International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Research.

ISSN No. 2249-0019, Volume 3, Number 4 (2013), pp. 301-308

Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com/ ijmer.htm

Free vibration Analysis of Isotropic and Composite

Rectangular Plates
Kanak Kalita and Abir Dutta
PG Scholars, Department of Aerospace Engineering & Applied Mechanics
Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur Howrah, West Bengal, India.

Abstract
Free vibration analysis of plate is very important in the field of
structural engineering because of its wide application in practical life.
Free vibration of the plate depends greatly on its thickness, aspect
ratios and the boundary conditions. In this paper different mode
frequencies for free vibration of isotropic plates is studied using the
ANSYS computer package. Several different boundary condition cases
involving clamped, simply-supported and free edge conditions are
considered. The analysis for isotropic plate is carried out for uniform
thickness and different aspect ratios (a/b= 0.4, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0). The
problem of free vibration analysis of composite square plates having 3
lamina layers and 5 lamina layer (angle ply) is also considered. The
laminate considered are of equal thickness. The Square plate is
analyzed for different boundary conditions namely SSSS, SSSC,
SCSC, SCCC and CCCC with different thickness ratio (a/h=5, 10, 20
and 50). The results obtained from these analysis are converted to nondimensional form for ease of comparison with existing literature
wherever possible.
Keywords: ANSYS, free vibration, composite, finite element method,
boundary condition.

1. Introduction
In many real life cases we encounter vibrations in machines, in turbine blades, in
structures and as well as in aerospace vehicles i.e. aeroplanes, helicopter (helicopter
blades) etc. In many cases we can see that the effect of vibration is very prominent

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Kanak Kalita & Abir Dutta

whether it is small in amplitude or large. In aerospace vehicles or in particular blades

of any turbine or aeroplane wings the effect of vibration can be severe as those are
flexible structures. Due to the effect of vibration, there happens deflection in the wings
or hanging structures of space vehicles or in the blades i.e. strain comes into picture.
This deflection can cause instability. To make the structure more flexible and
economically viable the use of composite materials has been introduced in order to
decrease the weight. But still the effect due to vibration could not be minimized to
satisfactory level, and if it was done by anyway i.e. compromising the flexibility of the
structure. In this context different numerical methods are used depending on the
suitability of the problem. Unfortunately, practical plate problems are quite complex
due to its arbitrary geometry, loading and boundary conditions. In this work the
initiation has been taken to carry on analysis of free vibration of rectangular plates by
FEM and the results has been validated with the literatures available.
The extensive review on plate vibration can be found in the literature provided by
Leissa [14] and Liew [5] provided some review on thick plate vibration problems. For
thick plate problems, the ReissnerMindlin (RM) assumptions [6] have been generally
adopted in the development of plate elements. It has been shown that the accuracy of
the frequency is improved by the shear deformation and rotatory inertia effects
included in the stiffness and mass matrices, respectively.
In this paper, therefore, a plate FE formulation and problem modelled in ANSYS
platform, are provided with emphasis on the terms related to the stiffness and mass
matrices. Then, a set of results are presented to show the applicability of the present
problem to various types of plates under free vibration conditions.

2. Formulation of problem:
The equations of motion for free un-damped vibration of an elastic system undergoing
large displacements can be expressed in the following matrix form.
[K] and [M] are overall stiffness & mass matrix and {} is displacement vector.
FEA involves three stages of activity:
1. Preprocessing,
2. Processing and
3. Post processing.
In this study, finite element analysis is conducted using ANSYS software. An 8
noded shell element, (specified as SHELL 281 in ANSYS) with element length of
2mm is used throughout the study (Fig.1). The element has eight nodes with six
degrees of freedom at each node: translations in the x, y, and z axes, and rotations
about the x, y, and z-axes (when using the membrane option, the element has
translational degrees of freedom only). Thus each element has 48 degree of freedom in
total. SHELL281 is well-suited for linear, large rotation, and large strain nonlinear
applications.

Free vibration Analysis of Isotropic and Composite Rectangular Plates

303

Two types of plates have been analyzed, isotropic rectangular plates and threelayer angle ply laminated square plate.
The details of these are as follows:
(1) Isotropic plate
E = 10.92 x 106 N/m2, v =0.3, =7850 kg/m3
h=0.01 m, a/b= 0.4, 1. 1.5, 2.5
(2) Laminated plates, in the present study, 3 ply and 5 ply angle laminated
composite plate has been considered. The composite plate is analyzed using finite
element analysis software for fiber orientation 45/-45/45 and -45/45/-45/45/-45/.
E1 = 280 GPa, E2 = 7 GPa, G12 = G13 =4.2 GPa, G23 = 3.5 GPa and 12 = 13 =
0.25.
A/h=5, 10, 20, 50.

