. The domain integrals carrying the inertia terms and generic static loads are considered as body forces and approximated with boundary values using the dual reciprocity method. The load is modelled as a series of impact loads of time varying intensity and moving in space in a predetermined path. The formulation was implemented and tested solving a benchmark problem. The results are compared with finite element solutions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vibro-acoustic formulation of elastically restrained shear deformable stiffened rectangular plate

A method constructed on the basis of the Rayleigh–Ritz method and the first Rayleigh integral is presented for the vibro-acoustic analysis of elastically restrained shear deformable stiffened rectangular orthotropic plates. In the proposed method, the displacement fields of the plate and stiffeners are formulated on the basis of the first-order shear deformation theory. The theoretical sound pressure level (SPL) curve of the plate is constructed using the responses at different excitation frequencies and the first Rayleigh integral. The experimental SPL curve of an elastically restrained stiffened orthotropic plate was measured to verify the accuracy of the theoretical SPL curve of the plate. The effects of Young’s modulus ratio E₁/E₂ on the sound radiation characteristics of elastically restrained stiffened orthotropic plate with different aspect ratios are studied using the proposed method. It has been shown that the effects of Young’s modulus ratio become more prominent as the plate aspect ratio gets larger.     

Stability analysis of plates by a complementary energy method

A complementary energy method for the stability analysis of plates is presented. Buckling loads of rectangular plates with different boundary conditions are obtained, and the convergence of the solution is studied.     

On the principle of stationary complementary energy in finite elastostatics

In this work, we explore conditions sufficient to guarantee the existence of a principle of stationary complementary energy in finite elastostatics. We are then able to derive a principle of complementary energy. The results also apply to a large class of incompressible and almost incompressible materials.     

A quadrilateral hybrid-Trefftz plate bending element for the inclusion of warping based on a three-dimensional plate formulation

A plate formulation, for the inclusion of warping and transverse shear deformations, is considered. From a complete thick and thin plate formulation, which was derived without ad hoc assumptions from the three-dimensional equations of elasticity for isotropic materials, the bending solution, involving powers of the thickness co-ordinate z, is used for constructing a quadrilateral finite plate bending element. The constructed element trial functions, for the displacements and stresses, satisfy, a priori, the three-dimensional Navier equations and equilibrium equations, respectively. For the coupling of the elements, independently assumed functions on the boundary are used. High accuracy for both displacements and stresses (including transverse shear stresses) can be achieved with rather coarse meshes for thick and thin plates.     

A robust formulation of SAW Green's functions for arbitrarily thick multilayers at high frequencies

This paper presents a robust formulation of SAW Green's functions for arbitrarily thick multilayers at high frequencies. The formulation is an alternative to that based on the transfer matrix method, which suffers from numerical instabilities when the frequency and/or thickness parameters become large. This numerical difficulty can be attributed to the mixture of exponentially growing and decaying terms during the transfer matrix calculations. To be more instructive, the numerical instability is delineated in terms of upward-bounded and downward-bounded waves within each layer. In accordance with such boundedness association, a recursive scheme not involving any growing terms is developed based on the scattering matrices to eliminate the instability. The resulting reflection matrix method is extremely concise and preserves the simplicity and convenience of the transfer matrix method. Using the reflection matrices, the generalized Green's functions that relate the particle velocity and the rate of electric potential change to the surface stress and charge are formulated succinctly. These Green's functions are useful for having incorporated the electrical properties of the vacuum above the surface. Numerical computations are exemplified to demonstrate the instabilities of the transfer matrix method and to justify the robustness of the reflection matrix formula     

A nonlinear plate finite element formulation for shape memory alloy applications

The aim of the present work is to develop a new finite element model for the finite strain analysis of plate structures constituted of shape memory alloy (SMA) material. A three‐dimensional constitutive model for shape memory alloys able to reproduce the special thermomechanical behavior of SMA characterized by pseudoelasticity and shape memory effects is adopted. The finite strain constitutive model is thermodynamically consistent and is completely formulated in the reference configuration. A two‐dimensional plate theory is proposed based on a tensor element shape function formulation. The displacement field is expressed in terms of increasing powers of the transverse coordinate. The equilibrium statement is formulated on the basis of the virtual displacement principle in a total Lagrangian format. The proposed displacement formulation is particularly suitable for the simple derivation of high‐order finite elements. Numerical applications are performed to assess the efficiency and locking performance of the proposed plate finite element. Some additional numerical examples are carried out to study the accuracy and robustness of the proposed computational technique and its capability of describing the structural response of SMA devices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed plate bending elements based on least‐squares formulation

A finite element formulation for the bending of thin and thick plates based on least‐squares variational principles is presented. Finite element models for both the classical plate theory and the first‐order shear deformation plate theory (also known as the Kirchhoff and Mindlin plate theories, respectively) are considered. High‐order nodal expansions are used to construct the discrete finite element model based on the least‐squares formulation. Exponentially fast decay of the least‐squares functional, which is constructed using the L₂ norms of the equations residuals, is verified for increasing order of the nodal expansions. Numerical examples for the bending of circular, rectangular and skew plates with various boundary conditions and plate thickness are presented to demonstrate the predictive capability and robustness of the new plate bending elements. Plate bending elements based on this formulation are shown to be insensitive to both shear‐locking and geometric distortions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.