A variable kinematic Ritz formulation for vibration study of quadrilateral

plates with arbitrary thickness

Lorenzo Dozio
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, via La Masa, 34, 20156, Milano, Italy
Erasmo Carrera
Department of Aeronautics and Space Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129, Torino, Italy
Abstract
A new variable kinematic Ritz method applied to free vibration analysis of arbitrary quadrilateral thin
and thick isotropic plates is presented. Carreras unied 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 rened two-dimensional plate
theories by expanding so-called Ritz fundamental nuclei of the plate mass and stiness 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 dierences 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.
Keywords: Free vibration, Quadrilateral thick plates, Variable kinematic Ritz method, Higher order plate
theories
1. Introduction
Thin and thick plates of arbitrary quadrilateral geometry and boundary supports are widely used as
structural components in many engineering applications. Very often, the design of these components should
cope with stringent dynamic requirements. Therefore, accurate modeling formulations and suitable solution
methods of vibrational behavior of plates is of the utmost importance. The signicance of this problem is
documented by the huge amount of research investigations over the last decades.
Email addresses: lorenzo.dozio@polimi.it (Lorenzo Dozio), erasmo.carrera@polito.it (Erasmo Carrera)
Preprint submitted to Journal of Sound and Vibration April 6, 2011
With respect to modeling, a rst fundamental distinction can be drawn between approaches relying on
the three-dimensional (3-D) formulation of the plate problem and theories based on the reduction of 3-D
equations to two-dimensional (2-D). The reduction techniques can be further subdivided into asymptotic
expansion methods and axiomatic type methods [1]. In the axiomatic approach, displacement and/or stress
elds are postulated in the plate thickness direction according to proper physical considerations. Once a
suitable plate modeling formulation is obtained, the solution of the vibration problem is sought with the
help of analytical or numerical techniques. Since exact analytical treatment is limited to a few plate cases
with specic geometry and boundary conditions [2, 3], the equations of motion must be solved, in a strong
or a weak sense, approximately.
3-D plate solutions are useful in providing reliable benchmark results since no simplifying assumption
concerning the kinematics of deformation is involved. At least from a theoretical point of view, only 3-
D analysis could completely provide and correctly identify the full spectrum of vibration modes. Even if
accurate results can be obtained regardless of the plate thickness-to-length ratio, 3-D formulations may
prove to be of particular importance in reliably understanding the dynamic characteristics of plates when
the thickness dimension becomes comparable to the in-plane dimensions. However, due to the complexity
and the large amount of computational eort required, the need for 3-D elasticity based methods appears
to be questionable for thin and moderately thick plates.
Since its very beginning, development of simplied 2-D mathematical theories for analysis of plates has
been tailored to provide results that will match with the solution of the elasticity equations. Eort has
been and is still currently devoted to identify which aspects of the 3-D behavior should be accounted for
and properly modeled, with the aim of obtaining suciently reliable yet simple models without unnecessary
complexity. With reference to isotropic plates, it is widely recognized that the thickness-to-length ratio of
the plate and the extent of the frequency range of interest, from low to high values of the wavenumber, are
the most important factors aecting the accuracy of a plate theory in dynamic studies. In particular, shear
deformation eects and transverse normal strains become predominant when the thickness-to-length ratio
and/or the frequency range of interest increases. This explains why the Kirchho-Love classical plate theory
(CPT), which neglects both the contributions mentioned above, overpredicts the vibration frequencies or
loses some modes. CPT involves only three displacement unknowns but gives reasonably good results only
for low frequency dynamic analysis of thin plates. The limitations of CPT are partially overcome by the
rst-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) which incorporates the eect of transverse shear deformation.
FSDT contains ve displacement unknowns and a correction factor is introduced to compensate for the
error due to the constant transverse shear stress distribution through the thickness. A renement of FSDT
is the third-order shear deformation theory (TSDT) [4, 5]. TSDT has only ve degrees of freedom just as
FSDT, but it accommodates a quadratic variation of the transverse shear strains so that no shear correction
factor is required. CPT, FSDT and TSDT maintain constant transverse normal displacement through
2
the thickness and thus neglect the eects of transverse normal strain. Some higher-order plate theories
including transverse normal deformation are available in the published literature (see, among others, the
works reported in [6, 7, 8, 9]). They are particularly suitable for thick plates or even thin plates when
discrete high frequency analysis is required. Except for some cases, higher-order plate theories are derived
from the equations of 3-D elasticity by expanding the kinematic elds as a power series in terms of the
thickness coordinate.
Along with the advance in plate modeling formulation, related techniques that were suited to ecient
computer implementation of the above theories have been developed. In this context, a powerful approach,
referred as Carreras unied formulation (CUF) [10], was introduced more than one decade ago as a formal
technique permitting to handle in an unied manner an innite number of 2-D displacement-based or
mixed axiomatic plate and shell theories with variable kinematic properties. Numerous applications of
CUF are available in the open literature. With reference to dynamic studies, vibration analysis of plates is
reported in [11, 12, 13, 14], where Navier-type analytical solutions for simply-supported rectangular plates
are presented. CUF was also implemented in nite elements [15, 16, 17] and, more recently, in combination
with a radial basis function collocation technique [18]. However, the dynamic analyses reported herein are
limited to square plate geometries and a few lowest frequency parameters.
Generally speaking, numerical computations of plate vibration are accomplished by using either local or
global methods. Local methods, such as the nite element method, have high spatial localization and are
very exible in handling arbitrarily complex geometries and boundary conditions. By contrast, they have
relatively poor spectral accuracy and tend to converge slowly [19]. On the other hand, global methods are
highly localized in their spectral representations and are more accurate than local methods. Much eort has
also been successfully made in making them applicable for solving more complicated plate problems.
Among global methods, the Ritz method [20] has been largely employed to obtain approximate solutions
of plates, regardless of the underlying modeling formulation. Indeed, the Ritz method is simple, reliable,
computationally ecient and easy to implement. The Ritz procedure is well established and relies on
expressing the unknown displacement eld through a linear combination of suitable admissible functions.
The coecients of the combination can be determined by minimizing the energy functional of the system.
Convergence, accuracy and numerical stability of the solution is largely aected by the properties of the
admissible functions. Much research eort was therefore devoted to develop and evaluate suitable ways of
constructing the Ritz trial set for plates with arbitrary boundary conditions and various complicating eects.
Applications of the Ritz method to 3-D vibration analysis of plates include the adoption of simple algebraic
polynomials [21], orthogonal polynomial functions [22], Chebyshev polynomials [23], and, more recently, B-
spline functions [24]. The use of the Ritz method to solve vibration problems for plates modeled according to
CPT and FSDT is also well documented. Sets of admissible functions encompass, among others, products of
vibrating beam eigenfunctions [25, 26], one- and two-dimensional characteristic orthogonal polynomials [27,
3
28], static beam functions [29, 30], hierarchical trigonometric functions [31, 32], corner functions [33] and
products of mathematically complete two-dimensional polynomials and boundary-compliant basic functions
(the so called pb-2 Ritz method [34]). In contrast to the situation pertaining in the realm of classical
and rst-order plate theories, there exists only a very limited number of Ritz solutions to the problem of
predicting the natural frequencies of thick plates using higher-order theories [7, 35, 36, 37, 38].
Current Ritz-based formulations for the analysis of plates suer from a common shortcoming: they rely
on axiomatic models with a xed kinematic theory. Therefore, a new model, i.e., a rened plate theory with
a dierent order used for the expansion of the eld variables, requires a dierent theoretical formulation
and dierent Ritz mass and stiness matrices of the resulting eigenvalue problem. This implies each time
performing a new mathematical development and writing a new independent code, which can be cumbersome
and prone to errors. Moreover, in some practical problems with unknown behavior, the analyst or designer
may come face to face with the dilemma of choosing an adequate plate model, from the simplest CPT or
FSDT to a more complex high order shear and normal deformable theory, in order to capture the dynamic
response of the real structure with sucient accuracy and acceptable computing times. It could be highly
desirable to have the capability of easily performing, in an unied framework, numerical comparisons of
dierent orders of expansion for better compromise between accuracy and computational burden with the
geometry and boundary conditions of the plate under investigation.
This study has the main goal of presenting a powerful yet simple displacement-based variable kinematic
Ritz methodology applied to vibration analysis of quadrilateral isotropic plates with arbitrary thickness and
classical boundary conditions. This novel technique relies on the integration of CUF into the pb-2 Ritz
method. It overcomes the deciencies outlined thus far since Ritz solutions can be easily generated in an
unied modeling framework from a large variety of plate theories. The present approach can predict upper
bound frequency parameters of plates with more accuracy and less computational eort than CUF-based
nite elements or collocation methods. The core of the proposed method is the derivation of so-called Ritz
fundamental nuclei of the plate mass and stiness matrices. As shown in the following, the fundamental
nuclei are invariant with respect to the assumed kinematic model and thus no ad hoc theoretical development
and software coding is needed when the order is changed. It is also noted that the formulation is invariant
with respect to the type of admissible Ritz functions. Here, mathematically complete two-dimensional
polynomials with basic boundary functions have been selected as the Ritz trial set, but other choices are
permitted as well. The paper presents a fair assessment of various rened shear and normal deformation
theories considering various vibration problems related to thin and thick plates having dierent geometries
and boundary conditions. Whenever possible, results are compared with existing 3-D reference solutions.
In some cases, maximum and average dierences with respect to 3-D results are also presented to gather
useful information as far as the eects of edge constraints and plate geometry are concerned. Quoted results
could be used indeed as benchmarks to evaluate available theories not considered in this paper as well as
4
other approximate solution techniques.
2. Theoretical formulation
2.1. Plate geometry
Consider a general quadrilateral at isotropic plate with uniform thickness h and arbitrary classical
boundary conditions. The Cartesian coordinate system x y passing through the mid-surface of the plate
and the geometry of the plate with side lengths a, b, c and internal angles and are shown in Figure 1.
Throughout the remainder of the paper, a counterclockwise four-letter compact symbolic notation is used for
describing the plate boundary conditions. Letters S, F and C have been introduced to denote, respectively,
simply-supported, free and clamped edges. Boundaries are numbered beginning from the edge DA (see
Figure 1). For example, a CSFC plate has clamped, simply-supported, free and clamped support conditions
along the edges DA, AB, BC and CD, respectively.
For generality and convenience, the present formulation is expressed in dimensionless form. The actual
quadrilateral plate in the x y physical domain is mapped into a square plate in the computational
domain (1 , 1) by using the following coordinate transformation (see, for instance, [39])
x =
4

