Exact solutions for buckling and vibration of stepped rectangular Mindlin plates (Q1434751)

The study deals with an analytical approach for studying the buckling and vibration behaviour of rectangular Mindlin plates with multiple steps. The Levy solution method is employed in connection with the domain decomposition technique that is used to cater for the step variation in the plates. The authors present exact solutions for buckling and vibration of stepped rectangular Mindlin plates with two opposite edges simply supported and the remaining two edges being either free simply supported or clamped. The influence of the step length ratios, step thickness ratios and the number of steps on the buckling and vibration behaviour of square and rectangular Mindlin plates is investigated.