Analysis of stiffened corrugated plates based on the FSDT via the mesh-free method

The elastic bending of unstiffened and stiffened corrugated plates is studied in this paper, and a mesh-free Galerkin method is presented for the analyses. A corrugated plate is treated as an orthotropic plate that has different flexure properties in two perpendicular directions. The equivalent flexure properties are estimated by applying constant curvature conditions to the corrugated sheet. The stiffened corrugated plate is considered as a composite structure of an orthotropic plate with beams. By superimposing the strain energy of the orthotropic plate and the beams, and imposing the displacement compatibility conditions between the plate and the beams, the stiffness matrix of the structure is obtained. Because no mesh is needed in the proposed method, there is no limitation to the position of the stiffeners (beams). Changes in the positions of the stiffeners do not require the re-meshing of the plate. Several numerical examples are employed to show the accuracy and convergence of the proposed method. The computation results demonstrate good agreement with the solutions given by ANSYS, and different profiles of corrugated plates are considered.     

Dynamic analysis of laminated composite plates with piezoelectric sensor/actuator patches using the FSDT mesh-free method

This paper investigates the active control of laminated composite plates with piezoelectric sensor/actuator patches using an efficient mesh-free method, i.e. the element-free Galerkin (EFG) method. The formulation of the problem is based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory (FSDT) and the principle of virtual displacements. A simple control algorithm coupling the direct and converse piezoelectric effect is used to control the dynamic response of the laminate plate with distributed sensor/actuator patches through a closed control loop. Several example problems are studied to show the influence of stacking sequence and position of sensor/actuator patches on the dynamic responses of the laminate plate. These simulations provide us with the best location of the sensor/actuator patches for active control of the laminate plate.     

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.     

Free vibration of two-side simply-supported laminated cylindrical panels via the mesh-free kp-Ritz method

In this paper, the free vibration of laminated two-side simply-supported cylindrical panels is analyzed by the mesh-free kp-Ritz method. In this latest form of the Ritz technique, the reproducing kernel particle estimation is employed in hybridized form with harmonic functions to approximate the two-dimensional displacement field. The present analysis is based on the energy functional of the classical thin-shell theory based on Love's hypothesis. To validate the accuracy of the results and the stability of the present method, convergence studies were carried out based on the influences of the support size and the number of nodes. Comparisons of the present results were also made with existing results available in the open literature and good agreement obtained. This study also examines in detail the effects of different curved-edge boundary conditions on the frequency characteristics of cylindrical panels.     

Analysis of rectangular stiffened plates under uniform lateral load based on FSDT and element-free Galerkin method

This paper presents an element-free Galerkin (EFG) method for the static analysis of concentrically and eccentrically stiffened plates based on first-order shear deformable theory (FSDT). The stiffened plates are regarded as composite structures of plates and beams. Imposing displacement compatible conditions between the plate and the stiffener, the displacement fields of the stiffener can be expressed in terms of the mid-surface displacement of the plate. The strain energy of the plate and stiffener can be superimposed to obtain the stiffness matrix of the stiffed plate. Because there are no elements used in the meshless model of the plate, the stiffeners need not to be placed along the meshes, as is done in the finite element methods. The stiffeners can be placed at any location, and will not lead to the re-meshing of the plate. The validity of the EFG method is demonstrated by considering several concentrically and eccentrically stiffened plate problems. The present results show good agreement with the existing analytical and finite element solutions. The influences of support size (denoted by a scaling factor d_max) and order of the complete basis functions (N_c) on the numerical accuracy are also investigated. It is found that larger support size and higher order of basis function will furnish better convergence results.     

3-D vibration analysis of skew thick plates using Chebyshev–Ritz method

The free vibration characteristics of skew thick plates with arbitrary boundary conditions have been studied based on the three-dimensional, linear and small strain elasticity theory. The actual skew plate domain is mapped onto a basic cubic domain and the eigenvalue equation is then derived from the energy functional of the plate by using the Ritz method. A set of triplicate Chebyshev polynomial series multiplied by a boundary function chosen to satisfy the essential geometric boundary conditions of the plate is developed as the trial functions of the displacement components. The vibration modes are divided into antisymmetric and symmetric ones in the thickness direction and can be studied individually. The convergence and comparison studies show that rather accurate results can be obtained by using this approach. Parametric investigations on rhombic plates with fully clamped edges and completely free edges are performed in detail, with respect to the thickness-span ratio and skew angle. Some results known for the first time are reported, which may serve as the benchmark values for future numerical technique research.     