i=1
N
i
(, )x
i
, y =
4

i=1
N
i
(, )y
i
(1)
where
(x
1
, y
1
) = (0, 0) (x
2
, y
2
) = (a, 0) (x
3
, y
3
) = (a c cos , c sin ) (x
4
, y
4
) = (b cos , b sin) (2)
The mapping functions N
i
are dened by
N
i
(, ) =
1
4
(1 +
i
) (1 +
i
) , i = 1, 2, 3, 4 (3)
in which
(
1
,
1
) = (1, 1) (
2
,
2
) = (1, 1) (
3
,
3
) = (1, 1) (
4
,
4
) = (1, 1) (4)
The derivatives of any quantity in the two coordinate systems are related by

x
=
11

+
12

y
=
21

+
22

(5)
where
ij
are the elements of J
1
in which
J =
4

i=1
_
_
Ni

Ni

_
_
_
x
i
y
i
_
(6)
5
is the Jacobian matrix of the transformation.
The innitesimal area d = |dxi dy j| in the physical domain is mapped in the computational domain
according to
d = |J|dd (7)
where |J| is the determinant of the Jacobian matrix.
2.2. Hookes law
From the basic strength of materials, stress
ij
and strain
ij
are second order tensor quantities related
through the fourth order elasticity tensor C
ijkl
by the following constitutive equation:

ij
= C
ijkl

kl
, i, j, k = 1, 2, 3 (8)
Both stress and strain tensors are symmetric, i.e., the constitutive equation can be written in matrix form
as follows
= C (9)
where the engineering stress and strain vectors are expressed in the coordinate system x y z as follows
=
_

xx

yy

xy

xz

yz

zz
_
T
=
_

xx

yy

xy

xz

yz

zz
_
T
(10)
For an orthotropic material, the matrix of stiness coecients C takes the following form
C =
_

_
C
11
C
12
0 0 0 C
13
C
12
C
22
0 0 0 C
23
0 0 C
66
0 0 0
0 0 0 C
55
0 0
0 0 0 0 C
44
0
C
13
C
23
0 0 0 C
33
_

_
(11)
In the case of isotropic materials, the elastic coecients are given by
C
11
= C
22
= C
33
=
E(1 )
(1 + )(1 2)
C
12
= C
13
= C
23
=
E
(1 + )(1 2)
C
44
= C
55
= C
66
= G =
E
2(1 + )
(12)
in which E is the Youngs modulus, is the Poissons ratio, and G is the shear modulus.
6
For the sake of convenience, the stress and strain vectors are partitioned into in-plane and out-of-plane
(normal) components as follows

p
=
_

xx

yy

xy
_
T
,
p
=
_

xx

yy

xy
_
T

n
=
_

xz

yz

zz
_
T
,
n
=
_

xz

yz

zz
_
T
Accordingly, the Hookes law can be rewritten as

p
= C
pp

p
+C
pn

n
= C
np

p
+C
nn

n
(13)
where
C
pp
=
_

_
C
11
C
12
0
C
12
C
22
0
0 0 C
66
_

_
, C
pn
=
_

_
0 0 C
13
0 0 C
23
0 0 0
_

_
C
np
=
_

_
0 0 0
0 0 0
C
13
C
23
0
_

_
, C
nn
=
_

_
C
55
0 0
0 C
44
0
0 0 C
33
_

_
(14)
are partitioned matrices of the matrix C of stiness coecients.
2.3. Unied formulation of higher order plate theories
The displacement vector of a generic point of the plate in the computational domain is given by
u(, , z, t) =
_
u(, , z, t) v(, , z, t) w(, , z, t)
_
T
(15)
where u, v and w are the displacement components along , and z, respectively, at time t. The Carreras
unied formulation for the case of equivalent single layer theories is based on expressing the displacement
vector through an indicial notation as follows
u = F

(z)u

(, , t) = 0, 1, . . . , N (16)
where N 1 denotes the order of the theory, F

are given functions in the thickness direction (also called

thickness functions) and u

is the vector containing unknown generalized displacement degrees of freedom

related to the theory and dened as
u

=
_
u

_
T
(17)
The index represents a theorys index and will play a key role in deriving the present formulation. Note
that in Eq. (16) the summation convention for repeated indices is adopted. In this work, N is assumed to be
as high as six and the z expansion is implemented via Taylor polynomials. According to CUF nomenclature,
7
kinematic theories will be indicated as EDN, where the rst letter denotes that the kinematics is preserved
for the whole layers of the plate, the second letter denotes that only displacement unknowns are used and
the latter denotes the order of the expansion in z. For example, ED5 theory is a fth-order theory assuming
the following displacement eld
u = u
0
+ zu
1
+ z
2
u
2
+ z
3
u
3
+ z
4
u
4
+ z
5
u
5
v = v
0
+ zv
1
+ z
2
v
2
+ z
3
v
3
+ z
4
v
4
+ z
5
v
5
w = w
0
+ zw
1
+ z
2
w
2
+ z
3
w
3
+ z
4
w
4
+ z
5
w
5
(18)
The total number of displacement degrees of freedom for a given EDN theory is 3(N + 1).
It is worth noting that, although not exploited in the present work, reduced kinematic models can be
derived from the above fully rened theories by properly neglecting some terms in the formulation. In this
way, the high computational eort associated with the large number of displacement variables in higher
order plate theories can be partially reduced. The interested reader is referred to a recent paper [40] for
further details.
The rst-order shear deformation theory can be easily recovered from ED1 theory by imposing the

zz
= 0 condition to Eq. (9) and introducing the shear correction factor . This leads to the following
modied elastic coecients

C
ij
= C
ij

C
i3
C
j3
C
33
(i, j = 1, 2)

C
ii
= C
ii
(i = 4, 5)
(19)
2.4. In-plane and out-of-plane strain vectors
Strains in the physical domain are related to actual displacements by a matrix of linear dierential
operators as follows
= Du (20)
where
D =
_

x
0 0
0

y
0

x
0

z
0

x
0

z

y
0 0

z
_

_
(21)
According to the outlined framework, using Eqs. (16) and (5), the in-plane and out-of-plane strain compo-
nents in the computational domain can be put in the following form, respectively,

p
= F

(z)D
p
u

(, , t) (22)
8

n
= F

(z)D
n
u

(, , t) + F
,z
(z)u

(, , t) (23)
where D
p
and D
n
are matrices of dierential operators dened as follows
D
p
=
_

11

+
12

0 0
0
21

+
22

21

+
22

11

+
12

0
_

_
(24)
D
n
=
_

_
0 0
11

+
12

0 0
21

+
22

0 0 0
_

_
(25)
and F
,z
denotes dierentiation of F

with respect to z.
2.5. Strain and kinetic energy
The strain energy U and kinetic energy T of the plate can be written in the computational domain as
follows
U =
1
2
__
+1
1
_
+h/2
h/2
_

T
p
C
pp

p
+
T
p
C
pn

n
+
T
n
C
np

p
+
T
n
C
nn

n
_
dz |J|dd (26)
T =
1
2
__
+1
1
_
+h/2
h/2

_
u
t
_
T
_
u
t
_
dz |J|dd (27)
where is the mass density. Since we are interested in free vibration analysis, lets assume harmonic motion
with amplitude u(, , z) and frequency ; that is,
u(, , z, t) = u(, , z)e
jt
(28)
According to CUF framework, the harmonic displacement vector is written as
u(, , z, t) = F

(z) u

(, )e
jt
(29)
Using Eqs. (22), (23) and (29) the maximum strain energy U
max
and the maximum kinetic energy T
max
of
the plate vibrating harmonically are given by
U
max
=
1
2
__
+1
1
_
(D
p
u

)
T
_
E
s
C
pp
D
p
u
s
+ E
s
C
pn
D
n
u
s
+ E
s,z
C
pn
u
s
_
+ (D
n
u

)
T
_
E
s
C
np
D
p
u
s
+ E
s
C
nn
D
n
u
s
+ E
s,z
C
nn
u
s
_
+ u
T

_
E
,zs
C
np
D
p
u
s
+ E
,zs
C
nn
D
n
u
s
+ E
,zs,z
C
nn
u
s
_
|J|dd
(30)
T
max
=
1
2

2
__
+1
1
E
s
u
T

u
s
|J|dd (31)
9
where the index s has a similar meaning of and the following thickness integrals have been introduced:
E
s
=
_
+h/2
h/2
F

F
s
dz
E
s,z
=
_
+h/2
h/2
F

F
s,z
dz
E
,zs
=
_
+h/2
h/2
F
,z
F
s
dz
E
,zs,z
=
_
+h/2
h/2
F
,z
F
s,z
dz
(32)
2.6. pb-2 Ritz approximation
Following the standard Ritz procedure, the components of the displacement amplitude vector u

(, )
are approximated by sets of two-dimensional nite series as follows
u

(, ) =
M

i=1

ui
(, )c
ui
v

(, ) =
M

i=1

vi
(, )c
vi
w

(, ) =
M

i=1

wi
(, )c
wi
(33)
where M is the order of the Ritz expansion, c
ui
, c
vi
, c
wi
are unknown coecients, and
ui
,
vi
,
wi
are the corresponding assumed shape functions. Convergence to the exact solution is guaranteed if the shape
functions are admissible functions, i.e., they are complete sets of geometrically-compliant functions such that
the geometric boundary conditions are satised at the outset. In this work the i-th admissible function
i
( = u, v, w) is composed of the product of a two-dimensional polynomial p
i
(, ) and a boundary-compliant
function
b

