Free Vibration Analysis of Arbitrary-Shaped Plates Based on the Improved Rayleigh–Ritz Method

Abstract

In this investigation, an improved Rayleigh–Ritz method is put forward to analyze the free vibration characteristics of arbitrary-shaped plates for the traditional Rayleigh–Ritz method which is difficult to solve. By expanding the domain of admissible functions out of the structural domain to form a rectangular domain, the admissible functions of arbitrary-shaped plates can be described conveniently by selecting the appropriate admissible functions. Adopting the spring model to simulate the general boundary conditions, the problems of vibration of the arbitrary plate domain can be solved perfectly. Then, a numerical method is introduced to figure out the structure strain energy, kinetic energy, and elastic potential energy of the boundary. Finally, comparing the result with the simulation results and reference examples, the accuracy and convergence of this method are testified. Therefore, an effective new method is proposed for the guidance of the related research and practical engineering problems.