Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

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Applied Mathematical Modelling

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apm

Free vibration analysis of cracked postbuckled plate

Shapour Moradi a,∗, Hesam Makvandi a, Davood Poorveis b,
Kourosh Heidari Shirazi a
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this paper, a methodology is introduced to address the free vibration analysis of cracked
Received 29 July 2017 plate subjected to a uniaxial inplane compressive load for the first time. The crack, as-
Revised 18 September 2018
sumed to be open and at the edge is modeled by a massless linear rotational spring. The
Accepted 9 October 2018
governing differential equations are derived using the Mindlin theory, taking into account
Available online 12 October 2018
the effect of initial imperfection. The response is assumed to be consisting of static and
Keywords: dynamic parts. For the static part, differential equations are discretized using the differen-
Postbuckling tial quadrature element method and resulting nonlinear algebraic equations are solved by
Vibration an arc-length strategy. Assuming small amplitude vibrations of the plate about its buckled
Crack state and exploiting the static solution in the linearized vibration equations, the dynamic
Experiment equations are converted into a non-standard eigenvalue problem. Finally, natural frequen-
Differential quadrature element method cies and modal shapes of the cracked buckled plate are obtained by solving this eigenvalue
problem. To ensure the validity of the suggested approach an experimental setup and a nu-
merical finite element model have been made to analyze the vibration of a cracked square
plate with simply supported boundary conditions. Also, several case-studies of cracked
buckled plate problem have been solved utilizing the proposed method, and effects of se-
lected parameters have been studied. The results show that the applied load and geometric
imperfection as well as the position, size and depth of the crack have different impact on
natural frequencies of the plate.
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Industrial structures experience different damages such as the crack initiation and growth during their working life.
Cracks affect the mechanical behavior of structures. This is especially important in plates under the influence of buckling
phenomenon. Experiments have shown that postbuckling behavior of plates differs with columns, where plates can with-
stand loads much greater than their critical load. Postbuckling resistance of plates persuades engineers to utilize the load
capacity of buckled plates in structures that have weight restrictions such as airplanes, spaceships, micro-switches and
beam-plates. Since the crack is known as one of the causes of failure in structures, investigating the effects of cracks has
a considerable impact on economic and reliable design of structures. Therefore, many researchers studied the behavior of
cracked structures in different fields. One of these areas is the study of the postbuckling and vibrations of cracked structures.

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: moradis@scu.ac.ir (S. Moradi), h-makvandi@phdstu.scu.ac.ir (H. Makvandi), dpoorveis@scu.ac.ir (D. Poorveis), k.shirazi@scu.ac.ir (K.H.
Shirazi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apm.2018.10.004
0307-904X/© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
612 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

