Transverse vibrations of hybrid laminated plates

In this paper, an attempt is made to obtain the free vibration response of hybrid, laminated rectangular and skew plates. The Galerkin technique is employed to obtain an approximate solution of the governing differential equations. It is found that this technique is well suited for the study of such problems. Results are presented in a graphical form for plates with one pair of opposite edges simply supported and the other two edges clamped. The method is quite general and can be applied to any other boundary conditions.     

The buckling and frequency of flexural vibration of rectangular isotropic and orthotropic plates using Rayleigh's method

A simple approximate formula for the natural frequencies of flexural vibration of isotropic plates, originally developed by Warburton using characteristic beam functions in Rayleigh's method, is modified to apply to specially orthotropic plates and extended to include the effect of uniform, direct inplane forces. The initial buckling problem is treated simply by equating the frequency expression to zero. The approach permits the ready determination of reasonably accurate natural frequencies and/or buckling loads for a given plate involving any combination of free, simply supported or clamped edges, without requiring the aid of a sophisticated calculating device or a knowledge of plate, vibration or buckling theory. To illustrate the applicability and accuracy of the approach, numerical results for a number of specific plate problems are presented.     

Free vibration of non-circular cylindrical shell panels

In the free vibration analysis of clamped non-circular cylindrical shell panels, a matrix method has been used to solve the governing differential equations, which have variable coefficients. The effect of the curvature, thickness ratio and aspect ratio on the natural frequencies has been studied. The results obtained for circular cylindrical panels are compared with other available results. The convergence of the solution is found to be good.     

Analysis of skew plate problems with various constraints

This paper presents the application of the modified Rayleigh-Ritz method with Lagrange multipliers to analyze skew plate problems with various constraints. By this procedure one can satisfy both geometric and natural boundary conditions of skew plates. To demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of the method, several examples of bending, vibration and buckling of skew plates are solved, and results are compared with those obtained by other approximate methods.     

Non-linear axisymmetric vibration of orthotropic thin circular plates on elastic foundations

This study deals with the large amplitude axisymmetric free vibrations of cylindrically orthotropic thin circular plates resting on elastic foundations. Geometric non-linearity due to moderately large deflections has been included. Movable and immovable simply supported plates and immovable clamped plates resting on Winkler, Pasternak and non-linear Winkler foundations have been considered. The von Kármán type governing equations have been employed. Harmonic vibrations are assumed and the time t is eliminated by the Kantorovich averaging method. An orthogonal point collocation method is used for spatial discretization. Numerical results are presented for the linear natural frequency of the first axisymmetric mode and for the ratio of the non-linear period to the linear period of natural vibration. The effects of foundation parameters, the orthotropic parameter and the edge conditions on the non-linear vibration behaviour have been investigated.     

Eigenvalue analysis of Timoshenko beams and axisymmetric Mindlin plates by the pseudospectral method

A study of the free vibration of Timoshenko beams and axisymmetric Mindlin plates is presented. The analysis is based on the Chebyshev pseudospectral method, which has been widely used in the solution of fluid mechanics problems. Clamped, simply supported, free and sliding boundary conditions of Timoshenko beams are treated, and numerical results are presented for different thickness-to-length ratios. Eigenvalues of the axisymmetric vibration of Mindlin plates with clamped, simply supported and free boundary conditions are presented for various thickness-to-radius ratios.     

EXACT BUCKLING AND VIBRATION SOLUTIONS FOR STEPPED RECTANGULAR PLATES

This paper is concerned with the determination of exact buckling loads and vibration frequencies of multi-stepped rectangular plates based on the classical thin (Kirchhoff) plate theory. The plate is assumed to have two opposite edges simply supported while the other two edges can take any combination of free, simply supported and clamped conditions. The proposed analytical method for solution involves the Levy method and the state-space technique. By using this analytical method, exact buckling and vibration solutions are obtained for rectangular plates having one- and two-step thickness variations. These exact solutions are extremely useful as benchmark values for researchers developing numerical techniques and software for analyzing non-uniform thickness plates.     

