Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

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Computers and Structures

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruc

Exact free vibration study of rectangular Mindlin plates with all-over

part-through open cracks
Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi a,*, Heydar Roohi Gh. a, Hossein Rokni D.T. b
a
b

Impact Research Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran
School of Engineering, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1V 1V7

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 21 January 2010
Accepted 11 June 2010
Available online 13 July 2010
Keywords:
Free vibration
Exact solution
Rectangular plate
Part-through crack
Mindlin theory

a b s t r a c t
Based on Mindlin plate theory (MPT), a set of exact closed-form characteristic equations incorporating
shear deformation and rotary inertia are proposed for the rst time to analyze free vibration problem
of moderately thick rectangular plates with an arbitrary number of all-over part-through cracks. The proposed rectangular plates have two opposite edges simply supported while six possible combinations of
free, simply supported and clamped boundary conditions are taken into account for two other edges.
The crack is assumed to be open, non-propagating and perpendicular to two opposite simply supported
edges. A continuously distributed line-spring model is used to describe the elastic behavior of an all-over
part-through crack. The accuracy of the current approach is investigated through comparing the present
exact natural frequencies with those of 3D nite element method obtained by ABAQUS software package.
A parametric study is undertaken to show the effect of crack depth, crack location, number of cracks and
thickness-to-length ratio on natural frequencies of rectangular moderately thick plates with different
boundary conditions in tabular and graphical forms. Finally, the effect of shearing and tearing modes
on the modeling of cracks located at the nodal line is shown.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Structures consisting of plates with different shapes, sizes,
thickness variations and boundary conditions are widely observed
in aerospace, civil, optical, electronic, automotive, mechanical, and
shipbuilding industries. Owing to their wide practical applications,
it is very likely that cracks, which are one of the most common
damages, appear in the vibrating plates. It is well known that the
crack can lead to changes in dynamic and stability characteristics
of plates. Therefore, examining the effect of crack damage on transverse free vibration of thin and moderately thick plates is crucial
for engineers and designers.
Depending on the value of plate thickness, two main theories
may be considered for modeling a rectangular plate containing
an open crack. The classical plate theory, referred to as Kirchhoffs
theory [1], must be employed for thin plates due to ignoring the effect of shear deformation through the plate thickness. A considerable research work pertaining to the free vibration of thin cracked
plates has been performed. An extensive literature survey of the
vibration of cracked structures, reported until 1996, can be found
in the work of Dimarogonas [2].

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 2177 240 190; fax: +98 2177 24 0488.
E-mail addresses: shh@iust.ac.ir (Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi), hossein.rokni@ubc.ca
(Hossein Rokni D.T.).
0045-7949/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compstruc.2010.06.004

Early research effort for free vibration analysis of thin rectangular plates with cracks dates back to the work of Lynn and Kumbasar
[3], who used Greens functions to represent the transverse displacements of simply supported rectangular plates, resulting in
Fredholm integral equations of the rst kind. Stahl and Keer [4] formulated freely vibrating thin simply supported rectangular plates
as dual series equations, reducing homogeneous Fredholm integral
equations from the rst kind to the second one. Hirano and
Okazaki [5] utilized Levys form of solution and further matched
the boundary conditions using a weighted residual method to
investigate free vibrations of cracked rectangular plates with two
opposite edges simply supported and the remaining sides free or
clamped. Aggarwala and Ariel [6] determined the natural frequencies of simply supported cracked plates by using the homogeneous
Fredholm integral of the second kind by taking the stress singularity at the crack tips into account. Neku [7] analyzed free vibration
of a simply supported rectangular plate with straight through central or side cracks by means of nite Fourier transformation. The
exural vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate with
arbitrarily located rectilinear cracks were studied by Solecki [8]
using the nite Fourier transformation of discontinuous functions.
At the beginning of 21st century, Khadem and Rezaee [9] developed an analytical approach for crack detection in rectangular thin
plates with an all-over part-through crack and subjected to uniform external loads using vibration analysis.

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Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

The dynamic characteristics of centrally located cracked plates

in tension were analyzed by Petyt [10] by the use of the nite element (FE) displacement method. A nite element method (FEM) of
cracked plates was employed by Qian et al. [11] to investigate the
vibration analysis of simply supported and cantilevered square
thin plates having a through-thickness crack, parallel to one side
of the plate, using the integral of stress intensity factor. Prabhakara
and Datta [12] examined the static stability and vibrations of damaged rectangular thin plates. Krawczuk [13] presented a FE model
based on the stiffness matrix to investigate the inuence of the
crack location and its length on the changes of the natural frequencies of the simply supported and cantilever rectangular thin plates.
Later, Krawczuk and Ostachowicz [14] used the same approach as
Krawczuk [13] did in order to investigate the inuence of the crack
length and its location upon the amplitudes of the transverse
forced vibration for aluminum cantilevered cracked plates. Han
and Ren [15] analyzed transverse vibration of cracked rectangular
plates by means of a model of zero dimension elements with crack.
Su et al. [16] extended the two-level FEM to analyze the free vibration of a thin cracked plate with arbitrary boundary conditions.
Krawczuk et al. [17] studied elasto-plastic FE model of simply supported and cantilever square plates with a through crack. Fujimoto
et al. [18] reported a vibration analysis of rectangular plates subjected to a tensile load and containing a centrally located crack
along the line of symmetry perpendicular to the direction of the
tensile load using the FEM. Very recently, Saito et al. [19] investigated the linear and nonlinear vibration response of a cantilevered
rectangular plate with a transverse crack using a FE model.
By decomposing a rectangular plate into various domains and
introducing articial springs at the interconnecting boundaries between the domains, Yuan and Dickinson [20] used the Rayleigh
Ritz method with regular admissible functions to nd the solutions
for the exural vibration of rectangular plates. Lee [21] employed
the Rayleigh method to obtain the fundamental frequency of annular plates with internal concentric cracks. Lee and Lim [22] used
the RayleighRitz approach for the study of the free vibration of
rectangular plates with a centrally located crack by considering
transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia. The decomposition method was used by Liew et al. [23] to determine the vibration
frequencies of cracked plates with any combination of boundary
conditions. They assumed the cracked plate domain to be an
assemblage of small subdomains with the appropriate functions

formed and led to a governing eigenvalue equation. Ramamurti

and Neogy [24] applied the generalized RayleighRitz method to
determine the natural frequency of cracked cantilevered square
plates. Khadem and Rezaee [25] employed the modied comparison functions to obtain the natural frequencies of a simply supported rectangular cracked plate using the RayleighRitz method.
Very recently, free vibrations of simply supported and completely
free rectangular thin plates with a side crack were studied by
Huang and Leissa [26] using the famous Ritz method with special
displacement functions.
By applying the Galerkins method to von Karmans plate theory, Wu and Shih [27] determined natural frequencies of simply
supported square and rectangular cracked plates subjected to the
pulsating in-plane forces by using incremental harmonic balance
method. Hu and Fu [28] introduced linear free vibration of viscoelastic simply supported rectangular plates with a crack using
the Galerkins method. Transverse free vibration of viscoelastic
rectangular thin plate with linearly varying thickness and multiple
all-over part-through cracks was studied by Wang and Wang [29]
using the differential quadrature method. Very recently, a new
analytical model was presented by Israr et al. [30] for the vibration
analysis of cracked rectangular plates subjected to transverse loading at some specied position with different sets of boundary conditions using Galerkins method.
Adams and Cawley [31] developed an experimental technique
to estimate the location and depth of a crack from changes in natural frequencies of a rectangular plate. Maruyama and Ichinomiya
[32] obtained experimentally the natural frequencies for rectangular plates with straight narrow slits, which the effects of lengths,
positions and inclination angles of slits on natural frequency and
mode shape are discussed. Variations of natural frequencies and
associated mode shapes with respect to changes in crack length
for a square plate with an edge crack were reported by Ma and
Huang [33] using both experiments and FEM. A baseline nite element model along with modal test data were utilized by Wu and
Law [34] to obtain natural frequencies of a completely free rectangular Aluminum thin plate with an inclined through crack.
In order to eliminate the deciency of the classical plate theory
for moderately thick plates, the rst-order shear deformation theory was proposed by Reissner [35], and developed further for the
deformable plates in statics and dynamics by Mindlin et al. [36].
Although considerable papers exist for vibration analysis of Mindlin

Fig. 1. Strip with edge crack under bending moment.

