Vibrations of rectangular plates with moderately large initial deflections at elevated temperatures using finite element method

A finite-element formulation is developed for the free vibration of rectangular plates which are under the influence of moderately large stress-free initial deflections and large thermal deflections. The von Karman nonlinear strain-displacement relations are used to account for the thermal deflections. The plates are thin, isotropic, and Hookean in nature. The temperature imposed on the plate is assumed to be constant through the thickness of the plate. Uniform and sinusoidal temperature distributions are studied. The material properties of the plates are temperature-dependent due to the relatively high temperatures imposed on the plates.