Vibration of simply supported-clamped skew plates at large amplitudest

The large amplitude, free, flexural vibration of orthotropic skew plates simply supported along two opposite edges and clamped along the other two are investigated on the basis of an assumed mode shape. The relationship between the amplitude and period is studied for both isotropic and orthotropic skew plates for various aspect ratios and skew angles under two in-plane edge conditions. It is found that the modal equation reduces to the Dufling type equation from which the period of non-linear vibration is found to decrease with increasing amplitude, exhibiting hardening type of non-linearity. The validity of the Berger approximation is investigated for the problem under consideration and this approximation is shown to give reasonably good results.     

PREDICTION AND MEASUREMENT OF SOME DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF SANDWICH STRUCTURES WITH HONEYCOMB AND FOAM CORES

Some dynamical properties of sandwich beams and plates are discussed. The types of elements investigated are three-layered structures with lightweight honeycomb or foam cores with thin laminates bonded to each side of the core. A six order differential equation governing the apparent bending of sandwich beams is derived using Hamilton's principle. Bending, shear and rotation are considered. Boundary conditions for free, clamped and simply supported beams are formulated. The apparent bending stiffness of sandwich beams is found to depend on the frequency and the boundary conditions for the structure. Simple measurements on sandwich beams are used to determine the bending stiffness of the entire structure and at the same time the bending stiffness of the laminates as well as the shear stiffness of the core. A method for the prediction of eigenfrequencies and modes of vibration are presented. Eigenfrequencies for rectangular and orthotropic sandwich plates are calculated using the Rayleigh-Ritz technique assuming frequency dependent material parameters. Predicted and measured results are compared.     

Free vibration of super elliptical plates with constant and variable thickness by Ritz method

In this study free vibration of simply supported and clamped super elliptical plates is investigated. This class of plates includes a wide range of external boundaries varying from an ellipse to a rectangle. Although studies on the upper and lower bounds of these plate geometries, namely circle and rectangle, are quite extensive, contributions on the mid-shapes, especially for simply supported boundary edges are very limited. The Kirchhoff plate model with isotropic and homogeneous material is studied. The super elliptical powers are chosen from 1 to 10. The Ritz method is employed for the solution of the energy equations of the plates. The effects of Poisson's ratio, which should not be neglected for simply supported plates with curved boundaries, and the aspect ratio of the plate are both examined in detail. The effect of thickness variation is also considered in this study. In order to avoid long computational run times, physically pertinent trial functions are utilized. The frequency parameters obtained are presented and compared with published results for plate shapes that match the current cases.     

IMPROVEMENT OF THE SEMI-ANALYTICAL METHOD, FOR DETERMINING THE GEOMETRICALLY NON-LINEAR RESPONSE OF THIN STRAIGHT STRUCTURES: PART II—FIRST AND SECOND NON-LINEAR MODE SHAPES OF FULLY CLAMPED RECTANGULAR PLATES

In a previous series of papers, a semi-analytical model based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis has been developed for geometrically non-linear free vibrations occurring at large displacement amplitudes of clamped-clamped beams and fully clamped rectangular homogeneous and composite plates. In Part I of this series of papers, concerned with geometrically non-linear free and forced vibrations of various beams, a practical simple “multi-mode theory”, based on the linearization of the non-linear algebraic equations, written in the modal basis, in the neighbourhood of each resonance has been developed. Simple explicit formulae, ready and easy to use for analytical or engineering purposes have been derived, which allows direct calculation of the basic function contributions to the first three non-linear mode shapes of the beams considered. Also, various possible truncations of the series expansion defining the first non-linear mode shape have been considered and compared with the complete solution, which showed that an increasing number of basic functions has to be used, corresponding to increasingly sized intervals of vibration amplitudes; starting from use of only one function, i.e., the first linear mode shape, corresponding to very small amplitudes, for which the linear theory is still valid, and ending by the complete series, involving six functions, corresponding to maximum vibration amplitudes at the beam middle point up to once the beam thickness. For higher amplitudes, a complementary second formulation has been developed, leading to reproduction of the known results via the solution of reduced linear systems of five equations and five unknowns. The purpose of this paper is to extend and adapt the approach described above to the geometrically non-linear free vibration of fully clamped rectangular plates in order to allow direct and easy calculation of the first, second and higher non-linear fully clamped rectangular plate mode shapes, with their associated non-linear frequencies and non-linear bending stress patterns. Also, numerical results corresponding to the first and second non-linear modes shapes of fully clamped rectangular plates with an aspect ratio α=0·6 are presented. Data concerning the higher non-linear modes, the aspect ratio effect, and the forced vibration case will be presented later.     