Rice and Levy [1] calculated stress intensity factors for cracked rectangular plate under bending and tensile loads. They
investigated the effects of cracks on plates using a developed edge cracked belt model. They intended the crack as a local
reduction in plate stiffness and modeled it using stretching and rotational springs. Delale and Erdogan [2] extended the
line-spring model introduced in [1] taking into account the effects of transverse shear deformations. Chen [3] used hybrid
crack element method to investigate the behaviors of an internally cracked plate. The crack supposed to be inclined. He
extracted the stress intensity factor and T-stress of some cracked plates.
Brighenti [4] studied the effects of center crack on buckling of thin plates with different boundary conditions under
tensile, compression and shear loads. He used the finite element method to obtain the buckling load factors. Alinia et al.
[5] used the finite element method to investigate buckling and postbuckling of rectangular cracked plates under shear loads
and studied the effects of cracks on the critical buckling loads. They assumed the crack to be open and neglected the crack
growth. Javidruzi [6] studied the dynamic stability of simply supported cracked plates using the finite element method and
examined the effects of length and angle of cracks on plate behavior.
Hosseini Hashemi et al. [7,8] studied the free vibration of rectangular cracked plates analytically. They divided the plate
into several elements and utilized the compatibility conditions to collect the results for a full plate. They studied the effects
of crack dimensions on vibration of plates. Bose and Mohanty [9] investigated the vibration of plates having an internal crack
with arbitrary direction and length. They extracted the governing equations of cracked plate by means of the Kirchhoff’s the-
ory. Using the Berger equation, the governing equation was converted to Duffing equation and was solved employing the
multiple-scale method. Huang et al. [10] examined the effects of crack dimensions on the natural frequencies of fully simply
supported and free rectangular plates. They defined new response functions which consider stress singularity at the crack
tip, the slope and displacement discontinuity along the crack in addition to taking into account the plate boundary condi-
tions. Khadem and Rezaee [11] studied vibrations of a plate with an overall crack. They assumed open cracks and divided the
plate along the crack into two parts. Then, applying proper boundary conditions, the governing differential equations were
derived. In another research Khadem and Rezaee [12] presented modified comparison functions to improve the accuracy of
the comparison functions in vibration analysis of plates having cracks with finite length located parallel to one of its sides.
They used Rayleigh-Ritz method to compute the natural frequencies. Ismal and Cartmell [13] investigated the behavior of
a rectangular plate with an angular center crack using the same method as Israr [14], Israr et al. [15] and Israr and Atepor
[16]. They extracted the governing equations using the classical theory of plate’s assumptions and converted them using the
Berger equations. Then using the Galerkin and the multiple scale perturbation methods, they solved the resulting equations.
Bachene et al. [17,18] investigated the oscillations of cracked rectangular plates using the extended finite element method.
The effects of rotary inertia and shear deformation were taken into account. Qian et al. [19] developed a cracked plate el-
ement consist of convenient refining of the elements around the crack tips. They considered crack effects using the crack
strain energy that is proportional to stress intensity factor. The excellences of their method are the computational efficiency,
and compatibility with other analyses. Monoach and Trendafilova [20] investigated the effects of defects on nonlinear vi-
brations of a fully clamped rectangular plate using the Mindlin plate theory and considering the geometrical nonlinearity.
Joshi et al. [21,22] used classical plate theory and Berger’s formulations to investigate the vibration of rectangular plates
containing single crack and double perpendicular cracks in thermal environments. Hadjileontiadis and Douka [23] applied
the fractal dimension analysis to the simulated fundamental vibration mode of a simply supported rectangular plate to de-
tect the depth, length and position of cracks parallel to one of its edges. Nikravesh and Chegini [24] presented a method for
crack identification in plates using wavelet analysis.
Joshi et al. [25] presented an analytical approach for vibration and buckling analysis of cracked plates in thermal environ-
ment. They used line-spring model to simulate the crack effects and solved the obtained equations using Galerkin method.
Panahandeh-Shahraki and Rad [26], and Rad and Panahandeh-Shahraki [27] used the finite element method and classical
plate theory to study buckling behavior of cracked FGM plates under tension. They observed that for long cracks, the ef-
fects of foundation stiffness on buckling load have been diminished. Seif and Kabir [28] presented an analytical approach to
study local buckling of cracked plates under tension. Natarajan et al. [29] studied linear vibration of FGM plates in thermal
environment using the finite element method. The formulation was based on the first order shear deformation theory and
the material was assumed to be temperature dependent and graded in thickness. They concluded that increase in gradient
index and crack length could decrease the natural frequencies. Tran et al. [30] combined higher-order shear deformation
theory and extended isogeometric approach to study the vibration of cracked FGM plates. They concluded that increase in
crack length causes the decrease in natural frequencies. Bhardwaj et al. [31] investigated the response of functionally graded
cracked plates under different loading and boundary conditions using extended isogeometric analysis. Damnjanovic et al.
[32] used the dynamic stiffness method to solve the vibration of composite stiffened and cracked plates taking into account
the first and higher order shear deformation theories. Huang et al. [33] also used Ritz method and Reddy third order plate
theory to study the vibration characteristics of cracked FGM plates.
Shojaei et al. [34] solved the problem of vibration of postbuckled imperfected Timoshenko beam. They solved the post-
buckling problem by pseudo-arc length continuation method and the free vibration around this state by an eigen solver
strategy. Ansari et al. [35] studied the post-buckling and vibration of post-buckled FGM micro-plates using generalized dif-
ferential quadrature method. They derived governing equations using Hamilton’s principle taking into account the Mindlin
assumptions. Ansari and Gholami [36] used the same strategy to investigate the free vibration of postbuckled magneto-
electro-thermo elastic rectangular nano plates having various edge conditions. Shi et al. [37] experimentally investigated
the effects of crack on initially imperfected plates under compression. They showed that the crack specifications (position,
 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627 613

