Isogeometric Analysis of Laminated Plates under Free Vibration

Abstract

A plate element is developed by using isogeometric approach in order to determine natural frequencies of laminated composite plates. Reissner-Mindlin (RM) assumptions is adopted to consider the shear deformation and rotatory inertia effect. All terms required in isogeometric element formulation are consistently derived by using Non-uniform rational B-spline surface (NURBS) definition. Gauss quadrature rule is used to form the element stiffness matrix and separately Lobatto quadrature rule is used to calculate element mass matrix. The capability of the present plate element is demonstrated by using numerical examples. From numerical tests, the present isogeometric element produces reliable numerical results for both thin and thick plate situations.