Accurate approach implementation in vibration analysis of thick sector plates

An exact closed-form solution based on Reddy’s third-order shear deformation plate theory for the free vibration of thick circular/annular sector plates is presented. Characteristic equations are given for sector plates having hard simply supported radial edges and all combinations of free, soft simply supported, hard simply supported and clamped boundary conditions along the circular edges. To clarify the efficiency and accuracy of the present solution, several comparison studies are examined with the available data in the literature. Also, natural frequencies of the circular/annular sector plates are presented for different thickness–radius ratios, inner–outer radius ratios, sector angle values and boundary conditions.