SPLINE FINITE POINT METHOD FOR THE GEOMETRICALLY NONLINEAR ANALYSIS OF PLATES

The spline finite point method has been used successfully in the linear analysis of plates. In this thesis, it is presented for the geometrically nonlinear analysis of plates. The displacement components u. v and ware treated as fundamental variables, taking the form of a product of the cubic spline interpolating functions and series. The essential equations are estadlished through the principle of minimum potential energy. The expresion of the tangential stiffness matrix in the spline finite point method is obtained. The system of nonlinear equations is solved by means of the modified Newton-Raphson method. Some computational examples are given in the end of paper. The deflections and moments of the simple supported rectangular plates and the clamped square plates under the uniform load or the central concentrated load are calculated. The results obtained is compared with those reported. Because of the using of spline function the results have high accuracy and the method can be easily carried out with computer. In comparison with the finite element method, the spline finite point method has the following advantages: fewer variables and input data of the program, shorter CPU time, The results show that this method is effective for the geometrically nonlinear analysis of the plate and shell structures.