Free flexural vibration analysis of stiffened plates with general elastic boundary supports

The free flexural vibration of a stiffened rectangular plate is investigated by using the finite element method (FEM). In the present model, the plate can have arbitrary elastic boundary conditions and arbitrarily located stiffeners. Numerical studies are conducted to analyze the natural frequencies of concentrically/eccentrically stiffened plates with different boundary conditions and the results show good agreement with earlier published results. The present model is also applied to parametric studies examining the effects of the stiffener on the natural frequencies of a glass window. The results show that the natural frequencies of the window are notably influenced by the stiffener and the stiffener’s location. The results also demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the present model.