Fig. 1. Cracked plate under in-plane uniaxial compressive load.

length and angle) could affects the ultimate strength reduction. Huang et al. [38] used Ritz method to study the vibrations
of cracked plates. They used Mindlin theory and considered side and internal cracks.
As previously mentioned, using the postbuckling capacity of plates is a convenient way to increase their load capacity,
however large deformations of buckled plates make them vulnerable to crack initiation and propagation. Therefore, due
to various applications of buckled plates, studying the behavior of cracked buckled plates seems to be necessary. To the
authors’ best knowledge, the vibration analysis of cracked plates under the application of inplane compressive load has not
been investigated in the literature yet. Therefore, in this study, a method for analyzing the crack effects on vibrations of
pre and post buckled plates is proposed. In this approach, using the fracture mechanics and the widely accepted line-spring
model, the crack is modeled as a massless rotational spring. Then, assuming an open edge crack, nonlinear differential
equations are derived. The response is assumed as a summation of static and dynamic parts. For the static solution,
nonlinear differential equations are discretized using the differential quadrature element method (DQEM) and solved by an
arc-length strategy. The dynamic equations are linearized assuming small amplitude vibration around buckled state of the
plate. After inserting the static solution into linearized vibration differential equations, they are discretized using DQEM to
make the final eigenvalue problem. The frequencies and the mode shapes of the cracked buckled plate are computed upon
solving the eigenvalue problem.

2. Theory

2.1. Crack modeling

To study the vibration of the cracked buckled plate, a plate with length a, width b and thickness h, having a crack with
depth hc , length Lc and located at a distance lc parallel with y axis has been considered. The plate is under the axial uniform
compressive load P, acts along the width as shown in Fig. 1.
The rotational spring model from the widely accepted line-spring model [1,2] has been used to model the crack. Here,
the plate is assumed to be under the action of bending moment. Moreover, the moment has been assumed to be in a
direction that its influence keeps the crack edges to be open and non-propagating in the postbuckled state. Using this
model, the effect of the crack in bending vibration can represented by a continuous line-spring having variable stiffness
along the length of the crack. This causes the discontinuity in the slope of the plate at the crack location. To calculate
this extra slope of the cracked plate, using fracture mechanic relations the first mode of the stress intensity factor can be
defined by the following relation:

K = hσb αbb , (1)

where σ b is the nominal bending stress in the direction normal to the crack, and α bb is a non-dimensional compliance
coefficient. Taking into account the relation between the stress intensity factor and the energy release rate due to the
614 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

bending moment, G, and also the relation between G and the additional rotation caused by it, θ , one can write [12,39]:
 
12 1 − ν 2
θ= σb αbb (2)
E
here E and ν represent the Young’s modulus of elasticity and Poison’s ratio. Introducing the nondimensional variables
ζ = x/a and η = y/b, and using the modified comparison functions introduced in [12], the non-dimensional compliance
coefficient and normal bending stress can be written as:

.e−[(η−η0 )e] /(Lc /b)

2 2
αbb = αbb
0
(3)

σb = σb∞ − (σb∞ − σb0 ) f (η ), (4)

where e is the base of natural logarithm, η0 is the relative position of the crack center (i.e., η0 = lc /b), and αbb
0 is the
dimensionless bending compliance coefficient at crack center and is defined by the following relation:
 hc
1
αbb
0
= g2b dhc (5)
h 0

gb is a function of the relative depth of the crack (ξ = hc /h), where (0 ≤ ξ ≤ 0.8) and is defined as [2]:
  
gb = π ξ . 1.1202 − 1.8872ξ + 18.0143ξ 2 − 87.3851ξ 3 + 241.9124ξ 4 − 319.9402ξ 5 + 168.0105ξ 6 (6)

