Analysis of Plate Vibrations Using Superelements

Abstract

A rectangular substructure or superelement is described for use in the vibrational analysis of plates and flat plate assemblies. Basic features include elimination of internal nodes and flexibility in the location of nodes along the boundaries. Illustrative examples demonstrate the efficient and versatile application of the element. The main focus, however, is on solution accuracy for different representations of mass. In particular, it is found that the homogeneous inertia properties of a plate must be expressed by a consistent substructure mass matrix in order to model dynamic properties accurately.