Vibration of non-uniform thick plates on elastic foundation by differential quadrature method

This paper presents a differential quadrature (DQ) solution for free vibration analysis of thick plates of continuously varying thickness on two-parameter elastic foundations. The formulations are based on the first-order shear deformation theory taking into account the effects of rotary inertia. The thickness of the plate may vary in one or two directions. The thickness variation might be assumed linear or non-linear. Different types of boundary conditions, including free edges and corners, loaded edges with in-plane forces are formulated. The accuracy, convergence and versatility of the DQ procedure for the type of plate problems, with complicated governing differential equations and boundary conditions are examined and verified.