Investigation of the thickness variability and material heterogeneity effects on free vibration of the viscoelastic circular plates

The present study deals with free vibration analysis of variable thickness viscoelastic circular plates made of heterogeneous materials and resting on two-parameter elastic foundations in addition to their edge conditions. It is assumed that the viscoelastic material properties vary in the transverse and radial directions simultaneously. The complex modulus approach is employed in conjunction with the elastic–viscoelastic correspondence principle to obtain the solution. The governing equations are solved by means of a power series solution. Finally, a sensitivity analysis including evaluation of effects of various edge conditions, thickness variations, coefficients of the elastic foundation, and material loss factor and heterogeneity on the natural frequencies and modal loss factors is accomplished.