(, ) [34] such that

i
(, ) =
b

(, )p
i
(, ) (34)
The generic element of the mathematically complete 2-D polynomial space is given by
p
i
(, ) =
qr

r
q = 0, 1, . . . , P
r = 0, 1, . . . , q
(35)
where P is the degree of the polynomial space and the indices i, q, r are related by the following expression
i =
(q + 1)(q + 2)
2
(q r) (36)
The order M of the Ritz expansion is given by
M =
(P + 1)(P + 2)
2
(37)
10
The boundary-compliant functions are expressed by

(, ) = (1 + )
g1
(1 + )
g2
(1 )
g3
(1 )
g4
(38)
The expressions in the parentheses are the equations of the boundaries, respectively, starting from 1 (edge
= 1) to 4 (edge = 1) in a counterclockwise direction. Each exponent g is assigned a value of zero or
one according to the type of the corresponding support condition. If the j-th edge is fully clamped, the
geometric boundary conditions are u = v = w = 0, which implies that g
j
= 1 ( = u, v, w). No boundary
requirements for displacements are imposed along a free edge. In this case, g
j
= 0 ( = u, v, w) is used in
Eq. (38). Given the boundary functions above dened, two cases have to be identied for simply supported
edges. When the S-edge is parallel to the Cartesian axes, the transverse and tangential displacements are
imposed to be zero (hard simple support condition). This implies that g
jw
= 1, g
ju
= 0 and g
jv
= 1
when j = 1, 3, and g
jw
= 1, g
ju
= 1 and g
jv
= 0 when j = 2, 4. When the S-edge is inclined to the
Cartesian axes, the simple support condition requires only the transverse displacement along the support to
vanish (soft simply supported). In this case, g
jw
= 1 and g
j
= 0 ( = u, v).
For the sake of compact notation, Eqs. (33) is rearranged in matrix form as follows
u

(, ) =
i
(, )c
i
(39)
in which

i
(, ) =
_

ui
(, ) 0 0
0
vi
(, ) 0
0 0
wi
(, )
_

_
(40)
c
i
=
_
c
ui
c
vi
c
wi
_
T
(41)
and the summation convention over the repeated index i is implied.
2.7. Ritz fundamental nuclei
Substituting Eq. (39) in the expressions of maximum strain and kinetic energy Eqs. (30) and (31), one
obtains
U
max
=
1
2
c
T
i
K
sij
c
sj
(42)
T
max
=
1
2

2
c
T
i
M
sij
c
sj
(43)
where
K
sij
=
__
+1
1
_
(D
p

i
)
T
_
E
s
C
pp
(D
p

sj
) + E
s
C
pn
(D
n

sj
) + E
s,z
C
pn

sj

+ (D
n

i
)
T
_
E
s
C
np
(D
p

sj
) + E
s
C
nn
(D
n

sj
) + E
s,z
C
nn

sj

+
T
i
_
E
,zs
C
np
(D
p

sj
) + E
,zs
C
nn
(D
n

sj
) + E
,zs,z
C
nn

sj

_
|J|dd
(44)
11
and
M
sij
=
__
+1
1

T
i
E
s

sj
|J|dd (45)
Note that K
sij
and M
sij
are 3 3 matrices representing the Ritz fundamental nuclei of the formulation.
After introducing the following notation:
I
defg

=
__

d+e

d
x
e
y

f+g

sj

f
x
g
y
d (46)
the nine terms of the Ritz stiness nucleus can be explicitly written as
K
sij
(1, 1) = E
s
C
11
I
1010
uu
+ E
s
C
66
I
0101
uu
+ E
,zs,z
C
55
I
0000
uu
K
sij
(1, 2) = E
s
C
12
I
1001
uv
+ E
s
C
66
I
0110
uv
K
sij
(1, 3) = E
s,z
C
13
I
1000
uw
+ E
,zs
C
55
I
0010
uw
K
sij
(2, 1) = E
s
C
12
I
0110
vu
+ E
s
C
66
I
1001
vu
K
sij
(2, 2) = E
s
C
22
I
0101
vv
+ E
s
C
66
I
1010
vv
+ E
,zs,z
C
44
I
0000
vv
K
sij
(2, 3) = E
s,z
C
23
I
0100
vw
+ E
,zs
C
44
I
0001
vw
K
sij
(3, 1) = E
s,z
C
55
I
1000
wu
+ E
,zs
C
13
I
0010
wu
K
sij
(3, 2) = E
s,z
C
44
I
0100
wv
+ E
,zs
C
23
I
0001
wv
K
sij
(3, 3) = E
s
C
55
I
1010
ww
+ E
s
C
44
I
0101
ww
+ E
,zs,z
C
33
I
0000
ww
(47)
The three non-null terms of the Ritz mass nucleus are
M
sij
(1, 1) = E
s
I
0000
uu
M
sij
(2, 2) = E
s
I
0000
vv
M
sij
(3, 3) = E
s
I
0000
ww
(48)
2.8. Eigenvalue problem
Once the fundamental nuclei are obtained, the stiness and mass matrix of the plate can be built by
simply varying the indices , s and i, j over the above dened ranges, i.e., , s = 0, . . . , N and i, j = 1, . . . , M.
The 3 3 fundamental nuclei are rst expanded as follows
K
ij
=
_

_
K
00ij
K
0rij
K
0Nij
K
r0ij
K
rrij
K
rNij
K
N0ij
K
Nrij
K
NNij
_

_
(49)
and
M
ij
=
_

_
M
00ij
M
0rij
M
0Nij
M
r0ij
M
rrij
M
rNij
M
N0ij
M
Nrij
M
NNij
_

_
(50)
12
where r = 1, . . . , N 1. Thus, matrices K
ij
and M
ij
have dimensions 3(N +1) 3(N +1). By varying the
indices i, j, the plate stiness and mass matrices are then obtained
K =
_

