Exact Solutions for Vibration of Multi-Span Rectangular Mindlin Plates

Abstract

This paper presents the first-known exact solutions for the vibration of multi-span rectangular Mindlin plates with two opposite edges simply supported. The Levy type solution method and the state-space technique are employed to develop an analytical approach to deal with the vibration of rectangular Mindlin plates of multiple spans. Exact vibration frequencies are obtained for two-span square Mindlin plates with varying span ratios and two-, three- and four-equal-span rectangular Mindlin plates. The influence of the span ratios, the number of spans and plate boundary conditions on the vibration behavior of square and rectangular Mindlin plates is examined. The presented exact vibration results may serve as benchmark solutions for such plates.