STATIC AND DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF ARBITRARY QUADRILATERAL FLEXURAL PLATES BY B(3)-SPLINE FUNCTIONS

This paper presents static and free vibration analysis of arbitrary qu adrilateral flexural plates by B3-spline functions. An actual arbitrar y quadrilateral thin flat plate is mapped onto a square basic plate an d a superelement is constructed for the whole plate. The present numer ical analysis is based on a spline net with finite spline points on th e square basic plate. Combination of B3-spline functions gives an easy way to satisfy various boundary conditions. The displacement function constructed by B3-spline functions in two directions has been formed to possess more flexibility to model the deflection shape efficiently. The main features of the present method are: minimal input preparatio n, easier programming and higher accuracy achieved by a system with fe wer degrees of freedom. Compared with analytical solutions and other n umerical methods, the method proposed yields excellent results for the test cases considered.