Free vibration of annular sector plates by an integral equation technique

A numerical method is presented for the free vibration analysis of polar orthotropic clamped annular sector plates. The results are compared with analytical and experimental values of other investigators. A parametric study has been done by varying the sector angle and radii ratio. The frequencies for isotropic and orthotropic cases are presented in the form of graphs.     

A variable kinematic Ritz formulation for vibration study of quadrilateral plates with arbitrary thickness

A new variable kinematic Ritz method applied to free vibration analysis of arbitrary quadrilateral thin and thick isotropic plates is presented. Carrera's unified formulation and the versatile pb-2 Ritz method are properly combined to build a powerful yet simple modeling and solution framework. The proposed technique allows to generate arbitrarily accurate Ritz solutions from a large variety of refined two-dimensional plate theories by expanding so-called Ritz fundamental nuclei of the plate mass and stiffness matrices. Theoretical development of the present methodology is described in detail. Convergence and accuracy of the method are examined through several examples on thin, moderately thick, and very thick plates of rectangular, skew, trapezoidal and general quadrilateral shapes, with an arbitrary combination of clamped, free and simply supported edges. Present results are compared with existing three-dimensional solutions from open literature. Maximum and average differences of various higher-order plate theories and three-dimensional results are also presented with the aim of providing useful guidelines on the choice of appropriate plate theory to get a desired accuracy on frequency parameters.     

Free Vibration Analysis of Nanocomposite Plates Reinforced by Graded Carbon Nanotubes Based on First-Order Shear Deformation Plate Theory

Based on the Mindlin's first-order shear deformation plate theory this paper focuses on the free vibration behavior of functionally graded nanocomposite plates reinforced by aligned and straight single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The material properties of simply supported functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced (FGCNTR) plates are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction. The effective material properties at a point are estimated by either the Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka approach or the extended rule of mixture. Two types of symmetric carbon nanotubes (CNTs) volume fraction profiles are presented in this paper. The equations of motion and related boundary conditions are derived using the Hamilton's principle. A semi-analytical solution composed of generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method, as an efficient and accurate numerical method, and series solution is adopted to solve the equations of motions. The primary contribution of the present work is to provide a comparative study of the natural frequencies obtained by extended rule of mixture and Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka method. The detailed parametric studies are carried out to study the influences various types of the CNTs volume fraction profiles, geometrical parameters and CNTs volume fraction on the free vibration characteristics of FGCNTR plates. The results reveal that the prediction methods of effective material properties have an insignificant influence of the variation of the frequency parameters with the plate aspect ratio and the CNTs volume fraction.     

Free vibration analysis of right triangular plates with combinations of clamped-simply supported boundary conditions

An accurate analytical solution is obtained for the free vibration of right triangular plates with all possible combinations of clamped and simply supported edge conditions. The method of superposition as described by the author in an earlier publication is utilized. A slight modification is made to the earlier building blocks in order to facilitate computations. Eigenvalues and mode shape information are provided for the first four modes of free vibration with a large range of plate aspect ratio. This appears to constitute the first accurate and comprehensive treatment of this family of problems.     

