An exact analytical approach for in-plane and out-of-plane free vibration analysis of thick laminated transversely isotropic plates

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2012

In this article, the governing equations of motion of thick laminated transversely isotropic plates are derived based on Reddy's third-order shear deformation theory. These equations are exactly converted to four uncoupled equations to study the in-plane and out-of-plane free vibrations of thick laminated plates without any usage of approximate methods. Based on the present analytical approach, exact Levy-type solutions are obtained for thick laminated transversely isotropic plates and, for some boundary conditions, the exact characteristic equations hitherto not reported in the literature are given. Also, the in-plane and out-of-plane deformed mode shapes are plotted for different boundary conditions. The present solutions can accurately predict both the in-plane and out-of-plane natural frequencies and mode shapes of thick laminated transversely isotropic plates.