_
K
11
K
12
. . . K
1M
K
21
K
22
. . . K
2M
.
.
.
K
M1
K
M2
. . . K
MM
_

_
(51)
M =
_

_
M
11
M
12
. . . M
1M
M
21
M
22
. . . M
2M
.
.
.
M
M1
M
M2
. . . M
MM
_

_
(52)
Matrices K and M have dimensions 3M(N + 1) 3M(N + 1). The extremization of the energy functional
= U
max
T
max
with respect to the coecients c
i
yields the following generalized eigenvalue problem:
_
K
2
M
_
c = 0 (53)
where c is the vector containing the unknown coecients c
sj
. In the numerical analysis reported below,
the integrals dened in Eq. (46) have been calculated using Gauss quadrature. The eigenvalue problem in
Eq. (53) has been solved with LAPACK routines.
3. Convergence analysis
It is well known that the Ritz method can lead to arbitrarily accurate approximate solutions to boundary
value problems. Provided that the trial functions are admissible in the original variational principle, con-
vergence to the true solution is guaranteed as the number of admissible functions tends to innity [20]. In
case of dynamic problems, displacement-based Ritz methods show a monotonic convergence of the frequency
solutions from above, i.e., upper bound values for the frequency parameters are obtained. In practical com-
putations, the number of Ritz terms is limited by CPU time and capacity and the achievable accuracy of
the solution is inuenced by this truncation. Moreover, the choice of trial functions strongly aects the rate
of convergence of the method and thus its eciency. This aspect is also related to the numerical stability
of the solution, since ill conditioning may occur when many admissible functions are required to obtain a
desired accuracy. From what said above, the evaluation of any Ritz-based approach should include rst an
appropriate convergence analysis.
The convergence study of the proposed Ritz formulation is presented in this section. In particular, the
inuence of plate theory, thickness and boundary conditions on the rate of convergence of the method is
discussed. Note that extensive convergence analysis has been carried out. For the sake of conciseness, only
13
a very limited subset of representative results can be shown here. Otherwise stated, in all the following
computations the Poissons ratio is assumed to be equal to 0.3.
3.1. Inuence of kinematic theory
A square SSSS plate with thickness-to-length ratio h/b = 0.2 is taken as a representative example to
study the inuence of the plate theory on the convergence rate of the method. Five dierent theories with
increasing complexity, from the simplest FSDT to the rened ED4 theory, are considered. The rst ten non-
dimensional frequency parameters = (b
2
/
2
)
_
h/D are presented in Table 1, in which D is the exural
rigidity of the plate, i.e., D = Eh
3
/12(1
2
). The shear correction factor introduced in FSDT is taken to
be = 5/6. Results are shown for some increasing values of degree P of the polynomial space. Note that
a square selection strategy is adopted, i.e., the same number of Ritz terms is used in the expansion along
x and y directions, with no regard to symmetry. As expected, all the frequency parameters monotonically
decrease with the increase in the number of admissible functions, approaching the exact values from above.
From the tabulated results, it is found that the rate of convergence is not aected by the assumed plate
theory. The same trend has been observed with non-squared plates having boundary supports other than
simply-supported. Note also that Ritz solutions of some frequency modes (modes 1,4,5,7,10 in the considered
range) converge to rather dierent values according to the type of theory adopted. As shown in the later
section, this behavior is typically exhibited by predominantly exural modes. For these modes, order of
the theory can strongly aect accuracy of the solution. Dierently from above, some modal results (see
modes 2,3 and 8,9 for example) exhibit the same convergent value regardless of plate theory. A careful look
at modal shapes reveals that those modes are in-plane modes of vibration corresponding to null transverse
displacements. Frequency values of membrane modes are also well approximated with a very low number
of Ritz terms. Finally, it is observed that convergent results obtained with ED1 theory are all signicantly
higher than those of the other theories. This is due to a locking mechanics, known as thickness locking (TL)
or Poisson locking [41], which appears if a plate theory shows a constant distribution of transverse normal
strain.
3.2. Inuence of plate thickness
Table 2 shows the eect of the thickness-to-length ratio on the convergence of the method for a square
simply-supported thin (h/b = 0.01), moderately thick (h/b = 0.1) and very thick plate (h/b = 0.5). Nu-
merical solutions = (b
2
/
2
)
_
h/D of the lowest ten modes obtained with ED3 theory are presented. It
is seen that the number of admissible functions in the Ritz approximation to be taken such that the rst
ten frequency parameters converge to the number of digits shown in the table is dependent on the plate
thickness-to-length ratio. In particular, with the increase in plate thickness, fewer polynomials terms along
14
the plate surface are needed, i.e., convergence is more rapid when the thickness dimension becomes signif-
icant. Note that a similar behavior was found in previous Ritz-based three-dimensional vibration studies
(see for instance [22] and [23]). Computations performed on plates with dierent geometries and boundary
conditions, not shown here for brevity, have conrmed the outlined trend. Considerations given above on
dierent convergence rate among exural and in-plane modes are still valid.
3.3. Inuence of boundary conditions
Convergence of the method with respect to plate boundary conditions is examined in Table 3. Results
are shown for a square moderately thick plate (h/b = 0.1) with four dierent types of boundaries: (1) a fully
simply supported plate (SSSS); (2) a plate with two opposite edges simply supported and the others free
(SFSF); (3) a plate with two opposite edges clamped and the others free (CFCF); and (4) a fully clamped
plate (CCCC). As in the previous case, non-dimensional frequency parameters are presented when the plate
is modeled according to ED3 theory. Increasing values of the polynomial degree up to 17 are now considered.
From Table 3, two important facts can be observed. First, one can notice a substantial dierent behavior
of the rate of convergence of the method when the plate has boundary conditions other than all simply
supported. In the considered frequency range, the number of Ritz terms required to obtain convergent
values to ve digits is higher when one or more edges are free or clamped. All the rst ten frequency values
converge with P = 10 in the SSSS case, whereas some modes show a signicantly worse convergence with
other boundary conditions. In particular, it appears that plates involving clamped edges exhibit slower
convergence rate, even for the lowest frequency parameters. This is probably due to the diculty of global
polynomial functions in approximating the true displacement eld near the clamped boundary. However,
from an engineering point of view, reasonable accuracy could be attained with P 15. A second fact to
be noticed is that, expect for simply supported plates, the convergence patterns are found to be rather
invariant with respect to boundary conditions. Therefore, for a plate of given thickness and arbitrary edge
constraints, roughly the same number of Ritz terms are needed to achieve the same degree of accuracy.
As a nal remark, it is worth pointing out the good stability of the present Ritz trial set in the numerical
computations even when a high order theory and a high degree of the polynomial space are adopted.
4. Comparison study and numerical results
Convergence analysis presented thus far has shown that, in all cases studied, a P value of 15 can
yield numerical results that converge to at least 4 signicant gures. Therefore, throughout the following
comparison study, 136 Ritz terms will be used in the expansion of each displacement unknown of the selected
kinematic theory.
15
4.1. Rectangular plates
A square SSSS plate with four dierent thickness-to-length ratios h/b = 0.001, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 is investigated
rst. In this case, exact [2] and highly accurate upper-bound Ritz vibration solutions [23] are available.
Numerical results are presented in Table 4, where the rst eight non-dimensional frequency parameters
= (b
2
/
2
)
_
h/D are shown. Three-dimensional solutions are compared with those obtained by modeling
the plate with two-dimensional kinematic theories of increasing complexity, from the simplest FSDT to the
rened ED6 theory including 21 displacement variables. FSDT computations were carried out by assuming a
shear correction factor equal to
2
/12 as derived in the Mindlins classical paper. Reference values obtained
with CPT are only reported for the very thin plate case since it is known that they do not vary with the
thickness-to-length ratio. The two last columns of Table 4 report the maximum and average dierence
of the corresponding kinematic model from exact theory, evaluated over the selected range of frequency
parameters. The dierence between each mode was calculated as follows
%di =
_
value obtained fromkinematic model
value fromexact theory
1
_
100 (54)
Note also that data with the superscript
m
