Vibration Analysis of Thick Plates: Analytical and Numerical Approaches

A nine-node isoparametric plate element in conjunction with first-order shear deformation theory is used for free vibration analysis of rectangular plates with central cutouts. Both thick and thin plate problems are solved for various aspect ratios and boundary conditions. In this article, primary focus is given to the effect of rotary inertia on natural frequencies of perforated rectangular plates. It is found that rotary inertia has significant effect on thick plates, while for thin plates the rotary inertia term can be ignored. It is seen that the numerical convergence is very rapid and based on comparison with experimental and analytical data from literature, it is proposed that the present formulation is capable of yielding highly accurate results. Finally, some new numerical solutions are provided here, which may serve as benchmark for future research on similar problems.

This article presents a simple and efficient procedure for the natural vibration analysis of rectangular plates and stiffened panels in contact with fluid on one side. The assumed mode method is applied, where the natural frequencies and mode shapes are obtained by solving an eigenvalue problem of a multi-degree-of-freedom system matrix equation derived by using Lagrange’s equation of motion. The Mindlin thick plate theory is applied for a plate, and in the case of stiffened panels, the effect of framing is taken into account by adding its strain and kinetic energies to the corresponding plate energies. Potential flow theory assumptions are adopted for the fluid, and free surface waves are ignored. The fluid velocity potential is derived from the boundary conditions for the fluid and structure and is utilized for the calculation of added mass using the assumed modes. The applicability and accuracy of the developed procedure are illustrated with several numerical examples using a developed in-house code. A comparison of the results with those obtained by general purpose finite element analysis software is provided, where very good agreement is achieved.

A novel weak form three-dimensional quadrature element solution for vibrations of elastic solids with different boundary conditions

The Modified Vlasov Model is applied to the free vibration analysis of thick plates resting on elastic foundations. The effects of the subsoil depth, plate dimensions and their ratio, the value of the vertical deformation parameter within the subsoil on the frequency parameters of plates on elastic foundations are investigated. A four-noded, twelve degrees of freedom quadrilateral finite element (PBQ4) is used for plate bending analysis based on Mindlin plate theory which is effectively applied to the analysis of thin and thick plates when selective reduced integration technique is used. The first ten natural frequency parameters are presented in tabular and graphical forms to show the effects of the parameters considered in the study. It is concluded that the effect of the subsoil depth on the frequency parameters of the plates on elastic foundation is generally larger than that of the other parameters considered in the study.

Three-dimensional vibration solutions are presented for rectangular plates with mixed boundary conditions, based on the small strain linear elasticity theory. The analysis is focused on two kinds of rectangular plates, the boundaries of which are partially fixed while the others are free. One of those studied is a rectangular plate with partially fixed boundaries symmetrically arranged around four corners and the other one is a rectangular plate with partially fixed boundaries around one corner only. A global analysis approach is developed. The Ritz method is applied to derive the governing eigenvalue equation by minimizing the energy functional of the plate. The admissible functions for all displacement components are taken as a product of a characteristic boundary function and the triplicate Chebyshev polynomial series defined in the plate domain. The characteristic boundary functions are composed of a product of four components of which each corresponds to one edge of the plate. The R-function method is applied to construct the characteristic boundary function components for the edges with mixed boundary conditions. The convergence and comparison studies demonstrate the accuracy and correctness of the present method. The influence of the length of the fixed boundaries and the plate thickness on frequency parameters of square plates has been studied in detail. Some valuable results are given in the form of tables and figures, which can serve as the benchmark for the further research.

