Analysis Assumptions

Hüseyin and Ömer’s (2011) paper investigated an approximation method that was
formulated and used by an earlier study in order to determine the modal characteristics of a
rectangular plate that has general fully elastic supports around its edges (Li and Daniels, 2002).
As such, the paper under review follows the same assumptions that were set by the study that
they have used as their basis. In order to verify the results of their investigation, the authors
referred to the results obtained from different methods performed by previous literature and
performed a direct comparison of the results to determine the accuracy of the method they
investigated.
The analysis assumptions that were set in their investigative paper are (1) deflection
functions in the form of a Fourier sine series combined with an auxiliary polynomial and (2) the
solution being investigated should arrive with the same results of other methods which should
include the classical cases. Frequency parameters for different plate conditions were calculated
using the solution being investigated.
Primary Assumptions
Fourier Sine Series with an Auxiliary Polynomial
Hüseyin and Ömer’s investigative paper adapts a Fourier series combined with an
auxiliary polynomial as a solution to rectangular plates elastically restrained which was
developed by Li and Daniels (2002). Before arriving with such a model, Li (2000) have taken
into consideration the difficulty in using the traditional methods of solving the free vibration of
rectangular plates under simple boundary conditions when solving for the frequency parameters
of rectangular plates using arbitrary boundary conditions.
For a time, various techniques were developed in order to solve problems related to
vibrations of rectangular plates and beams with various boundary conditions. Some of these
techniques were compiled in Leissa’s (1973) journal article. Li (2000) describes the modal
superposition technique as the most prominent method because it considers a beam or plate’s
displacement as a eigenfunctions that are combined linearly. These eigenfunctions are usually in
the form of trigonometric and hyperbolic functions where frequency constants are determined
from boundary conditions. However, the use of this technique proves to be time-consuming and
tedious due to the fact there exists at least 55 different boundary conditions for a rectangular
plate.
Fourier series can be used in order to determine the vibrations of simply supported
beams. Most of the time, the necessary derivatives of the displacement function used to
determine vibrations can be acquired through term-by-term integration Li (2000) reasons. The
Fourier coefficients on the other hand can simply be obtained from the governing differential
equation. However, for arbitrary boundary conditions, the derivatives become difficult to acquire
and the results of the solution almost always converges at a slow rate, should it converge at all.
Thus, they deemed that the use of Fourier series alone is only best applicable to simply supported
beams.
 Zhou (1996) has shown in their journal article that the use of simple polynomials
combined with a Fourier sine series can satisfy certain boundary conditions. As such Li (2000)
was able to create a simplified Fourier series method with arbitrary or general boundary
conditions by expressing the beam displacement as a linear combination of a Fourier series and
an auxiliary polynomial. By introducing an auxiliary polynomial, the slow convergence of the
Fourier series and the issue on determining the constants is resolved. The auxiliary polynomial
does this by taking all the discontinuities that occur with the original beam displacement formula
along with its three derivatives so that it becomes conditioned to be a continuous function with
three derivatives that are continuous. Consequently, it makes it possible to develop a Fourier
series solution for beams with general boundary conditions, while also increasing its accuracy
and rate of convergence. Li and Daniels (2002) extended this solution to cover rectangular plates
and achieved the same level of accuracy with the results.

Brief Summary of Other Methods

Low, Chai, Lim, and Sue (1998) analyzed vibrations in a rectangular plate where its
edges are either clamped or simply supported and on its top, there are masses placed on various
locations. They adopted two methods namely the energy method and Rayleigh-Ritz method. The
former was used to determine analytical frequencies of the plates with various edge support
conditions and the latter was employed to illustrate the shape function through single and
multiple trigonometric series terms. The table below shows some of the frequency parameters for
different combinations of plates that they have obtained.
Table 1.
Results of Low, Chai, Lim, and Sue (1998)
Combination Ω1 Ω2 Ω3 Ω4
S-S-S-S 19.74 49.35 49.35 78.96
C-S-C-S 28.97 54.77 69.40 94.71
C-C-C-C 36.02 73.50 73.50 108.45

Li, Zhang, Du, and Liu (2008) developed a general analytical method for vibration
analysis of rectangular plates that has elastically restrained edges. This is applicable in several
boundary conditions and this could be further modified so that it would be applicable to
complicated boundary conditions like non-uniform elastic restraints, point and partial points, and
their combinations. Integration of one-dimensional and two-dimensional Fourier series was
formulated to express displacement solution. When both the governing differential equation and
the boundary conditions are exactly satisfied on a point-wise basis, the unknown expansion
coefficients will be known.
Table 2.
Results of Li, Zhang, Du, and Liu (2008)
Combination Ω1 Ω2 Ω3 Ω4 Ω5 Ω6
C-C-C-C 35.986 73.398 73.398 108.24 131.59 132.22
 C-S-S-F 16.785 31.14 51.392 64.016 67.549 101.21

Leissa (1973) as mentioned earlier has compiled a list of results for classical boundary
conditions for rectangular plates in free vibration. Their journal article is divided into two parts:
(1) exact solutions for the first six cases whose opposite sides are simply supported and (2) the
remaining fifteen problems are described in the second part. The frequency parameters were
accurately obtained through the use of the Ritz method and 36-term modal shapes of beam
functions, with the aid digital computers. Due to the extensive list of solutions provided in the
journal article, the frequency combinations that will be lifted from Leissa’s (1973) article are
those that Dal and Morgül (2011) solved in their journal article.
Table 3.
Results of Leissa (1973)
Combinatio Ω1 Ω2 Ω3 Ω4 Ω5 Ω6 Ω7 Ω8
n
S-S-S-S 19.7392 49.348 78.9568 98.696 98.6960 128.3049 128.3049 128.3049
0 0
C-C-C-C 35.992 73.413 73.413 108.27 131.64 132.24 - -
C-S-S-F 16.865 31.138 51.631 64.043 67.646 101.21 - -

The S-S-S-S combination for the boundary conditions of a rectangular plate is often
regarded as the easiest to solve (Leissa, 1969). This is due to the fact that the amplitude
coefficient that is determined from initial conditions can simply be substituted to the equation for
solving the frequency parameter. However, for an S-S-S-S combination, two mode shapes may
have similar frequencies and exist simultaneously.
The C-C-C-C combination or all sides clamped has received a significant amount of
literature before the writing of Leissa’s (1969) journal article. Various methods were employed
such as Sezawa’s series method. His method is described as using functions that exactly satisfy
the classical differential equation of motion for transverse displacement. The boundary
conditions in his study made use of a zero-deflection boundary condition along all the edges
which required the slope to be zero at the midpoints. Leissa (1969) was able to replicate similar
results using the Ritz method. Finally, the C-S-S-F combination only has two approximate
formulas that was given in the article.