are pure distortional in-plane modes of vibration which were
missed, as discussed by Batra and Aimmanee [3], in the analytical approach followed by Srinivas et al. [2].
Missing frequencies are denoted in the table by the symbol .
A number of observations can be made from tabulated results. (1) Comparison with exact solutions
shows that FSDT, except for the very thin case, tends to over-correct the classical plate theory, decreasing
the frequency parameters below their proper values. This fact occurs for modes which are predominantly
exural and was previously observed by Hanna and Leissa on completely free plates [7]. It is dicult to oer
adequate reasons for this behavior, which deserves further investigation. The FSDT over-correction is more
pronounced in thicker plates as pointed out by the maximum and average errors against exact theory. (2)
As already mentioned, ED1 theory is subject to a TL mechanism since it exhibits a constant distribution
of transverse normal strain
zz
. TL phenomena introduce large errors in estimated free vibration response
both in terms of average and maximum distance from 3-D results. TL eects are more distinct for thin
plates and slightly decrease when the thickness becomes signicant. As demonstrated by values obtained
with higher order theories, TL can be avoided by at least a parabolic distribution of transverse displacement
component w. (3) Except for the very thin case, monotonic convergence towards exact values is found with
increasing the order of theory. However, increasing thickness-to-length ratio can require a more rened
theory to achieve the same degree of accuracy. For example, ED3 theory is enough to have both maximum
and average dierences lower than 1% for the rst eight frequency parameters regardless of plate thickness.
If an accuracy within 0.1% is requested, ED4 theory is mandatory for very thick plates. (4) Frequency values
accurate to ve signicant digits with respect to exact solutions are obtained by a fourth-order kinematic
theory even for thick plates. (5) From an engineering point of view, acceptable average errors are obtained
16
with ED2 kinematic model for all cases studied. (6) The very thin case (h/b = 0.001) reveals a somewhat
strange behavior. Although both the maximum and average errors decrease with theory renement and all
frequency values of a single mode are very close each other regardless of plate theory, it is seen in some
cases that more rened theories lead to higher vibration parameters, contrary to what observed for other
thickness-to-length ratios. This fact may be related to numerical stability issues of the method as the plate
thickness tends to zero, which appears to be a stringent condition when higher order theories are adopted.
However, a scrutiny of results for plates with other boundary conditions has shown that this potential
ill-conditioning does not prevent to obtain reliable solutions.
Beyond examining accuracy of the frequency parameters, it may be relevant to check if the present vari-
able kinematic Ritz formulation is able to accurately predict through-the-thickness distribution of displace-
ment and stress components. In particular, evaluation of transverse normal and shear stresses distribution
across thickness along with satisfaction of stress-free boundary conditions at the top and bottom surfaces
of the plate could be of interest.
As far as the SSSS plate is concerned, two cases are here considered corresponding both to a thickness-
to-length ratio h/b = 0.3. The rst analysis is reported in Figure 2 where the behavior of displacement
and stress elds for the plate vibrating in its fundamental mode is depicted. This mode corresponds to
a symmetric distribution of u and v displacement components in the and directions and to an anti-
symmetric distribution with respect to thickness direction. Graphical distribution of each displacement and
stress component, appropriately scaled by the mated maximum value, is shown as a result of using increasing
renement of the kinematic model. Exact values from [2] are also reported for comparison. It is observed that
excellent agreement with 3-D results can be obtained with ED3 theory for all three displacement amplitudes
and for in-plane and shear stresses. However, ED3 theory is not able to reproduce the true distribution of
transverse normal stress
zz
nor to fulll the boundary condition of null tractions on the top and bottom
surfaces. The accuracy is signicantly increased by using ED4 theory. With this plate model, stress modes
and natural boundary conditions are all well approximated. Note that a kinematic theory including up to
the third power of thickness coordinate gives a high degree of accuracy in the estimation of the fundamental
frequency, which is a global parameter. A non-dimensional value of 15.694 is obtained against the 3-D
prediction of 15.688 [24], with an error less than 0.04 per cent. Instead, accuracy of the local distribution
of transverse stresses across thickness is signicantly worse. This suggests that kinematic models should be
rened if one is interested in correctly estimating also through-the-thickness stress modes.
A second analysis was performed on the twentieth natural mode of the same plate. This mode has been
selected since it is the rst anti-symmetric thickness mode. Figure 3 shows through-the-thickness distribution
of transverse normal and shear stresses obtained from exact theory and dierent two-dimensional kinematic
theories. Due to the dierent nature of the mode under investigation, results are opposite with respect
to the previous case. Now, recovery of the anti-symmetric distribution of transverse shear stress is more
17
demanding. Again, a fourth-order theory is needed to achieve satisfactory accuracy of all stress modes.
A similar study is now presented for a square fully clamped (CCCC) plate. In this case, no exact
solution is available and comparison will be made with highly accurate 3-D Ritz values [22, 23]. Four
dierent thickness-to-length ratios h/b = 0.01, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 have been considered, which correspond to thin,
moderately thick, and thick plates. Table 5 presents the rst ten non-dimensional frequency parameters
= b
2
_
h/D obtained by using dierent kinematic models of the plate. Average and maximum distances
from 3-D solutions are also provided. CPT Ritz values from [32] are reported for h/b = 0.01. Frequency
data with superscript
t
in the table correspond to thickness modes. Observations made in the previous SSSS
case about FSDT over-correction and ED1 locking are still valid for the fully clamped plate. Note here the
presence of some missing values in FSDT solutions (denoted by the symbol ) corresponding to symmetric
modes in the thickness direction. This is due to the lack in FSDT of the contribution to deformation work of
the stress component in the thickness direction. As before, increasing accuracy towards 3-D values is found
with theory renement. But now the achievable accuracy is slightly worse than the former simply-supported
case. Frequency parameters accurate to at most four signicant digits can be obtained with a rened ED6
theory. This fact should be related to the above mentioned lower convergence rate when the plate has one or
more edges clamped. However, reliable results within 1% of accuracy can be attained by using ED3 theory
even if plate thickness becomes comparable to in-plane dimensions.
4.2. Skew plates
Dierently from plates having rectangular planform, accurate vibration results are more demanding to
achieve for skewed geometries. This is particularly true as the skew angle increases due to the occurrence of
corner stress singularities [33], which are dicult to approximate in a satisfactory way using global smooth
displacement functions. Among all skew congurations, cantilevered skew plates are of great interest, for
example in aerospace industry. 3-D Ritz-based results for rhombic plates with various skew angles and
thickness-to-length ratios are available from Zhou et al. [42]. They are used here as comparison values
to evaluate the accuracy of various two-dimensional kinematic models with order ranging from N = 2 to
6. The rst eight non-dimensional frequency parameters = b
2
_
h/D for three dierent skew angles
( = 75
o
, 60
o
and 45
o
) and two thickness-to-length ratios (h/a = 0.2 and 0.5) are shown in Table 6. Cases
studied encompass both thick and very thick plates with low and moderately high skewness. For the sake
of completeness, FSDT solutions calculated by Liew et al. [43] with a shear correction factor = 0.8230 are
also provided for h/a = 0.2 . As done before for rectangular plates, the two last entries of each row in the
table presents the maximum and average error of the corresponding theory with respect to 3-D analysis.
From Table 6 the following conclusions can be drawn. Once again, it is conrmed that predictions based
on Mindlins theory are always lower than 3-D values. Missing solutions are also present in FSDT analysis in
correspondence to the modes symmetric in the thickness direction. On the contrary, higher order shear and
18
normal deformable theories can provide the full low-frequency spectrum of vibration modes. As expected,
degree of accuracy improves by increasing order and excellent agreement is observed even using not too
rened models. Upper-bound values with maximum dierences below 1 per cent with respect to 3-D upper-
