Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175

www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Free vibration of laminated composite plates subjected

to in-plane stresses using trapezoidal p-element
a,* a,b
A.Y.T. Leung , Cheng Xiao , B. Zhu a, Si Yuan b

a
Department of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong, Tatchee Avenue, HKSAR, China
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, China
Available online 9 April 2004

Abstract
A new trapezoidal p-element is applied to solve the free vibration problem of polygonal laminated composite plates subjected to
in-plane stresses with various boundary conditions. Legendre orthogonal polynomials are employed as enriching shape functions.
The element stiness and mass matrices are analytically integrated in closed form. Since one can always break a triangle into three
trapezoids by simply drawing three lines parallel to the three edges from any point in the triangle, the trapezoidal element is as good
as the triangular element. Free vibration of rectangular, triangular and polygonal laminated plates with various boundary condi-
tions and stacking sequences is analyzed. The present solutions are monotonically convergent, and they are in good agreement with
the available published results.

2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Vibration; Laminated plate; Trapezoid; p-element; In-plane stresses

1. Introduction reasonable for the analysis of laminated plates. Unfor-

Laminated plates are widely used in aircraft
and space systems because of their advantages over
isotropic plates in the higher stiness-to-weight and
strength-to-weight ratios. However, compared with
conventional isotropic plates, the analysis of layer plates
is more dicult due to their complex mechanical char-
acteristics.
There are two commonly used conventional plate
theories for the laminated plates. One is the classical
plate theory (CPT) based on Kirchhos assumption.
Liew et al. [1,2] applied it to the free vibration analysis
of laminated triangular and trapezoidal plates by the
Ritz method, but for plates with complicated shapes, the
nite element method (FEM) can readily be used just by
assembling the elements. The other is the rst-order
shear deformation plate theory (FSDT) [3]. The theory
taking into account the shear deformation eect is more
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +852-2788-7600; fax: +852-2788-
9643/2788-7612.
E-mail address: andrew.leung@cityu.edu.hk (A.Y.T. Leung).
0263-8223/$ - see front matter
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2004.03.011
tunately, to the best knowledge of the authors, most
existing methods based on this theory are limited to
rectangular plates [35].
The performance of a FE model may be improved
usually by ner mesh (h-version) or by rened interpo-
lation (p-version). In general, the convergence rate of p-
version elements is more rapid than that of h-version
elements for the same number of degrees of freedom
(DOFs) [6]. Because of the geometrical characteristics of
the trapezoidal elements, the stiness and mass matrices
can be analytically integrated [79]. Since one can break
a triangle into three trapezoids by simply drawing three
lines parallel to the three edges from any point in the
triangle, the trapezoidal element is as versatile as the
triangular element.
In this paper, free vibration of laminated composite
plates based on FSDT subjected to in-plane stresses is
considered. Legendre orthogonal polynomials are em-
ployed as shape functions to improve the accuracy and
to avoid the shear-locking problem. Rectangular, tri-
angular and polygonal plates with various boundary
conditions are analyzed. Comparison with published
results shows good accuracy and eciency of the present
trapezoidal p-element.
168 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175

2. Formulation The linear straindisplacement relations of the lami-

nate are
2.1. Laminated plate theory
ou ow
ex z x
For simplicity, consider a symmetrically laminated ox ox
ov owy
plate of thickness h, with the co-ordinate system at ey z
the mid-plane of the laminate in Fig. 1. Each layer of oy oy
the laminate is of equal thickness. The ber direction ou ov ow owy
cxy z xz 2
is indicated by an angle b, which is the positive oy ox oy ox
rotation angle of the principal material axes from the ow
arbitrary xy axes. The modulus of elasticity for a cyz wy
oy
layer parallel to bers is E11 and perpendicular to -
ow
bers is E22 . In this paper, the x-axis are all parallel to cxz wx
ox
the hemline of the geometry of the element in the
local co-ordinates. In two dimensional problems, taking the transverse
The displacement elds of FSDT are assumed to be displacement w as an example, it can be interpolated in
of the form [3] the following form