Table 1
Values for coefcient C nbb .
n

C bb

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

1.9710
4.4277
34.4952
165.7321
626.3926
2144.4651
7043.4169
19003.2199
37853.3028
52595.4681
48079.2948
25980.1559
6334.2425

Fig. 2. A Mindlin plate with coordinate convention.

Fig. 3. Geometry and dimension of a rectangular cracked plate.

1017

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

rectangular plates [3740], according to the authors knowledge,

only one publication has been devoted to the free vibration analysis of their cracked counterparts. Bachene et al. [41] adopted the
extended nite element method (X-FEM) to analyze free vibrations
of rectangular plates containing through edge and central cracks
based on the MPT. The formulation was rst implemented numerically using two types of quadrilateral elements. Then, they developed a FORTRAN computer code on the basis of the X-FEM
formulation and consequently calculated natural frequencies of
the cracked plates.
The line-spring model, adopted in this study to solve partthrough crack plates, has been widely used in the fracture mechanics analysis of plate components containing surface or internal
cracks. The line-spring model was rst proposed by Rice and Levy
[42] to give an approximate treatment for three-dimensional problem of a surface crack penetrating partly through the thickness of
an elastic plate. The problem was simplied to a two-dimensional

through crack problem in plate theory, in which the constraint effects of net ligaments from the three-dimensional problem were
incorporated in the form of a membrane load and bending moment
imposed on the through crack. Delale and Edrogan [43] reformulated the line-spring model in the context of the Reissner plate theory to include transverse shear effects.
The aim of this paper is to extract exact closed-form characteristic equations for rectangular plats with all-over part-through
cracks based on the Mindlin plate theory. The plate has a pair of
opposite simply supported edges, called the levy plate [44], while
the other two edges may be taken any combinations of free, simply
supported and clamped boundary conditions. It is assumed that the
crack is open, non-propagating and perpendicular to two opposite
simply supported edges. The local exibility, induced by an all-over
part-through crack in the plate, is modeled by the mode (I) fracture,
which is generated by the bending moment. Using the well-known
commercial software ABAQUS [45], 3D nite element method is

Fig. 4. A meshed rectangular plate with an all-over part-through crack when a = 0.5, f = 0.5, g = 2/3 and d = 0.1. Total number of elements: 32306; total number of singular
element: 1472; total number of nodes 141347.

Table 2
First seven frequency parameter (b) for SFSF cracked rectangular thin plate when g = 2/3.
f

Methods

Frequency parametersmn

d = 0.05
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.646311
9.646411
0.00

12.841612
12.840612
0.01

22.535513
22.533313
0.01

38.395521
38.400121
0.01

39.356814
39.356614
0.00

41.761522
41.763722
0.01

52.693823
52.694523
0.00

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.626511
9.626811
0.00

12.797012
12.760412
0.29

22.430013
22.304413
0.56

37.381314
37.389114
0.02

38.288521
38.302921
0.04

41.630622
41.605722
0.06

52.665723
52.460723
0.39

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.619911
9.621511
0.02

12.841612
12.791712
0.39

21.665513
21.708413
0.20

38.286921
38.386921
0.26

39.356814
39.127814
0.58

41.761522
41.701222
0.14

51.829023
51.928923
0.19

d = 0.1
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.515711
9.516511
0.01

12.571112
12.569012
0.02

21.749013
21.746313
0.01

36.594121
36.609521
0.04

37.301914
37.307614
0.02

39.588622
39.597022
0.02

49.291223
49.303623
0.03

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.4849
9.4860
0.01

12.506412
12.438912
0.54

21.556913
21.331613
1.05

34.332814
34.239914
0.27

36.446921
36.481921
0.10

39.420722
39.384622
0.09

49.242423
48.899423
0.70

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.4740
9.4786
0.05

12.571112
12.477612
0.74

20.442313
20.530413
0.43

36.443221
36.483621
0.11

37.301914
37.017914
0.76

39.588622
39.495822
0.23

48.147023
48.330623
0.38

d = 0.2
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.066611
9.069011
0.03

11.750512
11.747412
0.03

19.556113
19.552013
0.02

31.578221
31.601521
0.07

31.942714
31.957414
0.05

33.788222
33.810222
0.07

40.887023
40.917923
0.08

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.028711
9.032011
0.04

11.681912
11.561812
1.03

19.213213
18.832413
1.98

28.391214
28.187614
0.72

31.433021
31.496521
0.20

33.641022
33.596122
0.13

40.802423
40.314523
1.20

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.012111
9.020511
0.09

11.750512
11.589712
1.37

17.957613
18.030613
0.41

31.419021
31.494021
0.24

31.942714
31.591214
1.10

33.788222
33.652622
0.40

39.758623
39.962923
0.51

1018

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

1

adopted to show the merit of the present analytical approach. The

inuence of crack depth, crack location, and thickness-to-length ratio on frequency parameters of cracked rectangular plates is investigated for different boundary conditions. In addition, the effect of
second and third modes of the crack on natural frequencies of the
plate is discussed. Finally, fundamental frequency parameters of

g b f

K I H2 rb g b ;

where H is the strip thickness and rb is the nominal stress at a point

far from the crack tip which is imposed by the bending moment
(rb = 6Mb/H2). Function gb can be expressed in dimensionless form
as [46]:

q
pf1:1202  1:8872f 18:0143f2  87:3851f3 241:9124f4  319:9402f5 168:0105f6 ;

where f is the ratio of crack depth to strip thickness (f = h/H). Eq. (2)
is valid when the parameter f changes within the range of
0 < f < 0.8. Also, the relationship between stress intensity factor
(KI) and the strain energy release rate (G), in a state of plane strain,
is expressed as

rectangular plates with an arbitrary number of cracks are given

for six possible combinations of boundary conditions.

2. Governing equations of cracked Mindlin plate

1  m2 2
KI ;
E

2.1. Modeling of crack in vibrating plates

Consider an edge-cracked elastic strip subjected to a bending

moment Mb, as shown in Fig. 1. The stress intensity factor of such
a loaded cracked strip is given by [42]:

where m and E are Poissons ratio and Youngs modulus, respectively. By substituting Eq. (1) into Eq. (3), the strain energy release
rate is derived as

Table 3
First seven frequency parameter (b) for SSSF cracked rectangular thin plate when g = 2/3.
f

Methods

Frequency parametersmn

d = 0.05
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.602811
10.602811
0.00

18.079412
18.079612
0.00

33.064613
33.065613
0.00

39.376221
39.379721
0.01

47.294222
47.299122
0.01

56.005914
56.013714
0.01

62.727823
62.737823
0.02

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.589411
10.575011
0.14

17.616112
17.620312
0.02

31.577513
31.715513
0.44

39.342721
39.335221
0.02

46.770022
46.810122
0.09

55.131014
55.057114
0.13

61.481523
61.588623
0.17

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.559811
10.551911
0.07

17.672712
17.668012
0.03

32.644313
32.566713
0.24

39.256421
39.264421
0.02

46.896722
46.897422
0.00

53.371714
53.456814
0.16

62.247523
62.118823
0.21

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.549511
10.543211
0.06

18.078912
17.969312
0.61

31.888713
31.835713
0.17

39.171121
39.188721
0.04

47.277122
47.141022
0.29

52.575714
52.633614
0.11

62.105723
61.978823
0.20

d = 0.1
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.440411
10.440911
0.00

17.603312
17.603812
0.00

31.634513
31.643013
0.03

37.480621
37.496221
0.04

44.603322
44.625322
0.05

52.323114
52.357814
0.07

58.165223
58.202723
0.06

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.418911
10.392411
0.25

16.878312
16.898312
0.12

29.532013
29.761213
0.78

37.433721
37.431121
0.01

43.883322
43.974122
0.21

51.173914
50.952614
0.43

56.574123
56.757123
0.32

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.372511
10.360311
0.12

16.968712
16.969912
0.01

31.029413
30.881613
0.48

37.314321
37.339721
0.07

44.052922
44.075422
0.05

48.806514
48.777214
0.06

57.558723
57.355623
0.35

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.359311
10.360311
0.01

17.600412
17.418112
1.04

29.745213
29.616313
0.43

37.204121
37.243421
0.11

44.587022
44.364322
0.50

47.799414
47.783914
0.03

57.255723
57.012523
0.42

d = 0.2
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.897211
9.899311
0.02