σb∞ is the nominal bending stress at the location of the crack with an infinite length, σb0 is the nominal bending stress at
the crack location, and f(η) is the crack shape function defined as:

f (η ) = e−[(η−η0 )e] /(Lc /b) ,

2 2
(7)
by substituting the Eqs. (3), (4), (7) into Eq. (3) and taking into account the relations between the bending moment and
bending stresses, the slope discontinuity along the crack can be expressed by the following relation:
 
 ∂α ∂β 0 

θ (η ) ζ =ζ0 = −6h +ν α E (η ) f (η )ζ =ζ0 , (8)
∂x ∂ y bb
where α and β are rotations about the y and x axes, respectively. E(η) is the correction function and can be determined by
the following relation [12]:
Lc
+ 3(ν + 3 )(1 − ν )αbb
0
[1 − f (η )]
E (η ) = h
(9)
Lc
h
+ 3(ν + 3 )(1 − ν )αbb
0

2.2. Governing equations

Using the Mindlin theory and considering the effects of initial imperfection in Von-Karman strain-displacement relations
for a plate, the governing differential equations can be extracted as Eqs. (10)–(14):
Eh
[u,xx + w,xx w,x + w,xx w0,x + w,x w0,xx + ν (v,xy + w,xy w,y + w,xy w0,y + w,y w0,xy )]
1 − ν2
Eh
+ [u,yy + v,xy + w,xy w,y + w,x w,yy + w0,xy w,y + w0,x w,yy + w,xy w0,y + w,x w0,yy ] = μü (10)
2 (1 + ν )

Eh
[v,yy + w,yy w,y + w,yy w0,y + w,y w0,yy + ν (u,xy + w,xy w,x + w,xy w0,x + w,x w0,xy )]
1 − ν2
Eh
+ [u,xy + v,xx + w,xy w,x + w,x w,xy +w0,xx w,y + w0,x w,xy + w,xx w0,y + w,x w0,xy ] = μv̈ (11)
2 (1 + ν )

Eh
Ks Gh(α,x + w,xx ) + Ks Gh(β,y + w,yy ) + (u,xx w,x + w,xx w2,x + w,xx w0,x w,x + w2,x w0,xx + ν (v,xy w,x + w,xy w,x w,y
1 − ν2
Eh
+ w,xy w,x w0,y + w0,xy w,x w,y )) + (u,xx w0,x + w,xx w0,x w,x + w,xx w20,x + w0,xx w0,x w,x + ν (v,xy w0,x + w,xy w0,x w,y
1 − ν2
Eh
1
1

+ w,xy w0,x w0,y + w0,xy w0,x w,y )) + u,x w,xx + w,xx w2,x + w,xx w0,x w,x + ν v,y w,xx + w,xx w2,y + w,y w,xx w0,y
1−ν 2 2 2
Eh
1
1

Eh
+ u,x w0,xx + w0,xx w,x + w0,xx w0,x w,x + ν v,y w0,xx + w0,xx w,y + w,y w0,xx w0,y +
2 2
(v,yy w,y + w,yy w2,y
1 − ν2 2 2 1 − ν2
+ w,yy w0,y w,y + w2,y w0,yy + ν (u,xy w,y + w,xy w,x w,y + w,xy w,y w0,x + w0,xy w,x w,y ))
 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627 615

Eh
+ (v,yy w0,y + w,yy w0,y w,y + w,yy w20,y
1 − ν2
Eh
1
+ w0,yy w0,y w,y + ν (u,xy w0,y + w,xy w0,y w,x + w,xy w0,x w0,y w0,xy w0,y w,x )) + v,y w,yy + w,yy w2,y + w0,yy w,y w,y
1 − ν2
2
1

Eh 1
1
+ ν u,x w,yy + w,yy w,x + w,x w,yy w0,x
2
+ (v,y w0,yy + w0,yy w,y + w0,yy w,yy w,y + ν u,x w0,yy + w0,yy w2,x
2
2 1−ν 2 2 2