ux; y; z ux; y zwx x; y

X
p2 X
q2
wn; g wk;l Nk;l n; g 3

vx; y; z vx; y zwy x; y 1 k1 l1

x; y; z wx; y
w where the assumed shape functions Nk;l n; g
fk nfl g, and fk n, fl g are the C 0 Legendre orthog-
where
u,
v and w

are the displacement components along
onal polynomials [10]. All displacements u, v, w, wx , wy
the x, y and z axes, respectively. u, v and w are the
take the similar interpolation. When k, l 1 and 2, Eq.
associated mid-plane displacements, and wx , wy are the
(3) represents the usual FEM interpolation. The hier-
rotations of the normal about the y and x axes, respec-
archical shape functions, when one of k, l > 2, lead to
tively.
zero displacement at the corner nodes. With enriching
orthogonal functions, additional DOFs appear along
the four edges and in the interior. The DOFs at the four
z corner nodes are represented by k, l 2; the DOFs
along the four edges are represented if one of k, l > 2.
b Finally, the DOFs in the interior are represented by
a
both k, l > 2.

layer n h/2
2.2. Stiness and mass matrix
h/2 y
x
The co-ordinate systems used to dene a trapezoidal
layer 1 plate element are shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2(a) and (b) de-
pict the x co-ordinate and y co-ordinate along one of the
two sides parallel to each other respectively. Fig. 2(c)
Fig. 1. The conguration of the laminated composite plate. describes the mapped n  g square plane region. For the

y y

(b,c) (d,c) (1,1)

(c,d)
3 3 4 3
4
(0,a)
4

1 2 1 1 2
(0,0) (a,0) x (0,0) x
2
(c,b)
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2. The trapezoidal element co-ordinate transformation.

 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175 169

case of Fig. 2(a), the Cartesian co-ordinates x and y can ponding to the bottom and top surfaces of the kth layer,
be dened by n is the total number of layers of the plate, Q
is the
1 global reduced stiness matrix which can be referred to
x 1  n1  g; 1 n1  g; 1 n1 g; 1  n1 g any standard literatures such as [3,11].
4
 x1 ; x2 ; x3 ; x4 T To account for the in-plane stresses r0x , r0y and s0xy , the
1 potential energy of the element should be included. It is
y 1  n1  g; 1 n1  g; 1 n1 g; 1  n1 g obtained from the work done by the initial stresses
4
 y1 ; y2 ; y3 ; y4 
T acting on the non-linear parts of the corresponding
4 Greens strain components of elasticity theory [12]
which are
where xi and yi are the values of Cartesian co-ordinates
1 2
at the four corner nodes, respectively. The Jacobian eN
x ow=ox
2
matrix is dened in terms of the Cartesian co-ordinates
1 2
at the four corner nodes eN
y ow=oy
10
" # 2
ox oy  
1 d  b a eg 0 1
on on
J ox oy  5 eN
xy ow=oxow=oy
og og
4 d b  a en 2c 2
So the potential energy of the element becomes
where e d  b  a. Then the determinant of Jacobian
is jJj cd  b a eg=8, and P Rh nR R 0
V e nk1 hkk1 rx ow=ox2 r0y ow=oy2
" #
c
0 o
1 2jJj
J 6 2s0xy ow=ow  ow=oydx dy dz 11
 dbaen
4jJj
2
c

The displacement elds u, v, w, wx and wy are interpo- The kinetic energy is given by
lated using the C 0 Legendre orthogonal polynomials n Z hk1  Z Z
1X
mentioned in Section 2.1 as Te qu_ 2 v_ 2 w_ 2
8 9 2 k1 hk
> u > 
>
> >
>
< v >
> = 2 _ 2 _ 2
z qwx wy dx dy dz 12
u w
>
> >
>
> wx >
>
: >
;
For free vibration, when the Hamilton principle is
wy applied, the equation of the eigenvalue problem is ob-
N1;1 I; N1;2 I; . . . ; N1;q2 I; N2;1 I; . . . ; Np2;q2 Ide tained

