Vibration Analysis of Functionally Graded Folded Plate

This research work aims to present numerical solutions for free vibration analysis of moderately thick-folded plate structures made of functionally graded materials. First-order shear deformation theory has been applied in this finite element analysis. Nine-noded isoparametric Lagrangian plate bending elements are used. Young’s modulus and density are assumed to vary continuously through the plate thickness according to the power-law distribution. A transformation matrix of order 6 × 6 has been used to combine the system matrices. Several parametric studies have been performed for different folded configurations of the structure, varying its thickness, power-law index, material and boundary constraints. It is observed that the geometry of the fold along with other parameters significantly affects the natural frequency of the folded plate structure.