Eh
+ w,x w0,yy w0,x + (u,xy w,y + v,xx w,y + w,xx w,y + w,xy w,x w,y + w0,xx w,y + w,xy w0,x w,y + w,xx w0,y w,y
2 2
2 (1 + ν )
Eh
+ w2,xy w,x w,y )) + (u,xy w0,y + v,xx w0,y + w,xx w,y w0,y + w,xy w,x w0,y + w0,xx w,y w0,y + w,xy w0,x w0,y + w,xx w20,y
2 (1 + ν )
Eh
+ w2,xy w0,y w,x )) + (u,yy w,x + v,xy w,x + w,xy w,x w,y + w,yy w2,x + w,xy w,x w0,y
2 (1 + ν )
Eh
+ w,yy w2,x )) + + (u,yy w0,x
2 (1 + ν )
+ v,xy w0,x + w,xy w0,x w,y + w,yy w0,x w,x + w,yy w20,x + w,xy w0,x w0,y + w,yy w,x w0,x ))
Eh
+ (u,y w,xy + v,x w,xy + w,xy w,x w,y
(1 + ν )
Eh
+ w,xy w0,x w,y + w,xy w,x w0,y )) + (u,y w0,xy + v,x w0,xy + w0,xy w,x w,y + w0,xy w0,x w,y + w0,xy w,x w0,y )) = μẅ
(1 + ν )
(12)

E h3 E h3
  (α,xx + νβ,xy ) + (α,yy + β,xy ) − Ks Gh(α + w,x ) = Ix α̈ (13)
12 1 − ν 2 24(1 + ν )

E h3 E h3
  (β,xx + να,xy ) + (α,xy + β,xx ) − Ks Gh(β + w,y ) = Iy β̈ , (14)
12 1 − ν 2 24(1 + ν )

where u, v and w are displacements in x, y and z directions, and α and β are rotations about the y and x axes, respectively.
w0 is the initial geometric imperfection and E, ν and G represent the Young’s modulus of elasticity, Poison’s ratio and shear
module, respectively. Ks is the shear correction factor which is used to compensate the differences between shear stress
distribution assumed in Mindlin theory and the actual distribution.
The continuity conditions between two adjacent elements are continuity in displacements, slopes, moments and forces.
But in cracked borders, the continuity conditions are continuity in displacements, moments and forces, and discontinuity in
slope caused by bending. The continuity conditions between two adjacent elements, r and r + 1, in the x direction and two
adjacent elements, s and s + 1, in the y direction as shown in Fig. 2 are:
⎧ r,s
⎪β = β r+1,s
⎪
⎨α r,s = α r+1,s + θ
vr,s = vr+1,s (15)
⎪
⎪ r+1,s
⎩u r,s = u r+1,s
r,s

w =w

⎧ r,s
⎪β = β r,s+1
⎪
⎨α r,s = α r,s+1
vr,s = vr,s+1 (16)
⎪
⎪ r,s+1
⎩u r,s = u r,s+1
r,s

w =w

⎧ r,s
⎪Qx = Qx r+1,s
⎪
⎪
⎨Mxy r,s = Mxy r+1,s
Mx r,s = Mx r+1,s (17)
⎪
⎪ r,s r+1,s
⎪
⎩Nxyr,s = Nxy
r+1,s
Nx = Nx
616 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

Fig. 2. Cracked plate model.

⎧ r,s
⎪Qy = Qy r,s+1
⎪
⎪
⎨Mxy r,s = Mxy r,s+1
My r,s = My r,s+1 (18)
⎪
⎪ r,s r,s+1
⎪
⎩Nxyr,s = Nxy
r,s+1
Ny = Ny
For the plate with simply supported ends the boundary conditions can be represented by: for unloading edges at y = 0,
y = b:
My = 0, Nxy = 0, w = 0, Ny = 0, α=0 (19)
for the loading edge:
at x = 0 : Mx = 0, Nxy = 0, w = 0, β = 0, Nx = P
(20)
at x = a : Mx = 0, Nxy = 0, w = 0, β = 0, u = 0

