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.     

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.     

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.     

Three-dimensional vibration, buckling and bending analyses of thick rectangular plates based on discrete singular convolution method

The main objective of this study is to give a numerical solution of three-dimensional analysis of thick rectangular plates. The analysis uses discrete singular convolution (DSC) method. Free vibration, bending and buckling of rectangular plates have been studied in this paper. Regularized Shannon's delta (RSD) kernel is selected as singular convolution to illustrate the present algorithm. In the proposed approach, the derivatives in both the governing equations and the boundary conditions are discretized by the method of DSC. The obtanied results are compared with those of other numerical methods. It is found that the convergence of the DSC approach is very good and the results agree well with those obtained by other researchers.     

Free vibration analysis of composite beams with two non-overlapping delaminations

An analytical solution to the free vibration of composite beams with two non-overlapping delaminations is presented. The delaminated beam is modeled as seven interconnected Euler-Bernoulli beams using the delaminations as their boundaries. The continuity and the equilibrium conditions are satisfied between adjoining beams. The analysis includes the differential stretching between the delaminated layers and the bending-extension coupling. The results of the present model agree well with the analytical and experimental data reported in the literature. Parametric studies show that the sizes and locations of the delaminations have significant effect on the natural frequencies and mode shapes. These results provide useful information in the study of the free vibration of delaminated composite beams.     

Differential cubature method for analysis of shear deformable rectangular plates on Pasternak foundations

In this paper, the differential cubature method (DCM) was applied to the bending analysis of shear deformable plates resting on Pasternak foundation. An attractive advantage of the DCM is that it can produce the acceptable accuracy of numerical results with very few grid points in the solution domain and therefore can be very useful for rapid evaluation in engineering design. The detailed procedures for discretizing the governing equations and boundary conditions of the title problems using the DCM are presented. Numerical solutions for rectangular thick plates on Pasternak foundation and subjected to different boundary conditions are obtained. The convergence studies are carried out to establish the minimal grid points needed for achieving accurate solutions. Next, the solutions for some selected cases are presented and verified by comparing them with the published values. It is observed that the DCM is able to furnish convergent solution with relatively fewer grid points than the more established differential quadrature method (DQM).     

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.     

Free vibration of laminated cross-ply plates including shear deformation by spline method

Spline function approximation technique is used to analyze the free vibration of symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-ply plates under shear deformation theory. The equations of motion of the plate are derived using YNS theory. A system of coupled differential equations in terms of displacement and rotational functions are obtained by assuming the solution in a separable form. These functions are approximated using Bickley-type splines of suitable orders. A generalized eigenvalue problem is obtained on applying the process of point collocation with suitable boundary conditions. Parametric studies have been made to investigate the frequency response of the plates with reference to the material properties, number of layers, fiber orientation, side-to-thickness ratio, aspect ratio and relative layer thickness. Some results are compared with existing solution obtained by FEM.     

Free vibration analysis of moderately thick antisymmetric cross-ply laminated rectangular plates with elastic edge constraints

This study presents a simple formulation for studying the free vibration of shear-deformable antisymmetric cross-ply laminated rectangular plates having translational as well as rotational edge constraints. The aim is to fill the void in the available literature with respect to the free vibration results of antisymmetric cross-ply laminated rectangular plates. The spatial discretization of the resulting mathematical model in five field variables is carried out using the two-dimensional Differential Quadrature Method (DQM). Several combinations of translational and rotational elastic edge constraints are considered. Convergence study with respect to the number of nodes has been carried out and the results are compared with those from past investigations available only for simpler problems. Effects of stiffness parameters, geometrical features, moduli ratio and lamination schemes on the natural frequencies are studied.     

Free vibration analysis of spherical caps by the pseudospectral method

The pseudospectral method is applied to the axisymmetric and asymmetric free vibration analysis of spherical caps. The displacements and the rotations are expressed by Chebyshev polynomials and Fourier series, and the collocated equations of motion are obtained in terms of the circumferential wave number. Numerical examples are provided for clamped, hinged and free boundary conditions. The results show good agreement with those of existing literature. 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 University of Michigan in 1992 and joined Dept. of Mechano-Informatics of Hongik University in Choongnam, Korea. His research interests include inverse problems, pseudospectral method, vibration and dynamic systems.     

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.     

In-plane vibration analyses of circular arches by the generalized differential quadrature rule

In-plane free vibrations of circular arches are investigated using the generalized differential quadrature rule (GDQR) proposed recently. The Kirchhoff assumptions for thin beams are considered, and the neutral axis is taken as inextensible. Several examples of arches with uniform, continuously varying, and stepped cross-sections are presented to illustrate the validity and accuracy of the GDQR. The necessary domain decomposition technique is used for some cases. The obtained frequencies are compared with those calculated from a number of other approaches from the Rayleigh–Ritz, Rayleigh–Schmidt and Galerkin methods to the finite element technique and the cell discretization method. The GDQR frequencies are always greater than those obtained from the cell discretization method that produces the lower bounds to the exact results, and are also in agreement with the upper bounds to the exact results.     