Fig. 1: Fiber orientation of the

composite plate. (3 ply)

Fig. 2: Fiber orientation of the

composite plate. (5 ply)

3. Results and Discussion:

Table 1: First three modes of free vibration (in non-dimensional form) for
isotropic plate for various boundary conditions.
Boundary MOD Aspect Ratio a/b
condition
E
Present Study
Leissa*
0.4
1
1.5
2.5
0.4
1
1.5
2.5
SSSS
1
11.496 19.718 32.073 71.566 11.44 19.73 32.076 71.556
65
58
88
46
87
92
2
4
2
16.185 49.349 61.649 101.02 16.18 49.34 61.685 101.16
2
26
41
47
62
8
34

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Kanak Kalita & Abir Dutta

3

SCSC

1
2
3

SCSS

1
2
3

SCSF

1
2
3

SSSF

1
2
3

CCCC

1
2
3

CCCS

1
2
3

CCCF

1
2

24.056
68
12.193
28
18.392
84
27.987
47
11.801
37
17.200
93
25.914
66
10.252
6
13.622
5
20.072
85
10.216
65
13.160
47
18.800
04
23.742
07
27.903
87
35.508
38
23.537
12
27.112
86
33.883
21
22.598
7
24.662
52

49.349
26
28.995
91
54.804
01
69.399
75
23.651
79
51.695
55
58.688
05
12.693
67
33.033
05
41.772
84
11.689
27.698
99
41.266
03
36.077
25
73.517
92
73.517
92
31.912
71
63.465
57
71.204
59
23.976
44
40.047
34

98.815
5
56.459
18
79.087
59
112.01
35
42.576
25
69.018
79
116.33
03
16.823
64
45.361
13
61.044
93
13.703
22
43.625
61
47.835
6
60.900
41
94.032
45
149.00
87
48.288
02
85.690
37
124.19
99
26.683
83
65.956
18

150.28
57
145.62
18
164.83
88
202.30
05
104.00
16
128.30
09
172.26
35
30.605
11
58.055
59
105.56
67
18.544
33
50.474
03
100.23
7
147.93
28
173.97
16
221.58
38
107.19
11
139.79
01
194.50
28
37.594
09
76.153
74

24.08
18
12.13
47
18.36
47
27.96
57
11.75
02
17.18
72
25.91
71
10.18
88
13.60
36
20.09
71
10.12
59
13.05
7
18.83
9
23.64
8
27.81
7
35.44
6
23.44

49.34
8
28.95
09
54.74
31
69.32
7
23.64
63
51.67
43
58.64
64
12.68
74
33.06
51
41.70
19
11.68
45
27.75
63
41.19
67
35.99
2
73.41
3
73.41
3
31.82
9
27.02 63.34
2
7
33.79 71.08
9
4
22.57 24.02
7
24.62 40.03
3
9

98.696 150.51
15
56.348 145.48
1
39
78.983 164.73
6
87
123.17 202.22
19
71
42.527 103.92
8
27
69.003 128.33
1
82
116.26 172.38
71
04
16.822 30.627
5
7
45.302 58.080
4
4
61.017 105.54
8
7
13.711 18.800
1
9
43.572 50.540
3
5
47.857 100.23
1
21
60.772 147.8
93.86

173.85

148.82 221.54
48.167 107.07
85.507 139.66
123.99 194.41
26.731 37.656
65.916 76.407

Free vibration Analysis of Isotropic and Composite Rectangular Plates

3
CCSS

1
2
3

CCSF

1
2
3

CCFF

1
2
3

CSCF

1
2
3

CSSF

1
2
3

CSFF

1
2
3

CFSF

1
2

29.274
66
16.951
94
21.476
9
29.362
75
15.724
08
18.432
39
24.055
78
4.0006
37
7.1601
04
13.090
36
22.569
93
24.341
62
28.382
08
15.682
73
18.010
82
22.979
82
3.8712
88
6.4296
75
11.569
46
15.407
67
16.367
67

63.320
29
27.135
19
60.677
29
60.928
74
17.581
27
36.073
34
51.916
27
6.9332
7
23.939
56
26.640
12
23.428
28
35.625
21
62.973
85
16.838
1
31.166
19
51.503
89
5.3618
29
19.108
4
24.721
85
15.237
77
20.614
3

66.046
66
45.014
28
76.735
02
122.56
99
21.007
25
55.030
29
63.249
21
11.199
84
29.821
85
52.479
16
24.735
92
53.767
3
64.817
59
18.512
67
50.503
61
53.587
59
6.9296
52
27.224
22
38.470
56
15.157
24
25.655
84