The effects of large vibration amplitudes on the axisymmetric mode shapes and natural frequencies of clamped thin isotropic circular plates. Part I: iterative and explicit analytical solution for non-linear transverse vibrations

The effects of large vibration amplitudes on the first two axisymmetric mode shapes of clamped thin isotropic circular plates are examined. The theoretical model based on Hamilton's principle and spectral analysis developed previously by Benamar et al. for clamped-clamped beams and fully clamped rectangular plates is adapted to the case of circular plates using a basis of Bessel's functions. The model effectively reduces the large-amplitude free vibration problem to the solution of a set of non-linear algebraic equations. Numerical results are given for the first and second axisymmetric non-linear mode shapes for a wide range of vibration amplitudes. For each value of the vibration amplitude considered, the corresponding contributions of the basic functions defining the non-linear transverse displacement function and the associated non-linear frequency are given. The non-linear frequencies associated to the fundamental non-linear mode shape predicted by the present model were compared with numerical results from the available published literature and a good agreement was found. The non-linear mode shapes exhibit higher bending stresses near to the clamped edge at large deflections, compared with those predicted by linear theory. In order to obtain explicit analytical solutions for the first two non-linear axisymmetric mode shapes of clamped circular plates, which are expected to be very useful in engineering applications and in further analytical developments, the improved version of the semi-analytical model developed by El Kadiri et al. for beams and rectangular plates, has been adapted to the case of clamped circular plates, leading to explicit expressions for the higher basic function contributions, which are shown to be in a good agreement with the iterative solutions, for maximum non-dimensional vibration amplitude values of 0.5 and 0.44 for the first and second axisymmetric non-linear mode shapes, respectively.     

Vibration of moderately thick square orthotropic stepped thickness plates

Numerous studies that address the vibration of stepped thickness plates are reported in the literature. Predominately, classical plate theory has been used to formulate studies for both isotropic and anisotropic stepped plates. Mindlin plate theory has been employed to obtain results for thick isotropic stepped thickness plates. Exact solutions, Rayleigh-Ritz, differential quadrature and finite element methods have been employed to compute results for frequency of vibration. Results for frequency of vibration for thick orthotropic stepped thickness plates are presented here using orthorhombic material properties of aragonite. The finite element method has been used to compute frequencies and determine mode shapes for simply supported and clamped square Mindlin plates.     

Shear and rotatory inertia effects on large amplitude vibration of skew plates

The large amplitude free flexural vibration of elastic, isotropic skew plates is investigated, the effects of transverse shear and rotatory inertia being included. By use of Galerkin's method and the extended Berger approximation, solutions are obtained on the basis of an assumed vibration mode. The non-linear period vs. amplitude behavior is of the hardening type and the non-linear period is found to increase when the effects of transverse shear and rotatory inertia are considered in the analysis. The influence of these effects on aspect ratios and skew angles of thin and moderately thick skew plates is investigated both at small and large amplitudes.     

Vibration of plates with straight-line,clamped and free edges

This paper deals with vibration problems of thin plates having straight-line, mutually perpendicular, clamped and free edges and subjected to a load consisting of a set of transverse, arbitrarily located random forces. It is assumed that the number of edges of a plate forming recurring figures is optional but each of these edges is either clamped or free along its entire length. The procedure for solving the boundary problem based upon the R-functions method and for estimation of transverse displacements based upon the correlation analysis is presented. Numerical calculations are carried out for two example plates.     

On the non-linear vibrations of rectangular plates

A solution, based on a one-term mode shape, for the large amplitude vibrations of a rectangular orthotropic plate, simply supported on all edges or clamped on all edges for movable and immovable in-plane conditions, is found by using an averaging technique that helps to satisfy the in-plane boundary conditions. This averaging technique for satisfying the immovable in-plane conditions can be used to resolve many anisotropic and skew plate problems where otherwise, when a stress function is used, the integration of the u and v equations becomes difficult, if not impossible. The results obtained herein are compared with those available in the literature for the isotropic case and excellent agreement is found. Results available for the one-term mode shape solutions of these problems are compared and the non-linear effect is presented as functions of aspect ratio and of the orthotropic elastic constants of the plate. The results are further compared with those based on the Berger method and the detailed comparative studies show that the use of the Berger approximation for large deflection static and dynamic problems and its extension to anisotropic plates, skew plates, etc., can lead to quite inaccurate results.