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.     

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.     

Transverse vibration of a rotating twisted Timoshenko beams under axial loading using differential transform

This study introduces the concept of a differential transform to solve the free vibration problems of a rotating twisted Timoshenko beam under axial loading. First, the concept of differential transform is briefly introduced. Second, taking a differential transform of a Timoshenko beam vibration problem, a set of difference equations is derived. Performing some simple algebraic operations on these equations, we can determine the jth natural-frequency, the closed form series solution of the jth mode shape. Finally, three cases—twist, axial force and rotation—are investigated to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the present method.     

Free vibration analysis of sandwich beam carrying sprung masses

In this paper, free vibration of three-layered symmetric sandwich beam carrying sprung masses is investigated using the dynamic stiffness method and the finite element formulation. First the governing partial differential equations of motion for one element are derived using Hamilton’s principle. Closed form analytical solution of these equations is determined. Applying the effect of sprung masses by replacing each sprung mass with an effective spring on the boundary condition of the element, the element dynamic stiffness matrix is developed. These matrices are assembled and the boundary conditions of the beam are applied, so that the dynamic stiffness matrix of the beam is derived. Natural frequencies and mode shapes are computed by the use of numerical techniques and the well known Wittrick–Williams algorithm. Free vibration analysis using the finite element method is carried out by increasing one degree of freedom for each sprung mass. Finally, some numerical examples are discussed using the dynamic stiffness method and the finite element formulation. After verification of the present model, the effect of various parameters such as mass and stiffness of the sprung mass is studied on the natural frequencies.     

Vibration analysis of corrugated Reissner–Mindlin plates using a mesh-free Galerkin method

A mesh-free Galerkin method for the free vibration analysis of unstiffened and stiffened corrugated plates is introduced in this paper, in which the corrugated plates are simulated with an equivalent orthotropic plate model. To obtain the corresponding equivalent elastic properties for the model, a constant curvature state is applied to the corrugated sheet. The stiffened corrugated plates are treated as composite structures of equivalent orthotropic plates and beams, and the strain energies of the plates and beams are added up by the imposition of displacement compatible conditions between the plate and the beams. The stiffness matrix of the whole structure is then derived. The proposed method is superior to the finite element methods (FEMs) because no mesh is needed, and thus stiffeners (beams) do not need to be placed along the mesh lines and the necessity of remeshing when the positions of the stiffeners change is avoided. To demonstrate the accuracy and convergence of the proposed method, several numerical examples are analyzed both with the proposed method and the finite element commercial software ANSYS. Examples from other research are also employed. A good agreement between the results for the proposed method, the results of the ANSYS analysis, and the results from other research is observed. Both sinusoidally and trapezoidally corrugated plates are studied.     

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.     

Accurate buckling loads of thin rectangular plates under parabolic edge compressions by the differential quadrature method

The buckling of thin rectangular plates with nonlinearly distributed loadings along two opposite plate edges is analyzed by using the differential quadrature (DQ) method. The problem is considerably more complicated since it requires that first the plane elasticity problem be solved to obtain the distribution of in-plane stresses, and then the buckling problem be solved. Thus, very few analytical solutions (the only one available in the literature is for rectangular plates with all edges simply supported) have been available in the literature thus far. Detailed formulations and solution procedures are given herein. Nine combinations of boundary conditions and various aspect ratios are considered. Comparisons are made with a few existing analytical and/or finite element data. It has been found that a fast convergent rate can be achieved by the DQ method with non-uniform grids and very accurate results are obtained for the first time. It has also been found that the DQ results, verified by the finite element method with NASTRAN, are not quite close to the newly reported analytical solution. A possible reason is given to explain the difference.     

Stability and free vibration analysis of thick piezoelectric composite plates using spline finite strip method

In the present study, a spline finite strip with higher-order shear deformation is formulated for stability and free vibration analysis of piezoelectric composite plates. At each knot, the electric potentials on the surfaces and middle plane of each piezoelectric layer are taken as nodal degrees of freedom. However, if a continuous electrode is installed on the surface of the layer, the electric potential on the electrode is changed to structural degree of freedom, so that the equipotential condition on the electrode is automatically satisfied. The analysis can be conducted based on Reddy's third-order shear deformation theory, Touratier's “Sine” model, Afaq's exponential model or Cho's higher-order zigzag laminate theory. Consequently, the shear correction coefficients are not required in the analysis, and an improved accuracy for thick plates over the first-order shear deformation theory is achieved at only little extra computational cost.The numerical results obtained based on different shear deformation theories are presented in comparison with the three-dimensional solutions. The effects of length-to-thickness ratio, fiber orientation, boundary conditions and electrical conditions on the natural frequency and critical buckling load of piezoelectric composite plates are investigated through numerical examples.