A SEMI-ANALYTICAL SOLUTION OF THE FLEXURAL VIBRATION OF ORTHOTROPIC PLATES OF VARIABLE THICKNESS

A semi-analytical method based on the finite strip technique in conjunction with the transition matrix is applied to investigate the flexural vibration of orthotropic rectangular plates of variable thickness in one direction. The effect of orthotropy, aspect ratio, and taper ratio on the natural frequencies of the vibration of such plates is investigated. The efficiency of the proposed technique is illustrated by comparing the results with those available in the literature for several examples. The results show excellent agreement and stable convergence for all plate configurations considered in this paper.