Equivalent continuum models of large platelike lattice structures (Q1317500)

The author introduced a new continuum method based on the concept of energy equivalence to represent a large platelike periodic lattice structure as an equivalent continuum plate. The procedure for developing an equivalent continuum plate involves the use of existing well-defined finite element matrices for easy calculation of strain and kinetic energies contained in a representative lattice cell of the lattice plate. He then obtained the structural properties of the equivalent continuum plate by simply equating the reduced stiffness and mass matrices for the equivalent continuum plate to those for the lattice plate. The author conducted the free vibration analysis for continuum plates to evaluate the continuum method proposed in this paper. Numerical tests show that the present continuum method gives very reliable structural and dynamical properties compared with other well-recognized continuum methods. This paper is quite interesting and may be useful for those researchers working on structural dynamics.