16.154612
16.161112
0.04

27.647613
27.681313
0.12

32.248521
32.294221
0.14

37.575822
37.641022
0.17

43.181314
43.270914
0.21

47.283923
47.388823
0.22

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.867811
9.822711
0.46

15.223912
15.243612
0.13

25.371713
25.639013
1.05

32.198621
32.219321
0.06

36.833422
36.955322
0.33

42.089214
41.741514
0.83

45.806423
45.960523
0.34

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.808311
9.788911
0.20

15.332012
15.318912
0.09

26.980313
26.719713
0.97

31.936721
31.971221
0.11

36.998122
37.043022
0.12

39.829514
39.955514
0.32

46.734023
46.429823
0.65

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

9.800311
9.781111
0.20

16.135812
15.870812
1.64

25.117013
24.869813
0.98

31.983521
32.042721
0.19

37.571022
37.273522
0.79

38.739914
38.701214
0.10

46.202023
45.725923
1.03

1019

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

GH

1  m2 2 2
rb g b :
E

As an approximation, one may assume that the stress intensity

factor at a point along the crack front of a plate with an all-over
part-through constant depth crack, is identical to the stress intensity factor for an edge-cracked strip in-plane strain state with the
same loading conditions and crack depth [42].

One may consider two identical elastic strips, one of which has
an edge crack, as shown in Fig. 1. If both strips are subjected to
equal moment, the presence of the crack will cause the rotation
of one end relative to the other to increase more than the
rotation of an uncracked strip. Accordingly, one can write G as
the sum of potential energy release rates due to bending moment
as [42]:

1
2

"

rb

o H2 h
oh 6

2.2. Governing equations of Mindlin plate

Consider a moderately thick rectangular plate of width a, length
b, and uniform thickness H, oriented so that its undeformed middle
surface contains the x1 and x2 axes of a Cartesian coordinate system
(x1, x2, x3), as shown in Fig. 2.
The displacements along the x1 and x2 axes are denoted by U1
and U2, respectively, while the displacement in the direction perpendicular to the undeformed middle surface is denoted by U3.
In the Mindlin plate theory, the displacement components are assumed to be given by

!#
5

By comparing Eqs. (4) and (5), one can obtain the added slope
(h) as [42]:

121  m2
rb abb ;
E

U 1 x3 w1 x1 ; x2 ; t ;

where abb is the non-dimensional bending compliance factor given

by [46]:

abb

12
X
n
f2
C bb fn ;

U 2 x3 w2 x1 ; x2 ; t ;

8ac

U 3 w3 x1 ; x2 ; t;

where t is the time variable, w1 and w2 are the rotational displacements about the x2 and x1 axes at the middle surface of the plate,

n0

and the values of C nbb are listed in Table 1.

Table 4
First seven frequency parameter (b) for SFSC cracked rectangular thin plate when g = 2/3.
f

Methods

Frequency parametersmn

d = 0.05
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.895111
10.896011
0.01

20.025712
20.034012
0.04

37.060313
37.086213
0.07

39.501821
39.506521
0.01

48.484122
48.497722
0.03

61.992414
62.048014
0.09

65.519523
65.551623
0.05

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.834511
10.824911
0.09

20.002212
19.877512
0.62

35.295913
35.303113
0.02

39.287321
39.304021
0.04

48.478822
48.319922
0.33

58.500814
58.578914
0.13

64.591223
64.535723
0.09

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.860811
10.847411
0.12

19.365912
19.403412
0.19

36.985813
36.870513
0.31

39.387821
39.392921
0.01

47.929722
47.969222
0.08

58.330814
58.546014
0.37

65.286323
65.067523
0.34

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.895011
10.847411
0.44

19.830012
19.815012
0.08

35.399113
35.568213
0.48

39.483421
39.471921
0.03

48.070522
48.082822
0.03

59.537114
59.688614
0.25

63.977423
64.190023
0.33

d = 0.1
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.709911
10.711811
0.02

19.349812
19.363812
0.07

35.019213
35.063513
0.13

37.579321
37.595821
0.04

46.530222
46.551622
0.05

56.975414
57.074914
0.17

60.229323
60.297823
0.11

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.618711
10.602311
0.15

19.303612
19.062612
1.25

32.373813
32.318913
0.17

37.292421
37.330721
0.10

45.525922
45.268222
0.57

52.549714
52.200614
0.66

58.974923
58.882723
0.16

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.655911
10.633611
0.21

18.368612
18.446012
0.42

34.889413
34.675813
0.61

37.420321
37.440221
0.05

44.800622
44.879622
0.18

52.326414
52.454114
0.24

59.900923
59.567623
0.56

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.709811
10.683011
0.25

19.040212
19.031312
0.05

32.701413
33.017813
0.97

37.552621
37.545621
0.02

44.952122
45.010522
0.13

54.169614
54.030614
0.26

58.327123
58.681023
0.61

d = 0.2
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.106011
10.110011
0.04

17.388812
17.412012
0.13

29.670713
29.745913
0.25

32.300321
32.346521
0.14

38.044222
38.121022
0.20

45.411014
45.581914
0.38

48.207023
48.343823
0.28

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.000511
9.972111
0.28

17.300212
16.969112
1.91

26.560613
26.382213
0.67

32.028921
32.086321
0.18

38.043722
37.710622
0.88

41.229114
40.737614
1.19

46.910023
46.709723
0.43

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.036011
10.003411
0.32

16.248812
16.322012
0.45

29.428213
29.023513
1.38

32.131821
32.181821
0.16

37.349722
37.439822
0.24

41.368314
41.493714
0.30

47.829523
47.430023
0.84

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

10.106011
10.063111
0.42

16.984712
16.980612
0.02

27.377613
27.785013
1.49

32.270121
32.288421
0.06

37.444822
37.560422
0.31

43.518414
43.252114
0.61

46.618723
47.014323
0.85

1020

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

respectively, and w3 is the transverse displacement. For a harmonic

solution, the rotational and transverse displacements are assumed
to be:

where comma-subscript convention represents the partial differentiation with respect to the normalized coordinates, bp
is the fre
quency parameter, m1 = (1  m)/2, m2 = (1 + m)/2, K 2 0:86667 is
the shear correction factor to account for the fact that the
transverse shear strains are not truly independent of the thickness
coordinate. Finally, The general solutions to Eq. (11), in terms of
the three dimensionless potentials W1, W2 and W3, may be expressed as

~ 1 X 1 ; X 2 eixt ;
w1 x1 ; x2 ; t w
~ 2 X 1 ; X 2 eixt ;
w2 x1 ; x2 ; t w

9ac

1~
ixt
w3 x1 ; x2 ; t w
;
3 X 1 ; X 2 e
a

~ 1 C 1 W 1;1 C 2 W 2;1  gW 3;2 ;

w
~ 2 C 1 gW 1;2 C 2 gW 2;2 W 3;1 ;
w
~ 3 W1 W2;
w

where
px
denotes the natural frequency of vibration in radians and
i 1. It should be noted that each parameter having the overtilde is non-dimensional. Introducing the dimensionless
parameters:

x1
X1 ;
a

x2
X2 ;
b

H
d ;
a

a
g ;
b

r
qH
;
b xa
D
2

where

10ad
C1 1 



~ 1;11 g2 w
~ 1;22 m2 w
~ 1;11 gw
~ 2;12
w

m1

2
3

12K 2
b2 d2

2 2
1 2

aa

12K 2

b2 d4

d2

144K 2 m1

13

!
1 :

Based on these dimensionless potentials, the governing equations of motion may now be given by

11ac

m1

a22
a2
; C2 1  1 2 ;
2
m1 a3
m1 a 3

2
3
v
!
 u
2
2
2 
u d2 2  1
b
d
1
4
7
a21 ; a22 6
1 t
 1 2 5;
4
2 12 K 2 m1
12
b
K 2 m1

governing equations of motion in dimensionless form can be expressed as [37]:


12K  ~
b2 d2 ~
~
w1 ;
 2 w
1  w3;1 
12m1
d


~ 2;22 m2 g w
~ 1;12 gw
~ 2;22
~ 2;11 g2 w
w

12ac

2 2

12K 2  ~
~ 3;2  b d w
~2;
w2  gw
2
12m1
d
2 2


~ 3;22  w
~ 2;2  b d w
~ 3:
~ 1;1 gw
~ 3;11 g2 w
w
12K 2 m1

W 1;11 g2 W 1;22 a21 W 1 ;

W 2;11 g2 W 2;22 a22 W 2 ;

2

14ac

2
3W 3:

W 3;11 g W 3;22 a

Table 5
First seven frequency parameter (b) for SSSS cracked rectangular thin plate when g = 2/3.
f

Methods

Frequency parametersmn

d = 0.05
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

14.166211
14.167011
0.01

27.086612
27.089012
0.01

43.033821
43.041421
0.02

48.300613
48.310013
0.02

55.634122
55.648222
0.03

76.336023
76.360523
0.03

77.361614
77.387914
0.03

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.991611
13.969111
0.16

25.821212
25.883812
0.24

42.802121
42.797721
0.01

46.969813
46.955013
0.03

54.567522
54.694922
0.23

75.261123
75.203123
0.08

77.361614
77.185414
0.23

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.837311
13.860111
0.16

27.086612
26.957312
0.48

42.593921
42.652821
0.14

45.484513
45.649413
0.36

55.634122
55.406222
0.41

74.082823
74.351823
0.36

77.361614
77.187014
0.23

d = 0.1
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.908511
13.911611
0.02

26.180312
26.191712
0.04

40.846721
40.874721
0.07

45.584613
45.619713
0.08

52.100122
52.146222
0.09

70.021923
70.104823
0.12

70.892914
70.978314
0.12

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.624611
13.598111
0.19

24.315712
24.340712
0.10

40.516621
40.530621
0.03

43.822413
43.749413
0.17

50.688822
50.844622
0.31

68.704423
68.609923
0.14

70.892914
70.550214
0.48

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.393811
13.437511
0.33

26.180312
25.938912
0.92

40.236821
40.362621
0.31

41.736513
41.954713
0.52

52.100122
51.733822
0.70

67.195423
67.560323
0.54

70.892914
70.560914
0.47

d = 0.2
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.025011
13.036611
0.09

23.400512
23.437212
0.16

34.855821
34.936821
0.23

38.384713
38.482813
0.26

43.123622
43.248022
0.29

55.586023
55.785723
0.36

56.173114
56.378414
0.37

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

12.634811
12.574711
0.48

21.246912
21.349512
0.48

34.496621
34.545321
0.14

36.678513
36.514113
0.45

41.746722
41.939122
0.46

54.436023
54.254523
0.33

56.173114
55.654014
0.92

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

12.351911
12.408911
0.46

23.400512
23.100512
1.28

34.212921
34.379421
0.49

34.523613
34.728513
0.59

43.123622
42.671822
1.05

53.057223
53.464223
0.77

56.173114
55.456414
1.28

1021

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

W 1 A1 sin k1 X 2 A2 cos k1 X 2  sin mpX 1 ;

One set of solutions to Eq. (14) are:

W 2 A3 sinh k2 X 2 A4 cosh k2 X 2  sin mpX 1 ;

W 1 A1 sink1 X 2 A2 cosk1 X 2  sinl1 X 1 B1 sink1 X 2

W 2 A3 sinhk2 X 2 A4 coshk2 X 2  sinl2 X 1 B3 sinhk2 X 2

In this theory, the bending moments, twisting moments, and

the transverse shear forces in terms of w1, w2 and w3 are obtained
by integrating the stresses and moment of the stresses through the
thickness of the plate. These are given by

B4 coshk2 X 2  cosl2 X 1 ;
W 3 A5 sinhk3 X 2 A6 coshk3 X 2  cosl3 X 1 B5 sinhk3 X 2
B6 coshk3 X 2  sinl3 X 1 ;
15

M 11

provided that a21 > 0; a22 < 0; a23 < 0. These conditions must hold in
order to avoid imaginary roots in the characteristic equations of
the plate. Ai and Bi are the arbitrary constants. ki and li are also related to the ai by
2
1

2
1

17ac

W 3 A5 sinh k3 X 2 A6 cosh k3 X 2  cos mpX 1 :

B2 cosk1 X 2  cosl1 X 1 ;

M 22
M 12

2 2
k1 ;

a l g

a22 l22  g2 k22 ;

16ac

Q1

a23 l23  g2 k23 :

Q2

On the assumption of a simply supported edge at both X1 = 0

and, X1 = 1 Eq. (15) may be written as [37]:

H
2

H2

H
2

H2

H2
H
2

H2

H
2

H
2

H2

r11 x3 dx3 D w1;1 mw2;2 ;

r22 x3 dx3 D w2;2 mw1;1 ;


D
2

r12 x3 dx3  1  m w1;2 w2;1 ;



18ae

r13 dx3 K 2 GH w1  w3;1 ;

r23 dx3 K 2 GH w2  w3;2 ;

Table 6
First seven frequency parameter (b) for SSSC cracked rectangular thin plate when g = 2/3.
f

Methods

Frequency parametersmn

d = 0.05
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.449511
15.456011
0.04

30.561812
30.584412
0.07

43.674921
43.686821
0.03

53.856813
53.907913
0.09

57.825522
57.856122
0.05

80.383423
80.447023
0.08

84.733614
84.826514
0.11

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.162711
15.150411
0.08

29.049512
29.135512
0.30

43.383521
43.387121
0.01

52.819213
52.801513
0.03

56.613122
56.764522
0.27

79.462623
79.360323
0.13

84.562714
84.431414
0.16

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.040411
15.074411
0.23

30.419912
30.316012
0.34

43.183721
43.252121
0.16

50.935113
51.148513
0.42

57.774922
57.546622
0.40

77.978823
78.272023
0.38

84.102614
84.021414
0.10

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.414011
15.377111
0.24

29.471312
29.583312
0.38

43.520321
43.495821
0.06

51.251213
51.466313
0.42

56.725922
56.879822
0.27

78.415323
78.601323
0.24

83.617914
83.598314
0.02

d = 0.1
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.088411
15.100411
0.08

29.199612
29.240912
0.14

41.359221
41.394121
0.08

50.023813
50.116213
0.18

53.771422
53.842122
0.13

72.894423
73.027323
0.18

76.203414
76.377814
0.23

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

14.637711
14.621311
0.11

27.049712
27.205012
0.57

40.956421
40.984221
0.07

48.636213
48.559513
0.16

52.210222
52.478022
0.51

71.745223
71.594123
0.21

76.046314
75.771914
0.36

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

14.460111
14.538911
0.55

29.017812
28.816912
0.69

40.688321
40.826121
0.34

46.090213
46.387813
0.65

53.720922
53.354722
0.68

69.920923
70.396323
0.68

75.624914
75.346314
0.37

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.028511
14.967811
0.40

27.586212
27.835612
0.90

41.132321
41.119221
0.03

46.850613
47.106513
0.55

52.322722
52.623722
0.58

70.718123
70.943723
0.32

75.241014
75.003014
0.32

d = 0.2
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.911311
13.934711
0.17

25.323512
25.395612
0.28

35.127321
35.216221
0.25

40.658313
40.818313
0.39

43.918322
44.067122
0.34

56.749523
57.000023
0.44

58.307414
58.601114
0.50

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.343511
13.307411
0.27

22.992712
23.101712
0.47

34.716221
34.776221
0.17

39.257713
39.010513
0.63

42.463722
42.758222
0.69

55.702323
55.522323
0.32

58.259414
57.979614
0.48

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.133311
13.262511
0.98

25.200912
24.797912
1.60

34.443421
34.642521
0.58

36.772813
37.122813
0.95

43.897222
43.437422
1.05

54.150623
54.505623
0.66

58.116914
57.263414
1.47

0.5

0.75

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

13.823411
13.735911
0.63

23.546412
23.841812
1.25

34.871721
34.908421
0.11

38.221013
38.585713
0.95

42.578822
42.943422
0.86

55.250923
55.300023
0.09

58.069314
57.605014
0.80

1022

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

where G = E/2(1 + m) is the shear modulus, D = EH3/12(1  m2) is the

exural rigidity and rij(i, j = 1, 2 and 3) represents normal stresses
when i = j and the shear stresses when i j.

x2 = 0 and x02 0 are located in the middle of the plate. It should be

pointed out that considering the Cartesian coordinate systems like
those shown in Fig. 3 nullies ill-conditioning phenomenon in the
mass and the stiffness matrices of the cracked plate.