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 bending of Reissner–Mindlin plates with free edges under transverse and in-plane loads and resting on elastic foundations

A nonlinear bending analysis is presented for a rectangular Reissner–Mindlin plate with free edges subjected to combined transverse partially distributed load and compressive edge loading and resting on a two-parameter (Pasternak-type) elastic foundation. The formulations are based on the Reissner–Mindlin plate theory considering the first-order shear deformation effect, and including the plate-foundation interaction. The analysis uses a mixed Galerkin-perturbation technique to determine the load–deflection curves and load–bending moment curves. Numerical examples are presented that relate to the performances of moderately thick rectangular plates with free edges subjected to combined loading and resting on Pasternak-type elastic foundations from which results for Winkler elastic foundations are obtained as a limiting case. The influence played by a number of effects, among them foundation stiffness, transverse shear deformation, loaded area, the plate aspect ratio and initial compressive load are studied. Typical results are presented in dimensionless graphical form.     

Analysis of rectangular laminated composite plates via FSDT meshless method

A meshless approach based on the reproducing kernel particle method is developed for the flexural, free vibration and buckling analysis of laminated composite plates. In this approach, the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is employed and the displacement shape functions are constructed using the reproducing kernel approximation satisfying the consistency conditions. The essential boundary conditions are enforced by a singular kernel method. Numerical examples involving various boundary conditions are solved to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. Comparison of results with the exact and other known solutions in the literature suggests that the meshless approach yields an effective solution method for laminated composite plates.     

Free vibration analysis of arbitrary shaped thick plates by differential cubature method

In this paper, a new numerical solution technique, the differential cubature method, is applied to solve the free vibration problems of arbitrary shaped thick plates. The basic idea of the differential cubature method is to express a linear differential operation such as a continuous function or any order of partial derivative of a multivariable function, as a weighted linear sum of discrete function values chosen within the overall domain of a problem. By using the differential cubature procedure, the governing differential equations and boundary conditions are transformed into sets of linear homogeneous algebraic equations. This is an eigenvalue problem, of which the eigenvalues can be calculated numerically. The subspace iterative method is employed in search of the free vibration frequency parameters. Detailed formulations are presented, and the method is examined here for its suitability for solving the vibration problems of moderately thick plates governed by Mindlin shear deformation theory. The applicability, efficiency and simplicity of the method are demonstrated through solving some example plate vibration problems of different shapes. The numerical accuracy of the method is ascertained by comparing the vibration frequency solutions with those of existing literatures.     

Dynamic stability analysis of composite laminated cylindrical panels via the mesh-free kp-Ritz method

In this paper, the dynamic stability analysis of thin, laminated cylindrical panels under static and periodic axial forces is presented by using the mesh-free kp-Ritz method. The mesh-free kernel particle estimate is employed to approximate the 2D transverse displacement field. A system of Mathieu–Hill equations is obtained through the application of the Ritz minimization procedure to the energy expressions. The principal instability regions are then analyzed via Bolotin's first approximation. Effects of lamination schemes such as number of layers, ply-angle and boundary conditions on the instability regions are examined in detail.     

Analysis of annular Reissner/Mindlin plates using differential quadrature method

The axisymmetric flexure responses of moderately thick annular plates under static loading are investigated. The shear deformation is considered using the first-order Reissner/Mindlin plate theory and the solutions are obtained using the differential quadrature (DQ) method. In the solution process, the governing differential equations and boundary conditions for the problem are initially discretized by the DQ algorithm into a set of linear algebraic equations. The solutions of the problem are then determined by solving the set of algebraic equations. This study considers the plate subjected to various combinations of clamped, simply-supported, free and guided boundary conditions and different loading manners. The accuracy of the method is demonstrated through direct comparison of the present results with the corresponding exact solutions available in the literature.     

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.     

Free vibration analysis of rectangular plates with internal columns and uniform elastic edge supports by pb-2 Ritz method

Free vibration analysis of rectangular plates with internal columns and elastic edge supports is presented using the powerful pb-2 Ritz method. Reddy's third order shear deformation plate theory is employed. The versatile pb-2 Ritz functions defined by the product of a two-dimensional polynomial and a basic function are taken as the admissible functions. Substituting these displacement functions into the energy functional and minimizing the total energy by differentiation, leads to a typical eigenvalue problem, which is solved by a standard eigenvalue solver. Stiffness and mass matrices are numerically integrated over the plate using the Gaussian quadrature. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method are demonstrated through several numerical examples by comparison and convergency studies. Many numerical results for reasonable natural frequency parameters of rectangular plates with different combinations of elastic boundary conditions and column supports at any locations are presented, which can be used as a benchmark for future studies in this area.     