2.3. Static solution

As mentioned earlier, the dynamical behavior of the plate is affected by the in-plane uniaxial load. In order to compute
the natural frequencies of the plate, one must solve the Eqs. (10)–(14). To solve them, the solution will be considered as a
summation of the static and dynamic response shown by the following relations:
w = ws + wd
u = us + ud
v = vs + vd (21)
α = αs + αd
β = βs + βd ,
where us , vs , ws , α s and β s are the static postbuckling responses (time independent), and ud , vd , wd , α d and β d are the dy-
namic responses around the deformed shape of the plate (time dependent). Utilizing Eq. (21) into the governing differential
 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627 617

equations and eliminating the time dependent terms, the postbuckling differential equations of the plate are obtained as
Eqs. (22)–(26):
Eh
[us,xx + ws,xx ws,x + ws,xx w0,x + ws,x w0,xx + ν (vs,xy + ws,xy ws,y + ws,xy w0,y + ws,y w0,xy )]
1 − ν2
Eh
+ [us,yy + vs,xy + ws,xy ws,y + ws,x ws,yy + w0,xy ws,y + w0,x ws,yy + ws,xy w0,y + ws,x w0,yy ] = 0 (22)
2 (1 + ν )

Eh
[vs,yy + ws,yy ws,y + ws,yy w0,y + ws,y w0,yy + ν (us,xy + ws,xy ws,x + ws,xy w0,x + ws,x w0,xy )]
1 − ν2
Eh
+ [us,xy + vs,xx + ws,xy ws,x + ws,x ws,xy + w0,xx ws,y + w0,x ws,xy + ws,xx w0,y + ws,x w0,xy ] = 0 (23)
2 (1 + ν )

Eh
Ks Gh(αs,x + ws,xx ) + Ks Gh(βs,y + ws,yy ) + (us,xx ws,x + ws,xx w2s,x + ws,xx w0,x ws,x + w2s,x w0,xx
1 − ν2
Eh
+ ν (vs,xy ws,x + ws,xy ws,x ws,y + ws,xy ws,x w0,y + w0,xy ws,x ws,y )) + (us,xx w0,x + ws,xx w0,x ws,x
1 − ν2
Eh
+ ws,xx w20,x + w0,xx w0,x ws,x + ν (vs,xy w0,x + ws,xy w0,x ws,y + ws,xy w0,x w0,y + w0,xy w0,x ws,y )) + us,x ws,xx

1 − ν2
1 1 Eh 1
+ ws,xx w2s,x + ws,xx w0,x ws,x + ν vs,y ws,xx + ws,xx w2s,y + ws,y ws,xx w0,y + us,x w0,xx + w0,xx w2s,x
2 2

1 − ν2 2
1 Eh
+ w0,xx w0,x ws,x + ν vs,y w0,xx + w0,xx ws,y + ws,y w0,xx w0,y
2
+ (vs,yy ws,y + ws,yy ws,y + ws,yy w0,y ws,y
2
2 1 − ν2
Eh
+ w2s,y w0,yy + ν (us,xy ws,y + ws,xy ws,x ws,y + ws,xy ws,y w0,x + w0,xy ws,x ws,y )) + (vs,yy w0,y + ws,yy w0,y ws,y
1 − ν2
Eh
+ ws,yy w20,y + w0,yy w0,y ws,y + ν (us,xy w0,y + ws,xy w0,y ws,x + ws,xy w0,x w0,y + w0,xy w0,y ws,x )) + vs,y ws,yy

1−ν 2
1 1 Eh 1
+ ws,yy w2s,y + w0,yy ws,y ws,y + ν us,x ws,yy + ws,yy w2s,x + ws,x ws,yy w0,x + vs,y w0,yy + w0,yy w2s,y
2 2
1 − ν2 2
1 Eh
+ w0,yy w0,y ws,y + ν us,x w0,yy + w0,yy w2s,x + ws,x w0,yy w0,x + (us,xy ws,y + vs,xx ws,y + ws,xx w2s,y
2 2 (1 + ν )