2.3. Geometrical conguration of cracked plate

2.4. Compatibility conditions for connection of two regions
The problem considered in this study is an elastic at rectangular moderately thick plate with an arbitrary number of all-over
part-through cracks. They are perpendicular to one pair of opposite
simply supported edges, and their location is dened by the
parameter a, as shown in Fig. 3. Since an exact solution may be
achieved for rectangular plates having at least two opposite simply
supported edges, central and side cracks, either oblique or parallel
to one edge of the plate, cannot taken into account in this study. In
addition, an oblique all-over part-through crack divides the rectangular plate into two trapezoidal plates which, to the best knowledge of the authors, no exact solution has been proposed for
these types of plates. For the sake of convenience, following formulations are given for the plate with only one crack. As shown in
Fig. 3, the plate has thickness H, width a and length b, while the
crack has a uniform depth h and constant length a. The plate is divided by the crack line into two regions (I) and (II). The cracked
section is represented as continuously distributed line-spring
model so that the plate vibrates as an entire system. In order to apply dynamic and geometric boundary conditions, two Cartesian


coordinate systems (x1, x2, x3) and x01 ; x02 ; x03 are needed to dene
for regions (I) and (II), respectively, which are related to each other
by the following form:

x01 x1 ;

x02

2x2  1
;
2

x03 x3 ;

At the crack location (X 2 a2 or, X 02 a1

), continuity conditions
2
can be written along the crack line as

w1I w1II ;
w3I w3II ;
20ae

M 22I M22II ;
M 12I M12II ;
Q 2I Q 2II ;

where Eqs. 20(a)(e) express the equality of the slope of the plate in
X1 direction (w1), transverse displacement (w3), bending moment
(M22), twisting moment (M12) and shearing force (Q2) at the two
sides of the crack location, respectively. The slope compatibility
condition of the crack in the X2 direction at the crack location


X 2 a2 is satised by taking the following form:

w2I  w2II h;

21

where the added slope angle (h) induced by the crack is given by Eq. (6).
2.5. Classical boundary conditions
In this study, plates may take any classical boundary conditions
at non-simply supported edges, including free, simply supported

19

Table 7
First seven frequency parameter (b) for SCSC cracked rectangular thin plate when g = 2/3.
f

Methods

Frequency parametersmn

d = 0.05
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

17.178011
17.193811
0.09

34.574812
34.624812
0.14

44.459021
44.478721
0.04

59.884113
59.986613
0.17

60.353522
60.408122
0.09

84.836423
84.946723
0.13

90.433031
90.477131
0.05

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

17.091411
17.062111
0.17

33.044812
33.230212
0.56

44.255221
44.236721
0.04

57.298913
57.530113
0.40

59.023222
59.230922
0.35

82.881723
83.055023
0.21

90.105731
90.142931
0.04

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

16.611011
16.671911
0.37

34.574812
34.460112
0.33

43.891021
43.974921
0.19

56.179613
56.527413
0.62

60.353522
60.095322
0.43

81.956423
82.360223
0.49

89.696631
89.843331
0.16

d = 0.1
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

16.645511
16.672711
0.16

32.587612
32.670412
0.25

41.970021
42.014021
0.10

54.672813
54.833213
0.29

55.645022
55.746222
0.18

75.955523
76.147323
0.25

81.572614
81.844814
0.33

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

16.509211
16.465311
0.27

30.451112
30.812412
1.19

41.682421
41.680621
0.00

51.672413
51.933813
0.51

53.969522
54.337722
0.68

73.859123
74.049723
0.26

81.119614
80.626514
0.61

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.805211
15.935111
0.82

32.587612
32.365812
0.68

41.213021
41.375221
0.39

49.963213
50.485813
1.05

55.645022
55.213622
0.78

72.573923
73.169723
0.82

80.843431
81.119531
0.34

d = 0.2
0

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

15.014711
15.056311
0.28

27.340012
27.454512
0.42

35.434621
35.531913
0.27

42.893613
43.120413
0.53

44.762422
44.939722
0.40

57.930323
58.234823
0.53

60.357614
60.745614
0.64

0.5

0.25

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

14.845211
14.780611
0.44

25.235112
25.620812
1.53

35.134821
35.182921
0.14

40.719313
40.986613
0.66

43.319322
43.721422
0.93

56.520423
56.810623
0.51

60.277014
59.675414
1.00

0.5

0.5

Present
3D FEM
% Diff

14.061211
14.254511
1.37

27.340012
26.937912
1.47

34.697321
34.914121
0.62

38.660213
38.990713
0.85

44.762422
44.277022
1.08

55.184223
55.604623
0.76

60.357614
59.584914
1.28

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

and clamped. The boundary conditions along the edges X 2  a2

and X 02 12 a are satised by the following relations:
(a) for a free edge

M11 M12 Q 1 0:

22

(b) for a simply supported edge

~2 w
~ 3 0:
M11 w

23

(c) for a clamped edge

~1 w
~2 w
~ 3 0:
w

24

By application of the aforementioned boundary conditions and

the crack continuity conditions, a set of homogenous equation are
obtained. The coefcient matrix of rectangular moderately thick
plates with an all-over part-through crack under six possible combinations of boundary conditions has been given in Appendix A.
Vanishing the determinant of the coefcient matrix results in the
frequency equation of the cracked plate.

1023

3. Results and discussion

By solving the closed-form characteristic equations for six possible combinations of boundary conditions, frequency parameters
of rectangular moderately thick plates with an all-over partthrough crack are obtained as a function of crack location a,
relative crack depth f, aspect ratio g and wave number m. For
the brevity, SCSF denotes that the edges X1 = 0, X2 = 0, X1 = 1, and
X2 = 1 are simply supported, clamped, simply supported and free,
respectively. All frequenciespare
expressed in terms of the dimen
sionless parameter b xa2 qH=D.
For the sake of comparison, ABAQUS software package was used
to demonstrate the merit and high accuracy of the present exact
solution procedure. All the specimens were modeled and analyzed
with quadratic hexahedral 3D stress elements of type C3D20 in order to consider the transverse shear deformation effect. Quarterpoint singular elements of type C3D20 were used at the rst ring
of the elements around the crack tip to bring models closer to reality. A mesh sensitivity analysis was carried out to ensure independency of FEM results from the number of elements. For example, a
total number of 32306 3D elements and 1472 singular elements
produce sufciently converged results for a rectangular Mindlin

Fig. 5. The variation of bC/bUC with respect to the crack location a for an SFSF rectangular plate (g = 0.5, d = 0.1).

