Vibration Analysis of the Moving Plates Subjected to the Force of Gravity

The use of frequency-dependent dynamic stiffness matrix (or spectral element matrix) in structural dynamics may provide very accurate solutions, while it reduces the number of degrees-of-freedom to improve the computational efficiency and cost problems. Thus, this paper develops a spectral element model for the thin plates moving with constant speed under uniform in-plane tension and gravity. The concept of Kantorovich method and the principle of virtual displacement is used in the frequency-domain to formulate the dynamic stiffness matrix. The present spectral element model is evaluated by comparing its solutions with the exact analytical solutions. The effects of moving speed, in-plane tension and gravity on the natural frequencies of the plate are numerically investigated.