N  de 7 K Kr  x2 Md 0 13

where de is the vector of generalized DOFs, and I is the where

5 5 identity matrix. Substituting the expressions of the X X X
displacement elds into Eq. (2) gives K Ke ; Kr Ker ; M Me 14
8 9 2 3 e e e
>
> ex >> o=ox 0 0 zo=ox 0
> > > 6 n Z
X Z Z
>
> > 6 0 7 hk1
< ey >
> = 6 o=oy 0 0 zo=oy 7 Ke

BT QBdxdy dz
7
e cxy 6 6 o=oy o=ox 0 zo=oy zo=ox 7 7
k1 hk
>
> >
> 6 7 n Z
X hk1 Z 1 Z 1
>
> c >
> 4 0 0 o=ox 1 0 5
 jJjdndgdz
> yz >
>
: >
; BT QB
cxz 0 0 o=oy 0 1 k1 hk 1 1

e n Z
X hk1 Z Z
uBd 8 Ker BTr r0 Br dxdy dz
k1 hk
For free vibration of laminated composite plates, the
n Z
X hk1 Z 1 Z 1
strain energy of the element is given by
BTr r0 Br  jJjdndgdz
n Z hk1  Z Z 
1X T

k1 hk 1 1
n Z hk1 Z Z
e
U  Q dx dy dz X
2 k1 hk
M e
q  NT diag1;1;1;z2 ;z2 Ndxdy dz
n Z hk1  Z Z 
1 eT X k1 hk
n Z hk1Z 1 Z
T

d B QB dx dy dz  de 9 X 1
2 k1 hk q  NT diag1;1;1;z2 ;z2 N  jJjdndgdz
k1 hk 1 1
where  is the strain components dened by Eq. (2), hk
and hk1 are the z-coordinates of the laminate corres- 15
170 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175

  conditions are considered to demonstrate the high e-

0 0 o=ox 0 0
Br ciency of trapezoidal p-element.
0 0 o=oy 0 0
 0  16
0
r x s0xy
r 0
sxy r0y 3.1. Three-ply rectangular plates with fully clamped
boundary conditions
In view of the coordinate mapping, the derivative in B
and Br should be replaced by Free vibration for the fully clamped three-ply lami-
    nates with stacking sequence (0/90/0) is considered.
o=ox 1 o=on
J 17 The aspect ratio of the plates is a=b 2 (see Fig. 3). Two
o=oy o=og
trapezoidal p-elements with dierent number of hierar-
It is noted that Eq. (15) should be integrated analyti- chical terms are used in the analysis. The rst eight non-
p
cally; otherwise, numerical integration errors will inu- dimensional frequency parameters k xb2 =p2 qh=D0
ence the computed results and monotonic convergence of the laminated plates with dierent thickness are listed
of the predicted natural frequencies cannot be guaran- in Table 1 along with those of the Ritz method [4], where
teed [14]. Introducing the Gaussian quadrature, one can D0 E22 h3 =121  m12 m21 . The Ritz method can obtain
use only the rst several terms of the additional higher very accurate solutions, but as a global method, it is
order functions to compute some lowest natural fre- rather dicult to analyze plates with complicated shapes.
quencies of the plates [15] as the higher order terms are From the table, it can be observed that the convergence
highly oscillatory. The problem becomes obvious for rate of the present hierarchical element is very fast with
higher order polynomials involved in the shape func- respect to the number of hierarchical terms. The present
tions [13]. For the rectangular element and the skew solutions with six hierarchical terms are in excellent
element, there is no problem in integrating the coe- agreement with those of the Ritz method.
cients of mass and stiness matrices analytically. For the
trapezoidal element, since the determinant of the Jaco-
bian jJj is only related to g, n and g can be integrated
independently and the exact values of these integrals
0.4a 0.6a
may readily be obtained by some commercial packages
such as MATLAB, MAPLE or MATHEMATICA.
Similarly, the stiness and mass matrices of the case in
Fig. 2(b) can also be formulated.

b
3. Numerical results and discussion

There are four common types of support conditions

for laminated plates: free (F), clamped (C), hard type
simply support (S) and soft type simply support (S*) 0.6a 0.4a
[16]. In this paper, laminated plates with dierent
stacking sequences, geometry parameters and boundary Fig. 3. Trapezoidal mesh for rectangular plate.