Eh
+ ws,xy ws,x ws,y + w0,xx w2s,y + ws,xy w0,x ws,y + ws,xx w0,y ws,y + w2s,xy ws,x ws,y ) + (us,xy w0,y + vs,xx w0,y
2 (1 + ν )
Eh
+ ws,xx ws,y w0,y + ws,xy ws,x w0,y + ws,xy ws,y w0,y + ws,xy w0,x w0,y + ws,xx w20,y + w2s,xy w0,y ws,x )) + (us,yy ws,x
2 (1 + ν )
Eh
+ vs,xy ws,x + ws,xy ws,x ws,y + ws,yy w2s,x + ws,xy ws,x w0,y + ws,yy w2s,x )) + + (us,yy w0,x + vs,xy w0,x
2 (1 + ν )
Eh
+ ws,xy w0,x ws,y + ws,yy w0,x ws,x + ws,yy w20,x + ws,xy w0,x w0,y + ws,yy ws,x w0,x )) + (u w + vs,x ws,xy
(1 + ν ) s,y s,xy
Eh
+ ws,xy ws,x ws,y + ws,xy w0,x ws,y + ws,xy ws,x w0,y )) + (u w + vs,x w0,xy + w0,xy ws,x ws,y
(1 + ν ) s,y 0,xy
+ w0,xy w0,x ws,y + w0,xy ws,x w0,y )) = 0
(24)

E h3 E h3
  (αs,xx + νβs,xy ) + (αs,yy + βs,xy ) − Ks Gh(αs + ws,x ) = 0 (25)
12 1 − ν 2 24(1 + ν )

E h3 E h3
  (βs,xx + ναs,xy ) + (αs,xy + βs,xx ) − Ks Gh(βs + ws,y ) = 0 (26)
12 1 − ν 2 24(1 + ν )

These nonlinear differential equations will be converted to a set of algebraic equations using the differential quadrature
element method and can be solved applying the arc-length method [40–42]. If conventional methods such as Newton–
Raphson be exploited to solve the postbuckling equations, the solution above the bifurcation point will be inaccessible. The
arc-length method has been proposed to overcome this problem.

2.4. Dynamic solution

After solving the static problem, the obtained solution will be replaced in the vibration equations and all nonlinear
terms that are time dependent plus those that only contain time independent solutions will be eliminated. Then linearized
vibration differential equations about the buckled state will be obtained as Eqs. (27)–(31).
618 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

Eh
[ud,xx + ws,xx wd,x + wd,xx ws,x + wd,xx w0,x + wd,x w0,xx + ν (vd,xy + wd,xy ws,y + ws,xy wd,y
1 − ν2
+ wd,xy w0,y + wd,y w0,xy )]
Eh
+ [u + vd,xy + wd,xy ws,y + ws,xy wd,y + ws,x wd,yy + wd,x ws,yy + w0,xy wd,y + w0,x wd,yy
2(1 + ν ) d,yy
+ wd,xy w0,y + wd,x w0,yy ] = μüd (27)

Eh
[vd,yy + wd,yy ws,y + ws,yy wd,y + wd,yy w0,y + wd,y w0,yy + ν (ud,xy + wd,xy ws,x
1 − ν2
+ ws,xy wd,x + wd,xy w0,x + wd,x w0,xy )]
Eh
+ [u + vd,xx + wd,xy ws,x + ws,xy wd,x + ws,x wd,xy + wd,x ws,xy + w0,xx wd,y + w0,x wd,xy
2(1 + ν ) d,xy
+ wd,xx w0,y + wd,x w0,xy ] = μv̈d (28)

  Eh
Ks Gh(αd,x + wd,xx ) + Ks Gh βd,y + wd,yy + (ud,xx ws,x + us,xx wd,x + wd,xx w2s,x
1 − ν2
+ 2ws,xx ws,x wd,x + wd,xx w0,x ws,x + ws,xx w0,x wd,x + 2ws,x wd,x w0,xx + ν (vd,xy ws,x + vs,xy wd,x
Eh
+ wd,xy ws,x w0,y + ws,xy wd,x w0,y + w0,xy wd,x ws,y + w0,xy ws,x wd,y )) + (ud,xx w0,x
1 − ν2
+ wd,xx w0,x ws,x + ws,xx w0,x wd,x + wd,xx w0,x + w0,xx w0,x wd,x + ν (vd,xy w0,x + wd,xy w0,x ws,y
2

