• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제11권1호
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• pp.89-104
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• 2001

This paper reviews the author's work on the development of relationships between solutions of the Kirchhoff (classical thin) plate theory and the Mindlin (first order shear deformation) thick plate theory. The relationships for deflections, stress-resultants, buckling loads and natural frequencies enable one to obtain the Mindlin plate solutions from the well-known Kirchhoff plate solutions for the same problem without much tedious mathematics. Sample thick plate solutions, deduced from the relationships, are presented as benchmark solutions for researchers to use in checking their numerical thick plate solutions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.69-86
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• 2007

A four-noded plate bending quadrilateral (PBQ4) and an eight-noded plate bending quadrilateral (PBQ8) element based on Mindlin plate theory have been adopted for modeling the thick plates on elastic foundations using Winkler model. Transverse shear deformations have been included, and the stiffness matrices of the plate elements and the Winkler foundation stiffness matrices are developed using Finite Element Method based on thick plate theory. A computer program is coded for this purpose. Various loading and boundary conditions are considered, and examples from the literature are solved for comparison. Shear locking problem in the PBQ4 element is observed for small value of subgrade reaction and plate thickness. It is noted that prevention of shear locking problem in the analysis of the thin plate is generally possible by using element PBQ8. It can be concluded that, the element PBQ8 is more effective and reliable than element PBQ4 for solving problems of thin and thick plates on elastic foundations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.43-68
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• 2007

Using the Mindlin-Reissner plate theory, many quadrilateral plate bending elements have been developed so far to analyze thin and moderately thick plate problems via displacement based finite element method. Here new formulation has been made to analyze thin and moderately thick plate problems using force based finite element method called Integrated Force Method (IFM). The IFM is a novel matrix formulation developed in recent years for analyzing civil, mechanical and aerospace engineering structures. In this method all independent/internal forces are treated as unknown variables which are calculated by simultaneously imposing equations of equilibrium and compatibility conditions. In this paper the force based new bilinear quadrilateral plate bending element (MQP4) is proposed to analyze the thin and moderately thick plate bending problems using Integrated Force Method. The Mindlin-Reissner plate theory has been used in the formulation of this element which accounts the effect of shear deformation. Standard plate bending benchmark problems are analyzed using the proposed element MQP4 via Integrated Force Method to study its performance with respect to accuracy and convergence, and results are compared with those of displacement based 4-node quadrilateral plate bending finite elements available in the literature. The results are also compared with the exact solutions. The proposed element MQP4 is free from shear locking and works satisfactorily in both thin and moderately thick plate bending situations.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제83권6호
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• pp.757-770
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• 2022

In this paper, the vibration of a moderately thick plate to a moving mass is investigated. Pasternak foundation with a variable subgrade modulus is considered to tackle the shortcomings of Winkler model, and an analytical-numerical solution is proposed based on the eigenfunction expansion method. Parametric studies by using both CPT (Classical Plate Theory) and FSDT (First-Order Shear Deformation Plate Theory) are carried out, and, the differences between them are also highlighted. The obtained results reveal that utilizing FSDT without considering the rotary inertia leads to a smaller deflection in comparison with CPT pertaining to a thin plate, while it demonstrates a greater response for plates of higher thicknesses. Moreover, it is shown that CPT is unable to properly capture the variation of the plate thickness, thereby diminishing the accuracy as the thickness increases. The outcomes also indicate that the presence of a foundation contributes more to the dynamic response of thin plates in comparison to moderately thick plates. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the performance of the moving force approach for a moderately thick plate, in contrast to a thin plate, appears to be acceptable and it even provides a much better estimation in the presence of a foundation.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.324-345
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• 2015

A new procedure for determining properties of thick plate finite elements, based on the modified Mindlin theory for moderately thick plate, is presented. Bending deflection is used as a potential function for the definition of total (bending and shear) deflection and angles of cross-section rotations. As a result of the introduced interdependence among displacements, the shear locking problem, present and solved in known finite element formulations, is avoided. Natural vibration analysis of rectangular plate, utilizing the proposed four-node quadrilateral finite element, shows higher accuracy than the sophisticated finite elements incorporated in some commercial software. In addition, the relation between thick and thin finite element properties is established, and compared with those in relevant literature.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제82권6호
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• pp.725-734
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• 2022

This work presents a simple exponential shear deformation theory for the flexural and free vibration responses of thick bridge deck. Contrary to the existing higher order shear deformation theories (HSDT) and the first shear deformation theory (FSDT), the proposed model uses a new displacement field which incorporates undetermined integral terms and involves only two variables. Governing equations and boundary conditions of the theory are derived by the principle of virtual work. The simply supported thick isotropic square and rectangular plates are considered for the detailed numerical studies. Results of displacements, stresses and frequencies are compared with those of other refined theories and exact theory to show the efficiency of the proposed theory. Good agreement is achieved of the present results with those of higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT) and elasticity theory. Moreover, results demonstrate that the developed two variable refined plate theory is simple for solving the flexural and free vibration responses of thick bridge deck and can achieve the same accuracy of the existing HSDTs which have more number of variables.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제73권3호
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• pp.259-269
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• 2020

In this paper, bending-stretching analysis of thick functionally graded piezoelectric rectangular plates is studied using the higher-order shear and normal deformable plate theory. On the basis of this theory, Legendre polynomials are used for approximating the components of displacement field. Also, the effects of both normal and shear deformations are encountered in the theory. The governing equations are derived using the principle of virtual work and variational approach. It is assumed that plate is made of piezoelectric materials with functionally graded distribution of material properties. Hence, exponential function is used to modify mechanical and electrical properties through the thickness of the plate. Finally, the effect of material properties, electrical boundary conditions and dimensions are investigated on the static response of plate. Also, it is shown that results of the presented model are close to the three dimensional elasticity solutions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제5권1호
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• pp.69-83
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• 1997

A new efficient hybrid/mixed thin~moderately thick plate bending element with 6-node (HM6-14) is formulated based on the Reissner-Mindlin plate bending theory. The convergence of this element is proved by error estimate theories and verified by patch test respectively. Numerical studies on such an element as HM6-14 demonstrate that it has remarkable convergence, invariability to geometric distorted mesh situations, to axial rotations, and to node positions, and no "locking" phenomenon in thin plate limit. The present element is suitable to many kinds of shape and thin~moderately thick plate bending problems. Further, in comparison with original hybrid/mixed plate bending element HP4, the present element yields an improvement of solutions. Therefore, it is an efficient element and suitable for the development of adaptive multi-field finite element method (FEM).

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.485-502
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• 2009

A new 8-node serendipity quadrilateral plate bending element (MQP8) based on the Mindlin-Reissner theory for the analysis of thin and moderately thick plate bending problems using Integrated Force Method is presented in this paper. The performance of this new element (MQP8) is studied for accuracy and convergence by analyzing many standard benchmark plate bending problems. This new element MQP8 performs excellent in both thin and moderately thick plate bending situations. And also this element is free from spurious/zero energy modes and free from shear locking problem.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.373-385
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• 2009

The purpose of this paper is to study shear locking-free parametric earthquake analysis of thick and thin plates 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-${\beta}$ 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, 17-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 17-noded finite element can be effectively used in the earthquake analysis of thick and thin 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.