Numerical aspects of differential quadrature method for thick plate modeling

Abstract

This work explores the solution capability of the differential quadrature method (DQM) for bending and free vibration analyses of thick plates described by the first-order shear deformation theory, with the focus on the bending analysis of Reissner/Mindlin plates. The DQM is applied first for the axisymmetric bending and free vibration analyses of circular and annular Reissner/Mindlin plates and then for the bending analysis of rectangular thick plates, either of symmetric cross-ply laminated or isotropic material. The solution capability of the method is demonstrated by solving a number of plate problems. The accuracy is established by comparison studies. The convergence is investigated in detail with respect to various combinations of constraint conditions, different loading manners (for bending), relative thickness, inner-to-outer radius ratio (for annular plates) and vibration mode sequences. It is revealed that the DQM is a very efficient numerical tool for thick plates of regular domain.