Free Vibration of Thick Plates Using Higher Order Finite Strip

Free vibration analysis of composite and isotropic plates has been investigated in this paper. Higher order finite strip is presented for predicting natural frequencies and mode shapes of thin and thick plates. Finite strip method is developed in the context of Reddy third order shear deformation plate theory. This theory accounts for parabolic distribution of transverse shear stress through the thickness of plates. Indeed, no shear correction factor is needed in present method. The analysis is conducted for both version of finite strip namely, semi analytical and spline finite strip method. Results are presented for different geometries and boundary conditions of plates. The numerical results show high efficiency and good convergence characteristics of finite strip method in different applications that are investigated in the present study. By reduction, the classical plate theory is also used to investigate the effects of the higher order theory on the accuracy of the analysis for different laminate thicknesses.