134.62
07
105.44
47
133.65
86
182.88
82
33.547
1
66.404
02
119.42
27
24.886
69
44.572
61
81.521
83
28.491
68
70.339
46
113.98
49
23.020
06
61.001
07
111.99
8
10.087
83
35.056
44
74.696
68
15.036
59
37.193
22

29.24
4
16.84
9
21.36
3
29.23
6
15.69
6
18.37
3
23.98
7
3.985
7
7.155
1
13.10
1
22.54
4
24.29
6
28.34
1
15.64
9
17.94
6
22.90
2
3.854
2
6.419
8
11.57
6
15.38
2
16.37
1

305

63.49
3
27.05
6
60.54
4
60.79
1
17.61
5
36.04
6
52.06
5
6.942
1
24.03
4
26.68
1
23.46

66.219 135.15

35.61
2
63.12
6
16.86
5
31.13
8
51.63
1
5.363
9
19.17
1
24.76
8
15.28
5
20.67
3

53.731 70.561

44.893 105.31
76.554 133.52
122.33 182.73
21.035 33.578
55.184 66.612
63.178 119.9
11.216 24.911
29.901 44.719
52.615 81.879
24.775 28.564

64.959 114
18.54

23.067

50.442 59.969
53.715 111.95
6.9309 10.1
27.289 35.157
38.586 74.99
15.217 15.128
25.711 37.294

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Kanak Kalita & Abir Dutta

3

CFCF

1
2
3

CFFF

1
2
3

19.685
43
22.369
48
23.063
42
25.661
17
3.5269
28
4.7919
19
8.0937
68

39.751
75
22.226
36
26.444
55
43.605
62
3.4831
75
8.5123
66
21.344
34

49.353
71
22.152
12
30.814
65
61.104

48.940
29
22.014
07
41.536
5
60.690
84
3.4635 3.4334
07
89
11.661 17.942
06
65
21.527 21.431
53
45

19.65
6
22.34
6
23.08
6
25.66
6
3.510
7
4.786
1
8.114
6

39.77
5
22.27
2
26.52
9
43.66
4
3.491
7
8.524
6
21.42
9

49.55

49.226

22.215 22.13
30.901 41.689
61.303 61.002
3.4772 3.4562
11.676 17.988
21.618 21.563

Table 2: First three modes of free vibration for composite plate 3 ply and
5 ply for various boundary conditions.
Boundary
Thickness Ratio a/h 3 ply (45/-45/45)
5 ply (-45/45/-45/45/-45)
condition
Present Study
Present Study
1
2
3
1
2
3
SSSS
5
713.97 1128.5 1177.5 946.82 1137 1351.5
10
506.04 867.16 1064.8 924.86 1130.4 1469.9
20
300.15 531.15 747.57 851.47 1128.7 1389.2
50
128.67 231.35 356.58 599.3 1076.3 1128.2
SSSC
5
723.36 1181.6 1285.8 946.94 1494.5 1502.2
10
532.98 888.79 1083.8 925.78 1473.3 1474.6
20
332.98 568.83 779.92 857.2 1391.3 1417.5
50
147.69 257.2 384.26 626.76 1094.9 1190.2
SCSC
5
733.17 1184.5 1303.7 946.97 1499.5 1502.7
10
562.7 906.96 1105.6 926.25 1474.3 1485
20
300.15 531.15 747.57 862.35 1392.4 1434.8
50
128.67 231.35 356.58 657.13 1105.7 1225
SCCC
5
752.21 1200.7 1308.8 948.57 1500.2 1502.9
10
590.42 941.47 1117.5 931.97 1476.5 1486.1
20
401.08 646.47 842.23 878.32 1403.3 1437.6
50
189.34 312.67 442.58 687.67 1148.3 1234.7
CCCC
5
772.4 1215.1 1314.9 950.25 1500.7 1503.1
10
622.17 972.75 1131.6 937.9 1478.2 1487.7
20
436.52 687.78 871.08 894.97 1411.8 1442.3
50
211.7 343.25 471.34 722.48 1183.5 1250.7

Free vibration Analysis of Isotropic and Composite Rectangular Plates

307

4. Conclusion:
There were many advantages from using finite element method specially for analyzing
the plates which compound from different layers. The finite element method (using
FSDT) is used successfully to study the vibration characteristics by finding the natural
frequencies of a rectangular plate subjected to different edge conditions. Computed
frequencies were found to agree very well with the corresponding results available in
the literature. It is clear from the results that the natural frequency of the plate will be
increased by increasing the aspect ratio (a/b). Natural frequency is lowest when an
edge is kept free, followed by a simply supported edge and maximum for clamped
edge. Also it is observed that when thickness of the plate is decreased natural
frequency also decreases. The natural frequency increases with increase in number of
plies.

5. Acknowledgements:
The authors are highly grateful to the department and the university for providing all
kinds of support to carry out the work successfully.

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