1024

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

Fig. 6. The variation of bC/bUC with respect to the crack location a for an SSSF rectangular plate (g = 0.5, d = 0.1).

plate (d = 0.1, g = 2/3) with an all-over part-through crack (a = 0.5,

f = 0.5), as shown in Fig. 4.
3.1. Effect of crack depth
The rst seven natural frequency of cracked rectangular plates
(g = 2/3), obtained by the present analytical solution and 3D FE
model, are listed in Tables 27 for SFSF, SSSF, SFSC, SSSS, SSSC
and SCSC boundary conditions, respectively. These results are given for two relative crack depths (f = 0, 0.5), three relative thicknesses (d = 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2) and three crack locations (a = 0.25,
0.5 and 0.75). Needless to say that f = 0 indicates an uncracked
plate. It should be noted that when the plate adopts symmetrical
boundary conditions about a = b/2 (i.e., SFSF, SSSS and SCSC cases),
natural frequencies for a = 0.25 and a = 0.75 are the same. In Tables
27, the corresponding mode shapes m and n denote the number of
half-sine waves in the X1 and X2 direction, respectively. The percentage difference given in Tables 27 is dened as follows:

%Diff

Analytical method  3D FEM

 100:
Analytical method

It is evident from Tables 27 that the discrepancy between the

results of the present method and 3D FEM is small and does not exceed 2% for the worst case. It is worth noting that the reduction of
natural frequencies in the vibrating modes (n, m) = (1, 4) and (3, 1)

for SFSF and SCSC cracked plates, respectively, is so dominant that

the phenomenon of mode switching occurs. The vibrating mode (n,
m) = (1, 4) switches from the fth frequency to fourth one and the
vibrating mode (n, m) = (3, 1) from the seventh frequency to sixth
one. In Tables 2 and 7, these types of modes are labeled in bold.
3.2. Effect of crack location
The variation of bC/bUC (subscripts C and UC refer to cracked and
uncracked, respectively) against the crack location a for the rst
four mode shapes of rectangular moderately thick plates (g = 0.5)
is shown in Figs. 510 for six possible combinations of boundary
conditions when f = 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6. To gain further insight into
the effect of the crack location on frequency parameters of cracked
plates, 3D mode shapes of their uncracked counterparts are also
plotted.
It can be observed from Figs. 510 that when the crack location
is close to the nodal line (i.e., the line of zero displacement), the effect of crack on the natural frequencies decreases and frequency
parameters of cracked plates approach to those of the plate without crack (i.e., bC/bUC ? 1). In contrast, if the crack is located at
the middle of two successive nodal lines, this effect can be maximized. It is also evident from Figs. 7, 9 and 10 that when the crack
gets much closer to the clamped edge of the plate, a considerable
reduction in the natural frequencies of the cracked plate occurs.

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

1025

Fig. 7. The variation of bC/bUC with respect to the crack location a for an SFSC rectangular plate (g = 0.5, d = 0.1).

This may be attributed to the fact that the additional rotation induced by the crack violates the clamped boundary condition,
where the slope is assumed to be zero. It is worthy to note from
Figs. 510 that the natural frequencies decrease with the increase
of the relative crack depth f. This is due to the fact that the presence of the deeper crack causes a more reduction in the overall
stiffness of the plate.
3.3. Effect of stress intensity factor
In Fig. 11, the discrepancy between the present analytical method and 3D FEM for the rst seven natural frequency of an SSSS
cracked rectangular plate (g = 2/3) is plotted in terms of the mode
number when a = 0.5, f = 0.5 and d = 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2. It can be observed from Fig. 11 that the most discrepancy takes place in the
modes (1, 2), (2, 2) and (1, 4), where the crack is located at the nodal line. This is due to the fact that only the rst stress intensity
factor (KI) is considered in the present analytical solution for modeling the crack. However, it seems that the second and third stress
intensity factors (KII and KIII) should play a key role when the crack
lies on the nodal line.
A crack in a body may be subjected to three types of loading,
which involve displacement of the crack surfaces (see Fig. 12).

The mechanical behavior of a solid containing a crack of a specic

geometry and size can be predicted by evaluating the stress intensity factors (SIFs) KI, KII and KIII which are related to deformation
modes I, II and III. Hence, calculating SIFs is the rst step for evaluating various crack deformations.
A lot of methods have been developed for determining the SIFs.
However, a very simple method for extracting these parameters is
called displacement extrapolation. In this approach, SIFs are computed from the nodal displacements near the crack tip. In fact,
the nodal displacements in the vicinity of the crack are tted to
the displacement equations and consequently the SIFs can be computed from simple equations. By the use of collapsed-node isoparametric quadrilateral elements in the rst ring around the crack tip,
the values of the SIFs are directly computed from nodal-point displacements on opposite sides of the crack plane through the following relations [47]:

p
2G
2p 1k
jDVj / jDVj
p
2G
K II 2p 1k jDUj / jDUj ;
p
K III 2p2GjDWj / jDWj
(
3  4v For plane strain or axisymmetric;
k 3v
For plane stress;
1v
KI

25ac

1026

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

Fig. 8. The variation of bC/bUC with respect to the crack location a for an SSSS rectangular plate (g = 0.5, d = 0.1).

where G = E/2(1  m) is the shear modulus and DV, DU and DW are

the difference of the nodal displacements in opposite sides of the
crack in X1, X2 and X3 directions, respectively. For instance, the nodal displacement of opposite sides of the crack in X2 direction (i.e.,
DV) is shown in Fig. 13. According to Eq. (25), the magnitude of KI,
KII and KIII is directly proportional to the values of DV, DU and DW,
respectively. Therefore, the displacement differences DV, DU and
DW are properly utilized to compare the values of KI, KII and KIII
with each other. For example, for deformation mode I, the value
of DV is signicantly greater than the other displacement differences DU and DW.
The aforementioned method is used to compare the deformation modes I, II and III at the crack tip. In order to show the effect
of KII and KIII on natural frequencies of plates, rst two shape
modes of an SSSS cracked rectangular plate (g = 2/3) are illustrated
in Fig. 14 for a = 0.5 and f = 0.5. The values of DV, DU and DW for
three locations X1 = 0, X1 = 0.25 and X1 = 0.5 are listed in Table 8 for
the rst two modes of the SSSS cracked plate. Note that these values have been calculated for the maximum deection of the vibrating plate at the crack location.
It can be seen from Table 8 that the stress intensity factor (KI) of
mode I is zero when the plate with a crack located at the nodal line
is vibrating in the second mode (1, 2). Under this circumstance, the
present analytical method gives incorrect results and the natural

frequencies of cracked and uncracked plates become identical. It

can be attributed to the fact that the deformation modes II and
III are dominant for the cracks located at the nodal line. It is noteworthy that in fracture mechanics, modeling of deformation modes
II and III are much more complicated than that of deformation
mode I. That is why the function gb, given by Eq. (2) for the deformation mode I [46], has not been reported in literature for the
deformation modes II and III. If this function was available, it could
be used in the present solution to model other two fracture modes.
3.4. Effect of multiple cracks
The present analytical approach can be extended to the plates
with several all-over part-through cracks. There are six unknown
coefcients in Eq. (17) which can be determined by applying
boundary conditions at two non-simply supported edges. As earlier
mentioned, one crack divides the plate into two segments resulting
in 12 unknown coefcients. They can be determined by applying
six boundary conditions at two non-simply supported edges and
other six boundary conditions dened by the continuity equations
(i.e., Eqs. (20) and (21)) at the crack line. Similarly, a 12  12 coefcient matrix for one crack, for example, turns into an 18  18
coefcient matrix for two cracks. Table 9 shows the fundamental
frequency parameters of a cracked rectangular plate (g = 2/3,

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

1027

Fig. 9. The variation of bC/bUC with respect to the crack location a for an SSSC rectangular plate (g = 0.5, d = 0.1).

d = 0.1, f = 0.5) with six possible combinations of boundary conditions, while there exist either one, two or three cracks in the plate.
It is seen from Table 9 that the more the cracks are introduced in
the plate, the more the natural frequencies decrease, as expected.
4. Conclusion
Based on the Mindlin plate theory, free vibration analysis of
rectangular moderately thick plates with an all-over part-through
crack was investigated for different classical boundary conditions
of free, simply supported and clamped. The present solution was
given for the case where the cracks were perpendicular to two
opposite edges simply supported and remained open during the
entire cycle of motion. They were also treated as the mode (I) fracture. ABAQUS software package was used to demonstrate the high
accuracy of the present analytical method. The inuence of the
crack parameters, number of cracks, thickness-to-length ratios
and boundary conditions on natural frequencies of cracked rectangular plates was investigated in the tabular and graphical form. It
was shown that the effect of cracks on the reduction of natural frequencies is so tangible for some vibrating modes and boundary
conditions that the mode switching occurs. It was also found that
the natural frequencies decrease with the increase of the relative
crack depth and the number of cracks. The crack which is very

close to the clamped edge, results in a considerable reduction in

the natural frequencies of the cracked plate. Finally, it was observed that the closer the crack is to the nodal line, the more dominant the effect of the second and third stress intensity factors (KII
and KIII) on the frequency parameter will be. The signicant merit
of the present paper lies in the fact that the exact closed-form characteristic equations for six cases have been given in an explicit
form which is easy to compute natural frequencies of cracked rectangular plates.
Appendix A
There exist closed-form exact solutions to the characteristic
equations of cracked rectangular Mindlin plates under six combinations of free, simply supported and clamped boundary conditions. For the sake of clarity, the characteristic equations are
represented in a matrix form and the determinant will not be expanded. For each case, an exact solution can be obtained by setting
the determinant of the matrices equal to zero. Roots of the determinant are the natural frequencies of cracked rectangular Mindlin
plates for given wave number and dimensions of the plate and
crack. The characteristic determinants for the six boundary conditions (i.e., SFSF, SSSF, SFSC, SSSS, SSSC and SCSC) are expressed as
follows:

