A semi-analytical method for free vibration of straight orthotropic beams with rectangular cross-sections

On the basis of the two-dimensional elasticity equations with orthotropy, a semi-analytical method is proposed to analyze free vibration of straight beams with rectangular cross-sections. To this end, the state space method is combined with the differential quadrature method so that state equations with respect to state variables at discrete points are derived. The frequency equation for free vibration of straight orthotropic beams is then formulated. Numerical results are presented and compared with that available in the literature. The present method can be used to analyze either shallow or deep orthotropic beams with arbitrary end conditions.