Spectral Finite Element Method for Free Vibration of Axially Moving Plates Based on First-Order Shear Deformation Theory

In this paper, the free vibration analysis of moderately thick rectangular plates axially moving with constant velocity and subjected to uniform in-plane loads is investigated by the spectral finite element method. Two parallel edges of the plate are assumed to be simply supported and the remaining edges have any arbitrary boundary conditions. Using Hamilton’s principle, three equations of motion for the plate are developed based on first-order shear deformation theory. The equations are transformed from the time domain into the frequency domain by assuming harmonic solutions. Then, the frequency-dependent dynamic shape functions obtained from the exact solution of the governing differential equations is used to develop the spectral stiffness matrix. By solving a non-standard eigenvalue problem, the natural frequencies and the critical speeds of the moving plates are obtained. The exactness and validity of the results are verified by comparing them with the results in previous studies. By the developed method some examples for vibration of stationary and moving moderately thick plates with different boundary conditions are presented. The effects of some parameters such as the axially speed of plate motion, the in-plane forces, aspect ratio and length to thickness ratio on the natural frequencies and the critical speeds of the moving plate are investigated. These results can be used as a benchmark for comparing the accuracy and precision of the other analytical and numerical methods.