bound results are found with ED3 theory whatever the plate skew angle and thickness. It appears that, for
the cases analyzed, negligible improvement is obtained beyond a certain model renement. Notably, holding
xed the thickness ratio, accuracy gets slightly worse towards higher skew angles. For example, the average
dierence of ED3 theory moves from 0.1% to 0.3% when the angle varies from 75
o
to 45
o
. However, it is seen
that the number of trial polynomials implemented in the Ritz solutions along with the adoption of rened
plate theories is sucient in containing the eects of stress singularities.
4.3. Quadrilateral plates
Last, some free vibration results for quadrilateral plates with various thickness ratios and boundary
conditions are presented.
The variable kinematic pb-2 Ritz method is rst applied to moderately thick and very thick cantilever
plates with dierent shapes. Geometric parameters are varied according to the benchmark cases presented
in [44], where an analytical three-dimensional p-version element is developed and used to perform nite
element vibration analysis of arbitrary quadrilateral thick plates. Comparison is provided in Table 7 for
h/a = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 and two combinations of in-plane geometric properties. It is noted that the case with
b/a = c/a = 0.866 and = = 60
o
corresponds to a trapezoidal plate. The rst eight non-dimensional
frequency parameters = (a
2
/
2
)
_
h/D are computed by varying the order of plate theory from N = 2
to 6. It is seen that Ritz solutions are in close agreement with 3-D FEM results in all cases, thus conrming
the applicability of the present methodology to relatively complex situations. Second-order ED2 theory
gives satisfactory predictions when the plate is moderately thick (h/a = 0.1). For larger thickness ratios
accurate values are obtained even at higher modes using a third-order kinematic model. It is found also
that, with kinematic models of order four and higher, present results are slightly lower than those given by
Zhou et al. [44]. This means that tabulated data can be served as benchmark data for future comparison.
Table 8 reports numerical values of = (a
2
/
2
)
_
h/D for a plate having b/a = 0.8, c/a = 0.7,
= 70
o
, = 75
o
, with four combinations of free and clamped boundary conditions and many thickness-to-
length ratios (h/a = 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5). For the sake of comparison, computations have
been performed using a plate theory with N = 6 and thus are considered highly accurate. Similar tables
can be easily generated by changing the kinematic model without the need of any further development
and programming eort. In this way, one may quantitatively evaluate the model which best ts specied
requirements. From tabulated data it is clear that, regardless of plate thickness, frequency parameters of the
corresponding modes are higher for the fully clamped plate due to the higher constraints at the boundaries.
As expected, the frequency parameters decrease with increasing thickness ratio and this eects is more
19
distinct for higher modes than for the lower ones.
Finally, a set of vibration mode shapes of the previous FCCC case with thickness-to-length ratio h/a = 0.2
are presented in Figures 47. Contour plots of the plate displacements u, v and w and three-dimensional
deformed mesh geometry are reported for the rst four modal parameters. Such a graphical representation
can provide a complete understanding of the vibration characteristics of the plate. It is observed that
the rst two modes are predominantly exural modes, while the third mode is predominantly an in-plane
stretching motion in the x direction.
5. Conclusions
Based on the Carreras unied formulation, a variable kinematic Ritz method is derived in this work and
applied to free vibration analysis of isotropic plates with quadrilateral shape, arbitrary thickness and generic
combination of classical boundary conditions. In this way, an entire family of higher order axiomatic theories
can be used to model the plate without the need of a dierent mathematical development for each dierent
approach. The user may therefore rely on an unied modeling and solution framework into which the best
plate formulation can be easily selected in terms of desired accuracy and aordable computation time for
the case under investigation. The proposed technique is based on appropriate expansion of so-called Ritz
fundamental nuclei of the mass and stiness matrix, which are invariant with respect to the plate kinematic
model and the type of admissible Ritz functions. In this paper, accurate upper-bound frequency solutions
are presented using product of mathematically complete two-dimensional polynomials and basic boundary
functions. However, other Ritz trial sets can be adopted as well.
The following concluding remarks can be drawn from the extensive convergence analysis discussed in the
paper.
1. Rate of convergence of the method is not signicantly aected by the assumed plate theory, i.e., Ritz
values converge to a desired number of signicant digits with roughly the same number of terms in
the Ritz series regardless of the order of kinematic model.
2. Convergence of the method is more rapid for thicker plates, i.e., fewer Ritz terms are needed when the
thickness dimension becomes comparable to in-plane dimensions.
3. Plates involving clamped edges exhibit slower convergence rate, even for the lowest frequency param-
eters.
The following points can be mentioned from the comparison study performed in this work.
1. In all cases studied, rst-order shear deformation theory has a tendency of over-correcting the clas-
sical plate theory by giving frequency values lower than proper three-dimensional results. This over-
correction increases with increasing plate thickness-to-length ratio.
20
2. Missing solutions can be present in FSDT analysis in correspondence of modes symmetric in the
thickness direction. On the contrary, higher order shear and normal deformable theories can provide
the full low-frequency spectrum of vibration modes.
3. ED1 theory gives large errors with respect to reference 3-D solutions, especially for thinner plates,
since it is subject to a thickness locking phenomenon. This adverse eect disappears with at least a
parabolic variation of transverse displacement.
4. Increasing accuracy towards 3-D values, both in terms of frequency parameters and through-thickness
displacement and stress distributions, is found with theory renement. Models of lower order are
more sensitive to thickness value in terms of achievable accuracy, whereas, beyond a certain theory
renement, accuracy is substantially independent from plate thickness.
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21
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23
Figure 1: Plate geometry
Figure 2: Through-the-thickness distribution of displacements and stresses for a SSSS square plate with h/b = 0.3 vibrating in
the rst mode (SS-A). Legend: , ED2 theory; ., ED3 theory; , ED4 theory; , exact values from [2].
Figure 3: Through-the-thickness distribution of transverse normal and shear stress for a SSSS square plate with h/b = 0.3
vibrating in the 12th mode (SS-S
T
). Legend: , ED2 theory; ., ED3 theory; , ED4 theory; , exact values from [2].
Figure 4: Contour plots of displacements u, v and w, and three-dimensional shape for the rst mode of a FCCC quadrilateral
plate having b/a = 0.8, c/a = 0.7, = 70
o
, = 75
o
and h/a = 0.2.
Figure 5: Contour plots of displacements u, v and w, and three-dimensional shape for the second mode of a FCCC quadrilateral
plate having b/a = 0.8, c/a = 0.7, = 70
o
, = 75
o
and h/a = 0.2.
Figure 6: Contour plots of displacements u, v and w, and three-dimensional shape for the third mode of a FCCC quadrilateral
plate having b/a = 0.8, c/a = 0.7, = 70
o
, = 75
o
and h/a = 0.2.
Figure 7: Contour plots of displacements u, v and w, and three-dimensional shape for the fourth mode of a FCCC quadrilateral
plate having b/a = 0.8, c/a = 0.7, = 70
o
, = 75
o
and h/a = 0.2.
24
Table 1: Convergence analysis of the rst ten frequency parameters = (b
2
/
2
)
p
h/D for a square SSSS thick plate
(h/b = 0.2) using various HSDT theories.
Theory P Mode
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
FSDT 5 1.7679 3.2617 3.2617 3.8743 3.8743 4.6128 5.6078 6.5234 6.5234 6.6578
7 1.7679 3.2617 3.2617 3.8657 3.8657 4.6127 5.5882 6.5234 6.5234 6.6015
9 1.7679 3.2617 3.2617 3.8656 3.8656 4.6127 5.5879 6.5234 6.5234 6.6006
10 1.7679 3.2617 3.2617 3.8656 3.8656 4.6127 5.5879 6.5234 6.5234 6.6006
ED1 5 1.9533 3.2617 3.2617 4.2740 4.2740 4.6128 6.1804 6.5234 6.5234 7.3148
7 1.9533 3.2617 3.2617 4.2646 4.2646 4.6127 6.1589 6.5234 6.5234 7.2722
9 1.9533 3.2617 3.2617 4.2645 4.2645 4.6127 6.1586 6.5234 6.5234 7.2713
10 1.9533 3.2617 3.2617 4.2645 4.2645 4.6127 6.1586 6.5234 6.5234 7.2713
ED2 5 1.7938 3.2617 3.2617 3.9827 3.9827 4.6128 5.8142 6.5234 6.5234 6.9356
7 1.7938 3.2617 3.2617 3.9728 3.9728 4.6127 5.7902 6.5234 6.5234 6.8685
9 1.7938 3.2617 3.2617 3.9727 3.9727 4.6127 5.7899 6.5234 6.5234 6.8675
10 1.7938 3.2617 3.2617 3.9727 3.9727 4.6127 5.7899 6.5234 6.5234 6.8675
ED3 5 1.7760 3.2617 3.2617 3.9104 3.9104 4.6128 5.6805 6.5234 6.5234 6.7583
7 1.7760 3.2617 3.2617 3.9011 3.9011 4.6127 5.6584 6.5234 6.5234 6.6968
9 1.7760 3.2617 3.2617 3.9011 3.9011 4.6127 5.6581 6.5234 6.5234 6.6959
10 1.7760 3.2617 3.2617 3.9011 3.9011 4.6127 5.6581 6.5234 6.5234 6.6959