Table 1 p
Frequency parameters k xb2 =p2 qh=D0 for fully clamped three-ply laminated rectangular plates (0/90/0) E11 =E22 40; G23 0:5E22 ; G12
2
G31 0:6E22 ; m12 0:25; j p =12
h=b Method Mode sequences
1 2 3 4 5 6
0.2 p3 3.051 4.262 5.940 6.348 7.061 7.963
p4 3.047 4.250 5.823 5.908 6.581 7.697
p5 3.045 4.249 5.801 5.905 6.545 7.691
p6 3.045 4.249 5.792 5.905 6.536 7.688
Liew [4] 3.045 4.248 5.792 5.905 6.535 7.688
0.05 p3 4.811 8.932 14.924 18.942 20.560 23.044
p4 4.787 8.847 10.027 12.809 14.734 17.616
p5 4.779 8.841 9.965 12.614 14.704 17.403
p6 4.779 8.840 9.850 12.519 14.703 17.308
Liew [4] 4.779 8.840 9.847 12.511 14.703 17.300
 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175 171

3.2. Simply supported symmetric cross-ply square plate
The natural frequencies of the symmetric cross-ply
(0/90/0) square plates with hard type simply sup-
ported boundary conditions (see Fig. 4) are computed
using four present trapezoidal p-elements. The results
are compared with those of Reddy [3]. Because of the
symmetry of the laminates, the in-plane displacements
are uncoupled from the transverse deection. The rst
p Since there are only a few published papers consid-
seven non-dimensional frequencies k xa2 q=E22 h2 of
the exural vibration are given in Table 2. Compared
with Reddys solutions for another case, simply sup-
ported anti-symmetric cross-ply laminated plates with
various laminated sequences (two-ply and eight-ply),
modulus ratios and aspect ratios, are carried out in
Table 3 to validate the present element. Two trapezoidal
0.4a 0.6a
0.5a
p-elements with four hierarchical terms are used in the
analysis of plates with the same mesh of the rst studied
case. Fast convergence rate of the present element and
excellent agreement with Reddys solutions are also
observed in both tables.
3.3. Triangular plates with various boundary conditions
ering the vibration of triangular laminated plates [1],
equilateral triangular plates with various boundary
conditions and dierent thickness are analyzed herein.
The material properties of the laminated plates are the
same as those of the rst example in Section 3.1. The
rst six non-zero non-dimensional frequency parameters
p
k xb2 =p2 qh=D0 are presented in Table 4. It should
be noted that the denition of each boundary condition
corresponds to the three edges of the triangular plate L1 ,
L2 and L3 , respectively (see Fig. 5). For instance,
boundary condition SCC represents that edge L1 is hard
type simply supported, while L2 and L3 are clamped. The
triangular plate is meshed by three trapezoidal p-ele-
ments and six hierarchical terms are involved in the
vibration analysis.

3.4. Polygonal laminates with three-ply symmetric

cross-ply layers
0.5a

A hexagonal and octagonal three-ply symmetric

laminates (0/90/0) are shown in Fig. 6. They are fully
clamped and their circumscribed circles radius is R. The
thickness of the laminates is h 0:1R. The two polygons
0.6a 0.4a are meshed into four and six trapezoidal p-elements
respectively (see Fig. 6). The rst ve natural frequencies
Fig. 4. Four trapezoidal elements for simply support square plate. of the polygonal laminates computed with dierent

Table 2 p
Non-dimensional frequencies k xa2 q=E22 h2 for hard type simply supported three-ply square laminated plates (0/90/0)
E11 =E22 25; G12 G13 0:5E2 ; G23 0:2E2 ; m12 0:25; j 5=6
h=a Method Mode sequences
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0.1 p1 12.388 19.834 32.253 36.465 48.401 58.130 66.828
p2 12.169 19.071 31.333 33.073 34.956 44.795 51.696
p3 12.163 18.734 30.995 31.163 34.451 42.842 48.438
p4 12.163 18.730 30.948 30.991 34.435 42.606 46.036
p5 12.163 18.729 30.933 30.991 34.435 42.583 45.950
p6 12.163 18.729 30.932 30.991 34.435 42.582 45.923
Reddy [3] 12.163 18.729 30.932 30.991 34.434 42.585 45.923
0.01 p1 16.896 28.608 64.109 73.042 358.09 411.06 485.98
p2 15.247 24.266 48.272 61.143 65.267 81.856 84.058
p3 15.184 22.839 41.273 56.246 60.295 71.933 81.763
p4 15.183 22.822 40.263 56.223 60.224 66.705 70.905
p5 15.183 22.817 40.160 56.210 60.211 66.620 70.775
p6 15.183 22.817 40.153 56.210 60.211 66.366 70.765
Reddy [3] 15.183 22.817 40.153 56.210 60.211 66.364 70.764
172 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175