Benchmark solutions for stochastic dynamic responses of rectangular Mindlin plates

TRANSVERSE VIBRATION OF SKEW PLATES WITH VARIABLE THICKNESS

Axisymmetric free vibrations of internally compressed moderately thick annular plates

The purpose of this paper is to study shear locking-free parametric earthquake analysis of thick and thin plates resting on Winkler foundation using Mindlin’s theory, to determine the effects of the thickness/span ratio, the aspect ratio and the boundary conditions on the linear responses of thick and thin plates subjected to earthquake excitations. In the analysis, finite element method is used for spatial integration and the Newmark-β method is used for the time integration. Finite element formulation of the equations of the thick plate theory is derived by using higher order displacement shape functions. A computer program using finite element method is coded in C++ to analyze the plates clamped or simply supported along all four edges. In the analysis, 8-noded finite element is used. Graphs are presented that should help engineers in the design of thick plates subjected to earthquake excitations. It is concluded that 8-noded finite element can be effectively used in the earthquake analysis of thick plates. It is also concluded that, in general, the changes in the thickness/span ratio are more effective on the maximum responses considered in this study than the changes in the aspect ratio.

Vibration of non-uniform thick plates on elastic foundation by differential quadrature method

Finite strip models for vibration of mindlin plates

Transverse vibration of thick rectangular plates—I. Comprehensive sets of boundary conditions

A numerical simulation of the in-service welding on thin plates has been developed using a commercial finite element package. Full three-dimensional temperature fields for bead-on-plate welding are performed by means of the finite element analysis in heat sinking, heat input and plate thickness. The results show that the heat sinking has led to sharp drop in temperature from its peak value resulting in faster cooling. Welding cooling times (t8/5) and the maximum bottom surface temperature are found to decrease when plate thickness increases from 3 mm to 6 mm, but the values of t8/5 and the maximum bottom surface Temperature increase when heat input increase. Experimental validation of the calculation has been carried out in the laboratory. Welding experiments were carried out using welding conditions identical to those in the finite element model. The computational results are then verified by experimental observations.

Three-dimensional buckling analyses of cracked functionally graded material plates via the MLS-Ritz method

The thesis presents a theory for the bending of laser-welded web-core sandwich plates. The sandwich plate theory and homogenization are utilised, enabling a similar, fairly coarse, FE mesh to be used for design alternatives with different cross-sectional dimensions. This is considered to be beneficial during the design, when different alternatives should be evaluated. The thesis also studies the main factors that contribute to the total bending response of laser-welded web-core sandwich plates.\n\nThe actual periodic structure is homogenized, giving equivalent stiffness properties for the sandwich plate. The differential equations for this homogenous sandwich plate, with thick face plates, consist of those for displacements of the well-known Reissner-Mindlin and Kirchoff plate theories. Therefore, the solution of these differential equations can be carried out using commercial Finite Element software. The periodic structure is reconsidered when the stress formulations are derived. The approach is validated with Finite Element calculations based on actual 3D topology.\n\nThe rotation stiffness of the laser stake welded T-joint between the web and face plate is derived experimentally. This is considered to be important since the rotation stiffness affects the shear stiffness in the opposite direction to that of the web plate. An experimental procedure for the determination of the T-joint rotation stiffness is developed and validated. The mechanics of the T-joint are investigated with Finite Element analyses.\n\nThe moment introduced by the web plate to the face plate is very important when deflections and normal stresses are considered. This moment is affected by the stiffnesses of the web plate and the T-joint. The deflections are significantly increased by a decrease in the web plate or T-joint rotation stiffness. The influence is greatest with cross-sections where the face plate thickness is large and the web plate spacing is small. Plates with a low aspect ratio under a uniform pressure load have the same maximum deflection, regardless of the T-joint rotation stiffness. Contrary to this, plates with a high aspect ratio or a patch load on a small area are very sensitive to rotation stiffness. The periodicity of the structure is found to have a significant influence on normal stresses in the face and web plates. Because of homogenization shear-induced, periodic, normal stresses vanish. In actual structures these stresses can be an order of magnitude higher than those induced by the bending moments of the sandwich plate. Therefore, the periodic structure as presented in this thesis should be taken into consideration when the normal stresses are calculated. Patch loads on a very small area can cause normal stresses even higher than those induced by shear. The web plate thickness is found to have a significant influence on stresses, but in the measured range of T-joint rotation stiffness values, the stresses are found to be unaffected.