AN ACCURATE METHOD FOR FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES WITH APPLICATION TO PLATES

In this work, the continuous element method which has been used as an alternative to the finite element method of vibration analysis of frames is applied to more general structures like 3-D continuum and rectangular plates. The method is based on the concept of the so-called impedance matrix giving in the frequency domain, the linear relation between the generalized displacements of the boundaries and the generalized forces exerted on these boundaries. For a 3-D continuum, the concept of impedance matrix is introduced assuming a particular kind of boundary conditions. For rectangular plates, this new development leads to the solution of vibration problems for boundary conditions other than the simply supported ones.