Table 3 p
Non-dimensional fundamental frequencies k xa2 q=E22 h2 for hard type simply supported anti-symmetric laminated plates
E11 =E22 25; G12 G13 0:5E2 ; G23 0:2E2 ; m12 0:25; j 5=6
h=b Method E11 =E22 10 E11 =E22 25 E11 =E22 40
(0/90) (0/90)4 (0/90) (0/90)4 (0/90) (0/90)4
Square plate a/b 1
0.1 Present 7.454 9.450 8.900 12.628 10.028 14.562
Reddy [3] 7.454 9.450 8.900 12.628 10.027 14.562
0.05 Present 7.803 10.103 9.475 14.242 10.841 17.170
Reddy [3] 7.802 10.102 9.474 14.241 10.840 17.169
0.01 Present 7.928 10.346 9.689 14.915 11.153 18.369
Reddy [3] 7.931 10.354 9.695 14.941 11.163 18.419

Rectangular plate a/b 3

0.1 Present 4.752 6.319 5.953 8.801 6.847 10.269
Reddy [3] 4.751 6.319 5.952 8.800 6.846 10.269
0.05 Present 4.910 6.673 6.259 9.820 7.315 11.992
Reddy [3] 4.908 6.592 6.258 9.819 7.313 11.990
0.01 Present 4.965 6.802 6.370 10.236 7.490 12.768
Reddy [3] 4.962 6.799 6.367 10.231 7.486 12.763

Table 4 p
Non-dimensional frequencies (k xb2 =p2 qh=D0 ) of triangular laminated plates (0/90/0) with various boundary conditions
E11 =E22 40; G13 G12 0:6E22 ; G23 0:5E22 ; m12 0:25; j 5=6
BC h=a Mode sequences
1 2 3 4 5 6
FFF 0.1 7.060 7.060 8.142 15.88 17.18 17.18
0.05 7.926 7.926 9.237 20.36 23.47 23.47
0.01 8.545 8.545 9.981 24.84 28.04 28.04
CCC 0.1 13.15 21.84 21.84 30.34 30.34 30.43
0.05 18.83 33.82 33.83 48.15 48.15 49.25
0.01 26.19 49.61 49.61 74.96 78.49 78.49
CFF 0.1 2.491 6.449 7.586 14.30 14.73 17.74
0.05 2.769 7.961 9.174 19.37 21.18 24.84
0.01 2.924 8.970 10.24 24.80 28.20 30.91
SCC 0.1 11.65 20.37 21.25 29.04 29.47 30.16
0.05 16.07 30.53 31.81 45.00 45.76 47.72
0.01 20.90 42.36 44.25 67.76 69.42 72.65
CSS 0.1 10.16 19.36 20.25 28.12 28.76 29.34
0.05 13.33 28.00 29.21 42.43 43.41 45.38
0.01 16.39 36.80 37.76 60.34 62.48 65.14

S*S*S* 0.1 8.535 18.70 18.70 27.69 27.69 27.86

0.05 10.44 25.92 25.92 40.75 40.75 41.48
0.01 12.27 31.93 31.93 54.36 54.36 55.52

number of hierarchical terms are presented in Table 5. It
can be found that the convergence of the data is fast and
monotonic.
3.5. Plates subjected to in-plane stresses
To study the vibration characteristic of laminated
plates subjected to in-plane stresses, a fully clamped
isotropic square plate with dierent thickness is ana-
lyzed rst. The mesh of the plate is the same as that of
the second studied case. The Poissons ratio v is taken to
be 0.3 and the shear correction factor is set to 5/6. The
rst six non-dimensional frequencies of the plate sub-
jected to in-plane stresses of the proposed element are
compared with those of Liew et al. [17] in Table 6, in
which k r0x h=p2 D r0y h=p2 D with D is the exural
 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175 173

60

0.5L
x
L3 y L2

y
x R R R R

0.366L
y x

60
60

Fig. 6. Geometry sizes and meshes for clamped polygonal plates.