1028

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

Case 1. SFSF

C 11 Z 4


S11 Z 1


C 11 Z 7


S c l
21 1

S21


S21 Z 1


C 21 Z 7


C 21 Z 4


Z9


0


0


0

S11 Z 4

C 12 Z 5

S12 Z 5

 S13Z0Z6

 C 13Z0Z6

C 11 Z 1

S12 Z 2

C 12 Z 2

C 13 Z 3
Z0

S13 Z 3
Z0

S12 Z 8

l
 S13
Z0

 CZ130l

 S23Zg0 k3

C 32 c2 l

C 33 gk3
Z0

S11 Z 7

C 12 Z 8

0

0

S33 gk3

Z0

0

 S33Z0Z3

C 33 l 0:

Z0

C 33 Z 6

Z0

C 33 l

Z0


 C43Z0Z6

S43 Z 3
Z0


 C 43 l

A:1

0

0

S33 gk3

Z0

0

 S33Z0Z3

C 33 l 0:

Z0

C 33 Z 6

Z0

C 33 l

Z0

C 43 Z 6
 Z0

S43 Z 3
Z0


 C 43 l

A:2

C 21 c1 l

S22 c2 l

C 22 c2 l

 C 23Zg0 k3

S31 c1 l

C 31 c1 l

S32 c2 l

C 21

S22

C 22

S31

C 31

S32

C 32

C 21 Z 1

S22 Z 2

C 22 Z 2

C 23 Z 3
Z0

S23 Z 3
Z0

S31 Z 1

C 31 Z 1

S32 Z 2

C 32 Z 2

 C 33Z0Z3

S21 Z 7

A10 Z 8

A9 Z 8

 AZ110l

 AZ120l

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 l
Z0

S21 Z 4

A10 Z 5

A9 Z 5

 A11Z0Z6

 A12Z0Z6

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 Z 6
Z0

Z 10

Z 11

Z 12

Z 13

Z 14

C 31 c1 gk1

S31 c1 gk1

C 32 c2 gk2

S32 c2 gk2

S33 l
Z0

C 41 Z 4

S41 Z 4

C 42 Z 5

S42 Z 5

 S43Z0Z6

S41 Z 1

C 41 Z 1

S42 Z 2

C 42 Z 2

C 43 Z 3
Z0

C 41 Z 7

S41 Z 7

C 42 Z 8

S42 Z 8

l
 S43
Z0

S12 c2 l

C 12 c2 l

 C 13Zg0 k3

 S13Zg0 k3

0
0

Z0

Case 2. SSSF

S11 c1 l C 11 c1 l


S11
C 11

S Z
C 11 Z 1
11 1

S c l C c l
21 1
21 1

S21
C 21


C 21 Z 1
S21 Z 1


C 21 Z 7 S21 Z 7


C 21 Z 4 S21 Z 4


Z9
Z 10


0
0


0
0


0
0

S12

C 12

S12 Z 2

C 12 Z 2

C 13 Z 3
Z0

S13 Z 3
Z0

S22 c2 l

C 22 c2 l

 C 23Zg0 k3

 S23Zg0 k3

S31 c1 l

C 31 c1 l

S32 c2 l

C 32 c2 l

C 33 gk3
Z0

S22

C 22

S31

C 31

S32

C 32

S22 Z 2

C 22 Z 2

C 23 Z 3
Z0

S23 Z 3
Z0

S31 Z 1

C 31 Z 1

S32 Z 2

C 32 Z 2

 C 33Z0Z3

C 22 Z 8

S22 Z 8

l
 S23
Z0

 CZ230l

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 l
Z0

C 22 Z 5

S22 Z 5

 S23Z0Z6

 C 23Z0Z6

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 Z 6
Z0

Z 11

Z 12

Z 13

Z 14

C 31 c1 gk1

S31 c1 gk1

C 32 c2 gk2

S32 c2 gk2

S33 l
Z0

C 41 Z 4

S41 Z 4

C 42 Z 5

S42 Z 5

 S43Z0Z6

S41 Z 1

C 41 Z 1

S42 Z 2

C 42 Z 2

C 43 Z 3
Z0

C 41 Z 7

S41 Z 7

C 42 Z 8

S42 Z 8

l
 S43
Z0

S11 Z 4

C 12 Z 5

S12 Z 5

 S13Z0Z6

 C 13Z0Z6

C 11 Z 1

S12 Z 2

C 12 Z 2

C 13 Z 3
Z0

S13 Z 3
Z0

S12 Z 8

l
 S13
Z0

 CZ130l

C 22 c2 l

 C 23Zg0 k3

 S23Zg0 k3

C 32 c2 l

C 33 gk3
Z0

Z0

Case 3. SFSC

C Z
11 4

S Z
11 1


C 11 Z 7


S21 c1 l

S
21

S21 Z 1


C 21 Z 7


C 21 Z 4


Z9


0


0


0

S11 Z 7
C 21 c1 l

C 12 Z 8
S22 c2 l

S31 c1 l

C 31 c1 l

S32 c2 l

C 21

S22

C 22

S31

C 31

S32

C 32

C 21 Z 1

S22 Z 2

C 22 Z 2

C 23 Z 3
Z0

S23 Z 3
Z0

S31 Z 1

C 31 Z 1

S32 Z 2

C 32 Z 2

 C 33Z0Z3

S21 Z 7

C 22 Z 8

S22 Z 8

l
 S23
Z0

 CZ230l

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 l
Z0

S21 Z 4

C 22 Z 5

S22 Z 5

 S23Z0Z6

 C 23Z0Z6

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 Z 6
Z0

Z 10

Z 11

Z 12

Z 13

Z 14

C 31 c1 gk1

S31 c1 gk1

C 32 c2 gk2

S32 c2 gk2

S33 l
Z0

S41 c1 l

C 41 c1 l

S42 c2 l

C 42 c2 l

 C 43Zg0 k3

C 41 c1 gk1

S41 c1 gk1

C 42 c2 gk2

S42 c2 gk2

l
 S43
Z0

S41

C 41

S42

C 42

0


0

S33 gk3

Z0

0

 S33Z0Z3
0:
C 33 l
Z0


C 33 Z 6

Z0

C 33 l

Z0

 S43Zg0 k3

C 43 l

Z0

0
0

A:3

1029

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

Case 4. SSSS

S11 c1 l C 11 c1 l


S11
C 11

S11 Z 1
C
11 Z 1


S c l C c l
21 1
21 1

S21
C 21


C 21 Z 1
S21 Z 1


C 21 Z 7 S21 Z 7


C 21 Z 4 S21 Z 4


Z9
Z 10


0
0


0
0

0
0

S12 c2 l

C 12 c2 l

 C13Zg0 k3

 S13Zg0 k3

0
0

S12

C 12

S12 Z 2

C 12 Z 2

C 13 Z 3
Z0

S13 Z 3
Z0

S22 c2 l

C 22 c2 l

 C23Zg0 k3

 S23Zg0 k3

S31 c1 l

C 31 c1 l

S32 c2 l

C 32 c2 l

C 33 gk3
Z0

S22

C 22

S31

C 31

S32

C 32

S22 Z 2

C 22 Z 2

C 23 Z 3
Z0

S23 Z 3
Z0

S31 Z 1

C 31 Z 1

S32 Z 2

C 32 Z 2

 C 33Z0Z3

C 22 Z 8

S22 Z 8

l
 S23
Z0

 CZ230l

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 l
Z0

C 22 Z 5

S22 Z 5

 S23Z0Z6

 C 23Z0Z6

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 Z 6
Z0

Z 11

Z 12

Z 13

Z 14

C 31 c1 gk1

S31 c1 gk1

C 32 c2 gk2

S32 c2 gk2

S33 l
Z0

S41 c1 l

C 41 c1 l

S42 c2 l

C 42 c2 l

 C 43Ag0 k3

S41

C 41

S42

C 42

C 42 Z 2

C 43 Z 3
A0

S41 Z 1

S12 c2 l

C 12 c2 l

 C13Zg0 k3

 S13Zg0 k3

0
0

C 41 Z 1

S42 Z 2

0

0

S33 gk3

Z0

0

 S33Z0Z3

C 33 l 0:

