Benchmark Modal Stress-Resultant Distributions for Vibrating Rectangular Plates with Two Opposite Edges Free

This paper presents exact solutions for the modal stress-resultant distributions for vibrating rectangular Mindlin plates involving two opposite sides simply supported while the other two sides free. These exact stress-resultants of vibrating plates with free edges, hitherto unavailable, are very important because they serve as benchmark solutions for checking numerical solutions and methods. Using the exact solutions of a square plate, this paper highlights the problem of determining accurate stress-resultants, especially the transverse shear forces and twisting moments in thin plates, when employing the widely used numerical methods such as the Ritz method and the finite element method. Thus, this study shows that there is a need for researchers to develop refinements to the Ritz method and the finite element method for determining very accurate stress-resultants in vibrating plates with free edges.