L1
0.713L 0.287L
Fig. 5. Mesh for equilateral triangular plate.
rigidity and s0xy is assumed to be zero. Good agreement
between them can be observed.
Then, a simple supported three-ply laminated rect-
angular plate (0/90/0) subjected to in-plane stresses
k rN hb2 =p2 D is considered. The ratios are a=b 2 and
h=b 0:2. The in-plane stresses are r0x rN 1 2z=h,
r0y r0x , s0xy 0, where rN is taken to be a constant so
that the initial stress eld is uniform. The trapezoidal
mesh is the same as that of the rst studied case. The
rst ve non-dimensional frequencies of the plate are
listed in Table 7. The results of the present element
without in-plane stresses (k 0) are in excellent agree-
ment with those of Liew [4]. The rst ve non-dimen-
sional frequencies are plotted in Fig. 7 as a function of
rN . These frequencies increase with the increasing of rN ,

Table 5 p
Non-dimensional frequencies k xR2 qh=D0 (D0 E22 h3 =121  m12 m21 ) for fully clamped three-ply polygonal laminates (0/90/0)
E11 =E22 25; G13 G23 0:5E22 ; G12 0:2E22 ; m12 0:25; j 5=6
Method Mode sequences
1 2 3 4 5
Hexagon p3 28.339 41.290 57.336 59.272 72.496
p4 28.321 41.246 57.265 58.591 72.068
p5 28.318 41.239 57.249 58.486 72.047
p6 28.318 41.237 57.247 58.482 72.040
p7 28.318 41.237 57.247 58.481 72.040

Octagon p3 26.506 37.438 54.482 54.668 65.394

p4 26.503 37.388 54.402 54.643 65.252
p5 26.502 37.386 54.374 54.639 65.244
p6 26.502 37.385 54.373 54.639 65.243
p7 26.502 37.385 54.372 54.638 65.242

Table 6 p
Non-dimensional frequencies (k xb 21 mq=E for full clamped square isotropic plate subjected to in-plane stresses m 0:3; j 5=6
h=b k Method Mode sequences
1 2 3 4 5 6
0.01 )5 Present 0.2417 0.4407 0.6177 0.7338 0.7358 0.8993
Liew et al. [17] 0.2417 0.4407 0.6177 0.7337 0.7357 0.8992
5 Present 0.0421 0.2448 0.4142 0.5286 0.5341 0.6899
Liew et al. [17] 0.0421 0.2448 0.4141 0.5286 0.5340 0.6899
0.1 )5 Present 2.2563 3.9012 5.2346 6.0424 6.0752 7.1632
Liew et al. [17] 2.2563 3.9012 5.2345 6.0423 6.0752 7.1631
5 Present 1.7008 2.8971 3.6436 3.7347 4.6494
Liew et al. [17] 1.7008 2.8970 3.6435 3.7246 4.6492
174 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175

Table 7
Non-dimensional frequencies for fully clamped three-ply laminated plates (0/90/0) subjected to in-plane stresses k trN b2 =p2 D; D
E22 h3 =121  m12 m21 E11 =E22 40; G23 0:5E22 ; G12 G31 0:6E22 ; m12 0:25; j p2 =12
k Method Mode sequences
1 2 3 4 5
)0.5 p 3 1.7758 3.4574 4.9663 5.3693 5.8408
p 4 1.7753 3.4555 4.6768 5.3400 5.5811
p 5 1.7752 3.4554 4.6661 5.3388 5.5618
p 6 1.7752 3.4554 4.6628 5.3387 5.5583
0 p3 1.9398 3.5959 5.1788 5.5109 6.0532
p4 1.9393 3.5940 4.8892 5.4868 5.7920
p5 1.9393 3.5939 4.8789 5.4856 5.7729
p6 1.9393 3.5939 4.8756 5.4855 5.7693
Liew [4] 1.9393 3.5939 4.8755 5.4855 5.7691
0.5 p 3 2.0910 3.7293 5.3828 5.6540 6.2583
p 4 2.0906 3.7273 5.0926 5.6297 5.9954
p 5 2.0905 3.7272 5.0826 5.6285 5.9764
p 6 2.0905 3.7272 5.0793 5.6284 5.9728