Z0

C 33 Z 6

Z0

C 33 l

Z0

S43 gk3
 A0

0

S43 Z 3
0

A:4

A0

Case 5. SSSC

S11 c1 l C 11 c1 l


S11
C 11

S11 Z 1
C
11 Z 1


S c l C c l
21 1
21 1

S21
C 21


C 21 Z 1
S21 Z 1


C 21 Z 7 S21 Z 7


C 21 Z 4 S21 Z 4


Z9
Z 10


0
0


0
0

0
0

S12

C 12

S12 Z 2

C 12 Z 2

C 13 Z 3
Z0

S13 Z 3
Z0

C 22 c2 l

 C23Zg0 k3

 S23Zg0 k3

C 32 c2 l

C 33 gk3
Z0

S22 c2 l

S31 c1 l

C 31 c1 l

S32 c2 l

0

0

S33 gk3

Z0

0

 S33Z0Z3

C 33 l 0:

Z0

C 33 Z 6

Z0

C 33 l

Z0

S43 gk3
 Z0

0

 C 43 l
0

S22

C 22

S31

C 31

S32

C 32

S22 Z 2

C 22 Z 2

C 23 Z 3
Z0

S23 Z 3
Z0

S31 Z 1

C 31 Z 1

S32 Z 2

C 32 Z 2

 C 33Z0Z3

C 22 Z 8

S22 Z 8

l
 S23
Z0

 CZ230l

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 l
Z0

C 22 Z 5

S22 Z 5

 S23Z0Z6

 C 23Z0Z6

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 Z 6
Z0

Z 11

Z 12

Z 13

Z 14

C 31 c1 gk1

S31 c1 gk1

C 32 c2 gk2

S32 c2 gk2

S33 l
Z0

S41 c1 l

C 41 c1 l

S42 c2 l

C 42 c2 l

 C 43Zg0 k3

S41

C 41

S42

C 42

C 41 c1 gk1

S41 c1 gk1

C 42 c2 gk2

S42 c2 gk2

l
 S43
Z0

 S13Zg0 k3

0
0

A:5

Z0

Case 6. SCSC

S11 c1 l


S11

C 11 c1 gk1


S c l
21 1

S21


S21 Z 1


C 21 Z 7


C 21 Z 4



Z9



0



0


0

C 11 c1 l

S12 c2 l

C 12 c2 l

 C 13Zg0 k3

C 11

S12

C 12

S11 c1 gk1

C 12 c2 gk2

S12 c2 gk2

l
 S13
Z0

 CZ130l

 S23Zg0 k3

C 32 c2 l

C 33 gk3
Z0

C 21 c1 l

S22 c2 l

C 22 c2 l

 C 23Zg0 k3

S31 c1 l

C 31 c1 l

S32 c2 l

C 21

S22

C 22

S31

C 31

S32

C 32

C 21 Z 1

S22 Z 2

C 22 Z 2

C 23 Z 3
Z0

S23 Z 3
Z0

S31 Z 1

C 31 Z 1

S32 Z 2

C 32 Z 2

 C33Z0Z3

S21 Z 7

C 22 Z 8

S22 Z 8

l
 S23
Z0

 CZ230l

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 l
Z0

S21 Z 4

C 22 Z 5

S22 Z 5

 S23Z0Z6

 C23Z0Z6

C 31 Z 7

S31 Z 7

C 32 Z 8

S32 Z 8

S33 Z 6
Z0

Z 10

Z 11

Z 12

Z 13

Z 14

C 31 c1 gk1

S31 c1 gk1

C 32 c2 gk2

S32 c2 gk2

S33 l
Z0

S41 c1 l

C 41 c1 l

S42 c2 l

C 42 c2 l

 C 43Zg0 k3

S41

C 41

S42

C 42

C 41 c1 gk1

S41 c1 gk1

C 42 c2 gk2

S42 c2 gk2

l
 S43
Z0

0

0

S33 gk3

Z0

0
S33 Z 3
 Z0

C 33 l 0:

Z0

C 33 Z 6

Z0

C 33 l

Z0

S43 gk3
 Z0

0

C 43 l

0

Z0

A:6

1030

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

Fig. 10. The variation of bC/bUC with respect to the crack location a for an SCSC rectangular plate (g = 0.5, d = 0.1).

Si1 sinci k1
C i1 cosci k1

Z 0 sinhc1 k3 ;
Z 3 g1  mlk3 ;
Z 6 g2 k23 l2 ;

Sij sinhci kj
C ij coshci kj

for



Z 1 c1 g2 k21 ml2 ;
Z 4 2c1 gk1 l;
Z 7 c1  1gk1 ;

i 1; 2; 3 and 4;
j 2; 3:


Z 2 c2 g2 k22  ml2 ;

Z 5 2c2 gk2 l;
Z 8 c2  1gk2 ;

6Habb
6Habb
Z 1 S21 ; Z 10 c1 gk1 S21 
Z 1 C 21 ;
a
a
6Habb
c2 gk2 C 22
Z 2 S22 ;
a

Z 9 c1 gk1 C 21 
Z 11
Fig. 11. The percent of discrepancy for the rst seven mode shapes of an SSSS
cracked rectangular plate (g = 2/3) when a = 0.5 and f = 0.5.

where

a
a
a1
1a
; c4
c1  ; c2 ; c3
;
2




6Habb
6Habb
Z0 ;
Z 12 c2 gk2 S22
Z 2 C 22 ; Z 13 lZ 23 
Z 3 C 23
a
a



6Habb
Z0:
Z 3 S23
Z 14 lC 23 
a
It should be pointed out that all elements, including cosh
(ci k3) and sinh (ci k3) (i = 1, 2, 3, 4), take very large values

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

1031

Fig. 12. Stress loading modes: (a) mode I (opening mode); (b) mode II (shearing mode); (c) mode III (tearing mode).

Fig. 13. The nodal-point displacement for a crack.

Fig. 14. The effect of KII and KIII for rst two shape modes of an SSSS cracked rectangular plate (g = 2/3) with a = 0.5 and f = 0.5.

Table 8
The values of DV, DU and DW for the rst two modes of an SSSS cracked rectangular
plate (g = 2/3, d = 0.1) when a = 0.5 and f = 0.5.
X1

0
0.25
0.5

First mode (1, 1)

Second mode (1, 2)

DV  102

DU  102

DW  102

DV  102

DU  102

DW  102

0
0.884
1.310

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0.443
0.658

1.109
0.912
0.148

in comparison with other elements excluding the aforementioned

parameters, when d < 0.1. In order to eliminate the ill-conditioning
problem in the matrices, given by Eqs. (A.1)(A.6), the Cartesian
coordinate systems should be considered as those shown in
Fig. 3 so that the elements with large values appear in the
fth, sixth, eleventh and twelfth columns. Then, dividing all elements in those four columns by Z0 results in well-conditioning
matrices.

1032

Sh. Hosseini-Hashemi et al. / Computers and Structures 88 (2010) 10151032

Table 9
Fundamental frequency parameters (b) of a rectangular plate (g = 2/3, d = 0.1) with multiple cracks when f = 0.5.
Crack location (a)

Uncracked plate
0.5
1/3 and 2/3
0.25, 0.5 and 0.75

Boundary conditions
SFSF

SSSF

SFSC

SSSS

SSSC

SCSC

9.5157
9.4740
9.4472
9.4261

10.4404
10.3725
10.3247
10.2907

10.7099
10.6559
10.6131
10.5762

13.9085
13.3938
13.2023
13.0518

15.0884
14.4601
14.3147
14.1518

16.6455
15.8052
15.8258
15.6941

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