Vibration analysis of rectangular plates with edge V-notches

A method is presented for accurately determining the natural frequencies of plates having V-notches along their edges. It is based on the Ritz method and utilizes two sets of admissible functions simultaneously, which are (1) algebraic polynomials from a mathematically complete set of functions, and (2) corner functions duplicating the boundary conditions along the edges of the notch, and describing the stress singularities at its sharp vertex exactly. The method is demonstrated for free, square plates with a single V-notch. The effects of corner functions on the convergence of solutions are shown through comprehensive convergence studies. The corner functions accelerate convergence of results significantly. Accurate numerical results for free vibration frequencies and nodal patterns are tabulated for V-notched square plates having notch angle α=5° or 30° at different locations and with various notch depths. These are the first known frequency and nodal pattern results available in the published literature for rectangular plates with V-notches.     

Free vibration of cantilevered symmetrically laminated thick trapezoidal plates

To account for the effect of transverse shear deformation, the p-Ritz method incorporating Reddy’s third-order shear deformation theory has been developed for the vibration analysis of cantilevered, thick, laminated, trapezoidal plates. In the p-Ritz method, a set of uniquely defined polynomial functions, consisting of the product of a two-dimensional function and a basic function, are used as the admissible trial displacement and rotation functions in the Ritz minimization procedure. The energy integral is formulated based on Reddy’s third-order shear deformation theory. From the p-Ritz method, the governing eigenvalue equation is derived which is used to compute the vibration frequency parameters and mode shapes of the laminated plate. Convergence and comparison studies have been presented to demonstrate and verify the accuracy of the results.     

Analysis of the free vibration of rectangular plates with central cut-outs using the discrete Ritz method

We present an analysis of the free vibration of plates with internal discontinuities due to central cut-outs. A numerical formulation for a basic L-shaped element which is divided into appropriate sub-domains that are dependent upon the location of the cut-out is used as the basic building element. Trial functions formed to satisfy certain boundary conditions are employed to define the transverse deflection of each sub-domain. Mathematical treatments in terms of the continuities in displacement, slope, moment, and higher derivatives between the adjacent sub-domains are enforced at the interconnecting edges. The energy functional results, from the proper assembly of the coupled strain and kinetic energy contributions of each sub-domain, are minimized via the Ritz procedure to extract the vibration frequencies and mode shapes of the plates. The procedures are demonstrated by considering plates with central cut-outs that are subjected to two types of boundary conditions.     

Vibration analysis of delaminated composite beams and plates using a higher-order finite element

In order to analyze the vibration response of delaminated composite plates of moderate thickness, a FEM model based on a simple higher-order plate theory, which can satisfy the zero transverse shear strain condition on the top and bottom surfaces of plates, has been proposed in this paper. To set up a C⁰-type FEM model, two artificial variables have been introduced in the displacement field to avoid the higher-order derivatives in the higher-order plate theory. The corresponding constraint conditions from the two artificial variables have been enforced effectively through the penalty function method using the reduced integration scheme within the element area. Furthermore, the implementation of displacement continuity conditions at the delamination front has been described using the present FEM theory. Various examples studied in many previous researches have been employed to verify the justification, accuracy and efficiency of the present FEM model. The influences of delamination on the vibration characteristic of composite laminates have been investigated. Especially the variation of ‘curvature of vibration mode’ (i.e., the second-order differential of deflections in vibration mode) caused by delamination has been studied in detail to provide valuable information for the possible identification of delamination. Furthermore, two approaches have been investigated to detect a delamination in laminates by employing this information.     

Free vibration of laminated composite plates using two variable refined plate theory

Free vibration of laminated composite plates using two variable refined plate theory is presented in this paper. The theory accounts for parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains through the plate thickness, and satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton's principle. The Navier technique is employed to obtain the closed-form solutions of antisymmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminates. Numerical results obtained using present theory are compared with three-dimensional elasticity solutions and those computed using the first-order and the other higher-order theories. It can be concluded that the proposed theory is not only accurate but also efficient in predicting the natural frequencies of laminated composite plates.     

Closed-form vibration analysis of thick annular functionally graded plates with integrated piezoelectric layers

This paper employs an analytical method to analyze vibration of piezoelectric coupled thick annular functionally graded plates (FGPs) subjected to different combinations of soft simply supported, hard simply supported and clamped boundary conditions at the inner and outer edges of the annular plate on the basis of the Reddy's third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT). The properties of host plate are graded in the thickness direction according to a volume fraction power-law distribution. The distribution of electric potential along the thickness direction in the piezoelectric layer is assumed as a sinusoidal function so that the Maxwell static electricity equation is approximately satisfied. The differential equations of motion are solved analytically for various boundary conditions of the plate. In this study closed-form expressions for characteristic equations, displacement components of the plate and electric potential are derived for the first time in the literature. The present analysis is validated by comparing results with those in the literature and then natural frequencies of the piezoelectric coupled annular FG plate are presented in tabular and graphical forms for different thickness-radius ratios, inner-outer radius ratios, thickness of piezoelectric, material of piezoelectric, power index and boundary conditions.