7 Acknowledgements
6 5
The research is supported by grant number CityU
5 4 1278/03E of the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong
4
3 SAR, China.
3
2

2 References
1
1
0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Fig. 7. Frequencies versus initial stress.
and lines of the fourth and fth non-dimensional fre-
quencies are crossed with each other.
4. Conclusion
A trapezoidal p-element with analytical integration
for the free vibration of laminated composite plates is
presented. The Legendre orthogonal polynomials are
employed as the enriching shape functions. The in-plane
stresses of plates can be involved in the vibration anal-
ysis. The element is applied to the vibration of laminated
rectangular, triangular and polygonal plates with or
without in-plane stresses. Computed results show that
the convergence rate of the element is very fast with
respect to the number of hierarchical terms, and com-
parison between the solutions of the present element and
those of available published methods proves that the
element is very ecient for the free vibration analysis of
laminated plates.
[1] Liew KM, Chaim TC. The free exural vibration of symmetric
angle-ply triangular composite plates. J Sound Vibrat
1994;169(5):63354.
[2] Liew KM, Lim CW. Vibratory characteristic of general laminates,
I: symmetric trapezoids. J Sound Vibrat 1995;183(4):61542.
[3] Reddy JN. Mechanics of laminated composite plates: theory and
analysis. CRC Press; 1996.
[4] Liew KM. Solving the vibration of thick symmetric laminates by
Reissner/Mindlin plate theory and the p-Ritz method. J Sound
Vibrat 1996;198(3):34360.
[5] Bardell NS, Dunsdon JM, Langley RS. Free vibration analysis of
coplanar sandwich panels. Compos Struct 1997;38(14):46375.
[6] Zienkiewicz OC, Taylor RL. The nite element method. 4th ed.
New York: McGraw-Hill; 1989.
[7] Leung AYT, Zhu B, Zheng J, Yang H. A trapezoidal Fourier
p-element for membrane vibrations. Thin-walled Struct
2003;41:47991.
[8] Leung AYT, Zhu B, Zheng J, Yang H. Analytical trapezoidal
Fourier p-element for vibration plane problems. J Sound Vibrat
2004;271(12):6781.
[9] Leung AYT, Zhu B. Transverse vibration of thick polygonal
plates using analytical integrated trapezoidal Fourier p-element.
Comput Struct 2004;82(23):10919.
[10] Houmat A. Hierarchical nite element analysis of the vibration of
membranes. J Sound Vibrat 1997;201(4):46572.
[11] Jones RM. Mechanics of composite materials. New York:
Hemisphere Publishing Corporation; 1975.
[12] Roufaeil OL, Dawe DJ. RaleighRitz vibration analysis of
rectangular Mindlin plates subjected to membrane stresses. J
Sound Vibrat 1982;85(2):26375.
[13] Woo KS, Hong CH, Basu PK, Seo CG. Free vibration of skew
Mindlin plates by p-version of FEM. J Sound Vibrat
2003;268(4):63756.
 A.Y.T. Leung et al. / Composite Structures 68 (2005) 167175 175

[14] Leung AYT, Zhu B. Comments on Free vibration of skew
Mindlin plates by p-version of FEM. J Sound Vibrat, in press.
[15] Houmat A. A triangular fourier p-element for the analysis
of membrane vibrations. J Sound Vibrat 2000;230(1):31
43.
[16] Wang CM, Reddy JN, Lee KH. Shear deformable beams and
theories. Oxford: Elsevier; 2000.
[17] Liew KM, Xiang Y, Kitipornchai S. Transverse vibration of thick
rectangular platesIV. Inuence of isotropic in-plane stresses.
Comput Struct 1993;49(1):6978.