ED4 5 1.7758 3.2617 3.2617 3.9084 3.9084 4.6128 5.6748 6.5234 6.5234 6.7491
7 1.7758 3.2617 3.2617 3.8992 3.8992 4.6127 5.6528 6.5234 6.5234 6.6879
9 1.7758 3.2617 3.2617 3.8991 3.8991 4.6127 5.6525 6.5234 6.5234 6.6869
10 1.7758 3.2617 3.2617 3.8991 3.8991 4.6127 5.6525 6.5234 6.5234 6.6869
25
Table 2: Convergence analysis of the rst ten frequency parameters = (b
2
/
2
)
p
h/D using ED3 theory for a square SSSS
thin, moderately thick and very thick plate.
h/b P Mode
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0.01 5 1.9993 5.0132 5.0132 8.0390 10.142 10.144 17.307 17.307 24.430 29.335
7 1.9993 4.9957 4.9957 7.9896 9.9851 9.9851 13.190 13.190 17.636 17.636
9 1.9993 4.9956 4.9956 7.9888 9.9826 9.9826 12.977 12.977 16.972 16.972
10 1.9993 4.9956 4.9956 7.9888 9.9826 9.9826 12.971 12.971 16.950 16.950
11 1.9993 4.9956 4.9956 7.9888 9.9826 9.9826 12.971 12.971 16.950 16.950
12 1.9993 4.9956 4.9956 7.9888 9.9826 9.9826 12.971 12.971 16.950 16.950
0.1 5 1.9342 4.6368 4.6368 6.5234 6.5234 7.1416 8.7759 8.7765 9.2255 13.047
7 1.9342 4.6225 4.6225 6.5234 6.5234 7.1044 8.6649 8.6649 9.2255 11.021
9 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
10 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
11 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
12 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
0.5 5 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3467 2.3467 2.6094 2.6094 2.9180 2.9180
6 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3441 2.3441 2.6094 2.6094 2.9174 2.9174
7 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3441 2.3441 2.6094 2.6094 2.9174 2.9174
8 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3440 2.3440 2.6094 2.6094 2.9174 2.9174
9 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3440 2.3440 2.6094 2.6094 2.9174 2.9174
10 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3440 2.3440 2.6094 2.6094 2.9174 2.9174
11 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3440 2.3440 2.6094 2.6094 2.9174 2.9174
12 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3440 2.3440 2.6094 2.6094 2.9174 2.9174
26
Table 3: Convergence analysis of the rst ten frequency parameters = (b
2
/
2
)
p
h/D using ED3 theory for a square
moderately thick (h/b = 0.1) plate with dierent boundary conditions.
Boundary P Mode
conditions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SSSS 5 1.9342 4.6368 4.6368 6.5234 6.5234 7.1416 8.7759 8.7765 9.2255 13.047
7 1.9342 4.6225 4.6225 6.5234 6.5234 7.1044 8.6649 8.6649 9.2255 11.021
9 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.885
10 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
11 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
12 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
17 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 9.2255 10.882
SFSF 5 0.9580 1.5736 3.4778 3.7173 4.4018 4.9514 6.5234 7.1654 7.2185 7.9731
7 0.9573 1.5657 3.4425 3.6961 4.3585 4.9400 6.3869 6.5234 6.7431 7.8184
9 0.9571 1.5614 3.4370 3.6935 4.3486 4.9400 6.3319 6.5234 6.7328 7.8057
10 0.9571 1.5605 3.4370 3.6923 4.3485 4.9400 6.3197 6.5234 6.7297 7.8048
11 0.9571 1.5605 3.4362 3.6923 4.3460 4.9400 6.3196 6.5234 6.7297 7.8015
12 0.9571 1.5604 3.4362 3.6920 4.3460 4.9400 6.3169 6.5234 6.7293 7.8014
13 0.9571 1.5604 3.4361 3.6920 4.3456 4.9400 6.3169 6.5234 6.7293 7.8003
14 0.9571 1.5603 3.4361 3.6920 4.3456 4.9400 6.3166 6.5234 6.7293 7.8003
15 0.9571 1.5603 3.4361 3.6920 4.3455 4.9400 6.3166 6.5234 6.7293 7.8001
16 0.9571 1.5603 3.4361 3.6920 4.3455 4.9400 6.3165 6.5234 6.7292 7.8001
17 0.9571 1.5603 3.4361 3.6920 4.3455 4.9400 6.3165 6.5234 6.7292 7.8000
CFCF 5 2.1276 2.4901 4.0170 5.4371 5.9696 6.0213 7.4227 7.7402 10.040 10.714
7 2.1137 2.4655 3.9461 5.4095 5.8704 5.9733 7.0033 7.4356 9.7838 10.248
9 2.1084 2.4551 3.9306 5.3960 5.8430 5.9613 6.9800 7.3864 9.7497 10.113
10 2.1070 2.4525 3.9287 5.3923 5.8389 5.9564 6.9736 7.3713 9.7441 10.096
11 2.1062 2.4512 3.9263 5.3907 5.8340 5.9557 6.9724 7.3687 9.7387 10.083
12 2.1057 2.4503 3.9255 5.3892 5.8325 5.9533 6.9707 7.3644 9.7374 10.081
13 2.1054 2.4498 3.9248 5.3886 5.8309 5.9530 6.9702 7.3633 9.7353 10.077
14 2.1052 2.4494 3.9245 5.3881 5.8304 5.9517 6.9697 7.3621 9.7349 10.077
15 2.1050 2.4492 3.9242 5.3879 5.8298 5.9515 6.9695 7.3617 9.7343 10.076
16 2.1049 2.4491 3.9241 5.3877 5.8295 5.9507 6.9693 7.3612 9.7341 10.075
17 2.1049 2.4490 3.9239 5.3876 5.8293 5.9506 6.9692 7.3610 9.7339 10.075
CCCC 5 3.3452 6.3929 6.3929 9.2305 10.869 10.873 12.546 12.546 13.631 13.631
7 3.3315 6.3651 6.3651 8.9410 10.535 10.638 12.531 12.531 12.800 12.800
9 3.3256 6.3547 6.3547 8.9200 10.515 10.614 12.525 12.525 12.737 12.737
10 3.3240 6.3521 6.3521 8.9157 10.512 10.611 12.525 12.525 12.727 12.727
11 3.3232 6.3505 6.3505 8.9123 10.509 10.608 12.523 12.523 12.724 12.724
12 3.3225 6.3495 6.3495 8.9108 10.508 10.607 12.523 12.523 12.720 12.720
13 3.3222 6.3489 6.3489 8.9095 10.507 10.606 12.522 12.522 12.719 12.719
14 3.3220 6.3485 6.3485 8.9090 10.507 10.606 12.522 12.522 12.718 12.718
15 3.3219 6.3483 6.3483 8.9085 10.506 10.606 12.522 12.522 12.717 12.717
16 3.3218 6.3482 6.3482 8.9084 10.506 10.606 12.521 12.521 12.717 12.717
17 3.3217 6.3481 6.3481 8.9082 10.506 10.606 12.521 12.521 12.717 12.717
27
Table 4: SSSS square plates with varying thickness ratios: comparison of the rst eight frequency parameters = (b
2
/
2
)
p
h/D.
h/b Method Mode Max di (%) Avg di (%)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0.001 3-D Ritz [23] 1.9972 4.9999 4.9999 7.9996 9.9995 9.9995 13.000 13.000
Analytical-CPT [25] 2.0000 5.0000 5.0000 8.0000 10.000 10.000 13.000 13.000
Present-FSDT 1.9999 4.9999 4.9999 7.9999 9.9998 9.9998 13.000 13.000 (0.14) (0.02)
Present-ED1 2.2135 5.5339 5.5339 8.8542 11.068 11.068 14.388 14.388 (10.8) (10.7)
Present-ED2 2.0002 4.9999 4.9999 7.9998 9.9999 9.9999 13.000 13.000 (0.15) (0.02)
Present-ED3 1.9999 5.0001 5.0001 8.0000 9.9998 9.9998 13.000 13.000 (0.13) (0.02)
Present-ED4 1.9993 5.0002 5.0002 7.9997 9.9999 9.9999 13.000 13.000 (0.11) (0.02)
Present-ED5 1.9982 5.0008 5.0008 7.9998 10.000 10.000 13.000 13.000 (0.05) (0.01)
0.1 3-D Ritz [23] 1.9342 4.6222 4.6222 6.5234
m
6.5234
m
7.1030 8.6617 8.6617
3-D exact [2] 1.9342 4.6222 4.6222 7.1030 8.6617 8.6617
Present-FSDT 1.9310 4.6048 4.6048 6.5234 6.5234 7.0638 8.6048 8.6048 (-0.66) (-0.35)
Present-ED1 2.1368 5.0944 5.0944 6.5234 6.5234 7.8132 9.2255 9.5166 (10.5) (7.16)
Present-ED2 1.9403 4.6546 4.6546 6.5234 6.5234 7.1753 8.7656 8.7656 (1.20) (0.64)
Present-ED3 1.9342 4.6224 4.6224 6.5234 6.5234 7.1038 8.6631 8.6631 (0.02) (0.01)
Present-ED4-ED6 1.9342 4.6222 4.6222 6.5234 6.5234 7.1030 8.6617 8.6617 (0.00) (0.00)
0.2 3-D Ritz [23] 1.7758 3.2617
m
3.2617
m
3.8991 3.8991 4.6128
m
5.6524 6.5234
m
3-D exact [2] 1.7757 3.8991 3.8991 5.6527
Present-FSDT 1.7659 3.2617 3.2617 3.8576 3.8576 4.6127 5.5729 6.5234 (-1.41) (-0.51)
Present-ED1 1.9533 3.2617 3.2617 4.2645 4.2645 4.6127 6.1586 6.5234 (9.99) (4.71)
Present-ED2 1.7938 3.2617 3.2617 3.9727 3.9727 4.6127 5.7899 6.5234 (2.43) (0.90)
Present-ED3 1.7760 3.2617 3.2617 3.9011 3.9011 4.6127 5.6581 6.5234 (0.10) (0.03)
Present-ED4 1.7758 3.2617 3.2617 3.8991 3.8991 4.6127 5.6525 6.5234 (0.00) (0.00)
Present-ED5-ED6 1.7758 3.2617 3.2617 3.8991 3.8991 4.6127 5.6524 6.5234 (0.00) (0.00)
0.5 3-D Ritz [23] 1.2590 1.3047
m
1.3047
m
1.8451
m
2.3312 2.3312 2.6094
m
2.6094
m
3-D exact [2] 1.2590 1.8451
Present-FSDT 1.2367 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.2725 2.2725 2.6094 2.6094 (-2.52) (-0.85)
Present-ED1 1.3047 1.3047 1.3662 1.8451 2.5087 2.5087 2.6094 2.6094 (7.61) (2.95)
Present-ED2 1.2964 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.4255 2.4255 2.6094 2.6094 (4.05) (1.38)
Present-ED3 1.2613 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3440 2.3440 2.6094 2.6094 (0.55) (0.16)
Present-ED4 1.2590 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3315 2.3315 2.6094 2.6094 (0.01) (0.00)
Present-ED5-ED6 1.2590 1.3047 1.3047 1.8451 2.3312 2.3312 2.6094 2.6094 (0.00) (0.00)
2
8
Table 5: CCCC square plates with varying thickness ratios: comparison of the rst ten frequency parameters = b
2
p
h/D.
h/b Method Mode Max di (%) Avg di (%)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0.01 3-D Ritz [22] 36.016 73.382 73.382 108.10 131.41 132.05 164.64 164.64 209.89 209.89
Ritz-CPT [32] 35.986 73.395 73.395 108.22 131.58 132.21 165.01 165.01 210.53 210.53
Present-FSDT 35.942 73.237 73.237 107.89 131.13 131.76 164.29 164.29 209.45 209.45 (-0.22) (-0.21)
Present-ED1 39.780 81.058 81.058 119.41 145.13 145.82 181.83 181.83 231.81 231.81 (10.5) (10.4)
Present-ED2 36.042 73.437 73.437 108.26 131.55 132.17 164.86 164.86 210.11 210.11 (0.15) (0.10)
Present-ED3-ED6 36.036 73.419 73.419 108.22 131.50 132.12 164.78 164.78 210.00 210.00 (0.11) (0.07)
0.1 3-D Ritz [23] 32.743 62.562 62.562 87.783 103.51 104.49 123.55
t
123.55
t
125.29 125.29
Present-FSDT 32.490 61.937 61.937 86.778 102.21 103.19 123.60 123.60 (-1.35) (-1.14)
Present-ED1 35.927 68.465 68.465 95.874 112.94 114.04 123.70 123.70 136.51 136.51 (9.72) (7.42)
Present-ED2 33.127 63.619 63.619 89.519 105.80 106.78 123.62 123.62 128.22 128.22 (2.34) (1.57)
Present-ED3 32.785 62.655 62.655 87.924 103.69 104.67 123.58 123.58 125.52 125.52 (0.18) (0.13)
Present-ED4 32.768 62.610 62.610 87.862 103.60 104.58 123.57 123.57 125.40 125.40 (0.09) (0.07)
Present-ED5 32.759 62.592 62.592 87.831 103.56 104.54 123.56 123.56 125.36 125.36 (0.06) (0.04)
Present-ED6 32.759 62.590 62.590 87.830 103.56 104.54 123.56 123.56 125.35 125.35 (0.05) (0.04)
0.2 3-D Ritz [23] 26.886 47.074 47.074 61.904
t
61.904
t
63.315 72.253 73.243 73.399 85.810
Present-FSDT 26.453 46.135 46.135 61.930 70.549 71.522 73.219 83.697 (-2.46) (-1.90)
Present-ED1 29.210 50.918 50.918 62.086 62.086 68.295 73.414 77.831 78.963 90.435 (8.64) (5.43)
Present-ED2 27.640 48.681 48.681 61.988 61.988 65.564 73.406 74.891 75.999 89.011 (3.73) (2.46)
Present-ED3 26.973 47.253 47.253 61.941 61.941 63.570 72.568 73.403 73.580 86.210 (0.47) (0.30)
Present-ED4 26.921 47.138 47.138 61.924 61.924 63.402 72.354 73.351 73.401 85.928 (0.15) (0.10)
Present-ED5 26.903 47.103 47.103 61.917 61.917 63.351 72.291 73.286 73.401 85.855 (0.06) (0.05)
Present-ED6 26.900 47.095 47.095 61.911 61.911 63.344 72.281 73.275 73.400 85.843 (0.05) (0.03)
0.3 3-D Ritz [23] 21.857 36.215 36.215 41.325
t
41.325
t
47.846 48.944
t
53.879 54.658 60.054
t
Present-FSDT 21.361 35.234 35.234 46.455 52.214 52.976 (-3.09) (-2.79)
Present-ED1 23.568 38.853 38.853 41.529 41.529 48.955 51.175 57.561 58.466 60.427 (7.83) (4.47)
Present-ED2 22.715 37.701 37.701 41.414 41.414 48.950 49.787 55.947 56.909 60.207 (4.12) (2.48)
Present-ED3 21.972 36.428 36.428 41.364 41.364 48.152 48.947 54.236 55.056 60.115 (0.73) (0.40)
Present-ED4 21.900 36.287 36.287 41.346 41.346 47.939 48.946 53.988 54.777 60.086 (0.22) (0.14)
Present-ED5 21.878 36.243 36.243 41.337 41.337 47.879 48.945 53.913 54.698 60.074 (0.10) (0.06)
Present-ED6 21.870 36.232 36.232 41.332 41.332 47.866 48.945 53.899 54.682 60.065 (0.06) (0.03)
2
9
Table 6: Cantilevered thick and very thick rhombic plates with dierent skew angles: comparison of the rst eight frequency parameters = b
2
p
h/D.
h/a Method Mode Max di (%) Avg di (%)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0.2 75
o
3-D Ritz [42] 3.4511 7.5240 10.975
t
18.218 21.726 25.624
t
26.154 30.070
t
Ritz-FSDT [43] 3.4336 7.4891 18.060 21.601 25.966
Present-ED2 3.4697 7.6224 10.992 18.531 22.027 25.637 26.623 30.090 (1.79) (0.88)
Present-ED3 3.4558 7.5311 10.988 18.248 21.743 25.630 26.182 30.086 (0.16) (0.10)
Present-ED4 3.4535 7.5272 10.986 18.231 21.732 25.627 26.164 30.084 (0.10) (0.05)
Present-ED5 3.4528 7.5256 10.986 18.225 21.729 25.626 26.158 30.084 (0.10) (0.04)
Present-ED6 3.4526 7.5253 10.985 18.223 21.728 25.625 26.158 30.083 (0.09) (0.03)
60
o
3-D Ritz [42] 3.7387 8.0942 11.060
t
19.697 21.469 24.544
t
30.812 31.578
t
Ritz-FSDT [43] 3.7189 8.0546 19.514 21.345 30.570
Present-ED2 3.7660 8.1974 11.098 20.092 21.767 24.551 31.411 31.640 (2.01) (0.99)
Present-ED3 3.7475 8.1029 11.094 19.740 21.488 24.547 30.850 31.631 (0.31) (0.16)
Present-ED4 3.7446 8.0985 11.092 19.719 21.476 24.546 30.826 31.628 (0.29) (0.11)
Present-ED5 3.7438 8.0966 11.092 19.711 21.473 24.546 30.818 31.626 (0.29) (0.09)
Present-ED6 3.7435 8.0962 11.091 19.709 21.472 24.545 30.817 31.625 (0.28) (0.08)
45
o
3-D Ritz [42] 4.1923 9.5732 10.819
t
20.955 23.464
t
23.723 32.274
t
36.626
Ritz-FSDT [43] 4.1709 9.5242 20.784 23.558 36.309
Present-ED2 4.2383 9.7008 10.898 21.403 23.495 24.129 32.385 37.468 (2.30) (1.22)
Present-ED3 4.2110 9.5943 10.894 21.020 23.494 23.758 32.374 36.679 (0.69) (0.30)
Present-ED4 4.2073 9.5880 10.892 21.002 23.493 23.739 32.370 36.643 (0.67) (0.24)
Present-ED5 4.2062 9.5855 10.892 20.994 23.493 23.732 32.368 36.633 (0.67) (0.22)
Present-ED6 4.2058 9.5848 10.891 20.992 23.493 23.731 32.367 36.630 (0.67) (0.22)
0.5 45
o
3-D Ritz [42] 3.4246 4.3582
t
6.6094 9.3954
t
11.158 12.958
t
14.461 17.480
Present-ED2 3.5055 4.3853 6.8086 9.4072 11.592 13.003 14.925 18.307 (4.73) (2.29)
Present-ED3 3.4419 4.3821 6.6385 9.4058 11.201 12.994 14.513 17.548 (0.55) (0.38)
Present-ED4 3.4345 4.3809 6.6283 9.4042 11.184 12.990 14.485 17.514 (0.52) (0.25)
Present-ED5 3.4317 4.3802 6.6240 9.4039 11.172 12.988 14.476 17.493 (0.50) (0.19)
Present-ED6 3.4304 4.3799 6.6225 9.4037 11.169 12.987 14.474 17.489 (0.50) (0.18)
3
0
Table 7: First eight frequency parameters = (a
2
/
2
)
p
h/D of cantilever quadrilateral plates with dierent shapes and
thickness ratios.
h/a b/a c/a Method Mode
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0.1 0.866 0.866 60 60 3-D FEM [44] 0.9533 3.2142 4.0196 4.7811 7.8541 8.3785 9.0683 9.4938
Present-ED2 0.9545 3.2357 4.0519 4.7804 7.9579 8.4804 9.0663 9.6396
Present-ED3 0.9514 3.2088 4.0131 4.7798 7.8438 8.3661 9.0644 9.4846
Present-ED4 0.9511 3.2078 4.0113 4.7795 7.8399 8.3621 9.0636 9.4784
Present-ED5 0.9510 3.2073 4.0105 4.7795 7.8384 8.3605 9.0634 9.4760
Present-ED6 0.9510 3.2072 4.0104 4.7794 7.8383 8.3604 9.0632 9.4758
0.866 1 60 90 3-D FEM [44] 0.5047 1.5619 2.6124 2.9364 4.0188 5.7662 6.2819 6.6147
Present-ED2 0.5043 1.5682 2.6241 2.9344 4.0464 5.8167 6.2803 6.6796
Present-ED3 0.5034 1.5588 2.6055 2.9340 4.0126 5.7579 6.2797 6.5980
Present-ED4 0.5033 1.5586 2.6049 2.9338 4.0116 5.7564 6.2795 6.5958
Present-ED5 0.5033 1.5584 2.6045 2.9337 4.0112 5.7557 6.2794 6.5948
Present-ED6 0.5033 1.5584 2.6045 2.9337 4.0111 5.7556 6.2794 6.5948
0.2 0.866 0.866 60 60 3-D FEM [44] 0.8954 2.3933 2.6212 3.2776 4.5398 4.9062 5.7827 6.2625
Present-ED2 0.9032 2.3940 2.6738 3.3543 4.5416 4.9065 5.9492 6.4251
Present-ED3 0.8953 2.3932 2.6225 3.2807 4.5395 4.9063 5.7905 6.2711
Present-ED4 0.8944 2.3930 2.6197 3.2758 4.5388 4.9061 5.7809 6.2603
Present-ED5 0.8942 2.3929 2.6188 3.2743 4.5385 4.9061 5.7782 6.2576
Present-ED6 0.8941 2.3928 2.6186 3.2738 4.5382 4.9061 5.7777 6.2570
0.866 1 60 90 3-D FEM [44] 0.4866 1.3730 1.4701 2.2147 3.1429 3.3318 3.6388 4.5324
Present-ED2 0.4887 1.3930 1.4699 2.2545 3.1432 3.3989 3.6384 4.6257
Present-ED3 0.4861 1.3729 1.4694 2.2144 3.1425 3.3332 3.6377 4.5356
Present-ED4 0.4858 1.3720 1.4693 2.2121 3.1423 3.3299 3.6375 4.5308
Present-ED5 0.4857 1.3716 1.4692 2.2113 3.1422 3.3289 3.6374 4.5293
Present-ED6 0.4857 1.3716 1.4692 2.2111 3.1421 3.3287 3.6373 4.5291
0.5 0.866 0.866 60 60 3-D FEM [44] 0.6893 0.9607 1.3428 1.8174 1.8185 1.9581 2.5449 3.1677
Present-ED2 0.7098 0.9617 1.3899 1.8207 1.8817 1.9592 2.6762 3.2899
Present-ED3 0.6916 0.9611 1.3457 1.8183 1.8272 1.9586 2.5547 3.1849
Present-ED4 0.6897 0.9608 1.3437 1.8176 1.8210 1.9581 2.5479 3.1711
Present-ED5 0.6891 0.9607 1.3427 1.8172 1.8184 1.9581 2.5447 3.1673
Present-ED6 0.6888 0.9606 1.3425 1.8170 1.8178 1.9580 2.5442 3.1664
0.866 1 60 90 3-D FEM [44] 0.4079 0.5904 0.8466 1.2586 1.2904 1.4560 1.9119 2.2521
Present-ED2 0.4164 0.5908 0.8748 1.2596 1.3356 1.4568 1.9827 2.3546
Present-ED3 0.4088 0.5904 0.8483 1.2589 1.2949 1.4561 1.9189 2.2591
Present-ED4 0.4079 0.5903 0.8470 1.2586 1.2915 1.4558 1.9134 2.2541
Present-ED5 0.4077 0.5902 0.8465 1.2585 1.2902 1.4557 1.9116 2.2519
Present-ED6 0.4075 0.5901 0.8463 1.2584 1.2898 1.4556 1.9112 2.2515
31
Table 8: Ritz solutions of the rst ten frequency parameters = (a
2
/
2
)
p
h/D of thick quadrilateral plates having b/a = 0.8,
c/a = 0.7, = 70
o
, = 75
o
with dierent boundary conditions and thickness-to-width ratio h/a.
Boundary h/a Mode
conditions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CCCC 0.005 6.8404 13.151 14.361 20.862 22.390 25.749 31.467 31.979 34.194 40.256
0.01 6.8294 13.115 14.319 20.777 22.296 25.627 31.289 31.794 33.987 39.976
0.05 6.5198 12.144 13.191 18.623 19.892 22.577 27.026 27.411 29.087 33.158
0.1 5.8067 10.194 10.969 14.899 15.771 16.604 17.360 17.567 20.332 20.591
0.2 4.3671 7.0378 7.4709 8.3191 8.7009 9.7900 10.170 10.266 11.229 12.597
0.3 3.3592 5.1962 5.4796 5.5518 5.8070 6.7820 7.1141 7.4470 8.1008 8.3711
0.4 2.6909 4.0779 4.1652 4.2864 4.3562 5.0878 5.5588 5.8191 5.8802 6.0352
0.5 2.2316 3.3322 3.3424 3.4848 3.5069 4.0710 4.2917 4.4266 4.5562 4.6014
FCCC 0.005 4.2639 7.3251 11.259 13.620 15.264 21.033 22.649 22.795 26.810 32.417
0.01 4.2567 7.3076 11.226 13.577 15.209 20.940 22.545 22.688 26.671 32.221
0.05 4.1092 6.9362 10.462 12.597 13.926 18.795 20.089 20.340 21.383 23.410
0.1 3.7640 6.1507 8.8988 10.682 10.700 11.538 14.893 15.068 15.970 16.094
0.2 2.9718 4.6130 5.3565 6.2153 7.4674 7.5160 7.8770 8.0460 9.8794 10.343
0.3 2.3515 3.5389 3.5739 4.5985 4.9871 5.3612 5.5971 5.8100 6.8867 7.1748
0.4 1.9165 2.6816 2.8175 3.6088 3.7440 4.0179 4.3593 4.5560 5.1457 5.1934
0.5 1.6084 2.1456 2.3137 2.9559 2.9969 3.2112 3.4352 3.7069 3.9462 4.0060
FCCF 0.005 1.6307 4.8682 6.0049 9.7422 12.153 13.294 17.084 19.167 22.125 22.750
0.01 1.6279 4.8565 5.9944 9.7072 12.118 13.257 17.002 19.089 22.026 22.654
0.05 1.5934 4.6676 5.7604 9.0855 11.361 12.349 15.473 16.398 17.333 18.701
0.1 1.5237 4.2745 5.2152 7.9019 8.2095 9.3588 9.8142 10.511 11.721 12.832
0.2 1.3459 3.3955 4.0253 4.1139 4.6855 5.7919 5.8593 7.0673 7.4227 8.5289
0.3 1.1731 2.6879 2.7477 3.1260 3.1299 3.9043 4.4231 5.3321 5.5410 5.6852
0.4 1.0274 2.0640 2.1742 2.3449 2.5067 2.9260 3.5313 4.1952 4.2597 4.3089
0.5 0.9087 1.6535 1.8000 1.8752 2.0630 2.3382 2.8907 3.2603 3.3648 3.3943
FCFC 0.005 4.1722 5.1311 7.9703 11.282 13.196 14.362 16.514 21.495 23.130 23.416
0.01 4.1658 5.1198 7.9447 11.249 13.155 14.309 16.441 21.394 23.025 23.296
0.05 4.0275 4.8908 7.4884 10.477 12.165 13.223 14.929 16.661 19.135 20.622
0.1 3.6946 4.3884 6.6122 8.3347 8.9040 10.177 11.250 12.290 14.432 15.116
0.2 2.9131 3.3350 4.1705 4.9978 6.2045 6.9483 7.2367 7.5613 7.8317 8.0095
0.3 2.2941 2.5707 2.7822 3.9069 4.5778 4.8325 5.0411 5.1099 5.2031 5.8678
0.4 1.8591 2.0541 2.0878 3.1804 3.5829 3.6263 3.7804 3.8774 4.0123 4.2615
0.5 1.5515 1.6710 1.6947 2.6725 2.8989 2.9271 3.0237 3.0692 3.1357 3.3039
32