Eh 1
+ ws,xy w0,x wd,y + wd,xy w0,x w0,y + w0,xy w0,x wd,y )) + (ud,x ws,xx + us,x wd,xx + w2s,x wd,xx
1 − ν2 2
1 2
+ ws,xx ws,x wd,x + ws,xx w0,x wd,x + wd,xx w0,x ws,x + ν (vd,y ws,xx + vs,y wd,xx + ws,y wd,xx
2
Eh
+ wd,y ws,xx w0,y + ws,y wd,xx w0,y + ws,y ws,xx wd,y )) + ( u w
d,x 0,xx + w 0,xx w0,x wd,x
1 − ν2
Eh
+ ν (vd,y w0,xx + wd,y w0,xx w0,y )) + (vd,yy ws,y + vs,yy wd,y + wd,yy w2s,y + 2ws,yy w0,y wd,y
1 − ν2
+ wd,yy w0,y ws,y + ws,yy w0,y wd,y + 2ws,y wd,y w0,yy + ν (ud,xy ws,y + us,xy wd,y + ws,xy wo,x wd,y
Eh
+ ws,xy wd,y w0,x + wd,xy ws,y w0,x + w0,xy ws,x wd,y + ws,xy wd,y ws,x )) + (vd,yy w0,y
1 − ν2
+ wd,yy w0,y ws,y + ws,yy w0,y wd,y + wd,yy w20,y + w0,yy w0,y wd,y + ν (ud,xy w0,y + wd,xy w0,y ws,x
Eh
+ ws,xy w0,y wd,x + wd,xy w0,x w0,y + w0,xy w0,y wd,x )) + (ud,x w0,xx + w0,xx ws,x wd,x
1 − ν2
Eh
+ w0,xx ws,x wd,x + ν (vd,y w0,xx + w0,xx ws,y wd,y + w0,xx w0,y wd,y ) + (vd,y ws,yy + vs,y wd,yy
1 − ν2
1 1 (29)
+ wd,yy w2s,y + ws,yy wd,y ws,y + wd,yy ws,y w0,y + wd,y ws,yy ws,y + ν (us,x wd,yy + ud,x ws,yy wd,yy w2s,x
2 2
Eh
+ wd,x ws,yy w0,x + ws,x wd,yy w0,x )) + (vd,y w0,yy + w0,yy ws,y wd,y + w0,yy w0,y wd,y + ν (ud,x w0,yy
1 − ν2
Eh
+ wd,x w0,yy ws,x + wd,x w0,yy w0,x ) + (us,xy wd,y + ud,xy ws,y + vs,xx wd,y + vd,xx ws,y + wd,xx w2s,y
2 (1 + ν )
+ 2ws,xx ws,y wd,y + 2w0,xx ws,y wd,y + ws,xy wd,x ws,y + ws,xy wd,x ws,y + wd,xy ws,x ws,y + ws,xy ws,x wd,y
+ wd,xy w0,x ws,y + w0,x ws,xy wd,y + ws,xx w0,y wd,y + wd,xx w0,y ws,y + w0,xy ws,y wd,x + w0,xy ws,x wd,y ))
Eh
+ (u w0,y + vd,xx w0,y + ws,xx wd,y w0,y + wd,xx ws,y w0,y + ws,xy wd,x w0,y + wd,xy ws,x w0,y
2(1 + ν ) d,xy
Eh
+ w0,xy wd,y w0,y + wd,xy ws,y w0,y + wd,xy w0,x w0,y + wd,xx w20,y + w20,xy w0,y wd,x )) + (u ws,x
2(1 + ν ) d,yy
+ us,yy wd,x + vs,xy wd,x + vd,xy ws,x + ws,xy ws,x wd,y + ws,xy wd,x ws,y + wd,xy ws,x ws,y + wd,yy ws,x 2

+ 2ws,yy wd,x ws,x + wd,xy ws,x w0,y + ws,xy wd,x w0,y + wd,yy w2s,x + w0,xy ws,x wd,y + w0,xy wd,x ws,y
Eh
+ wd,yy w0,x ws,x + wd,x w0,x ws,yy + 2ws,yy wd,x ws,y )) + + (u w0,x + vd,xy w0,x + wd,xy w0,x ws,y
2(1 + ν ) d,yy
+ ws,xy w0,x wd,x + ws,yy w0,x wd,x + wd,yy w0,x ws,x + wd,yy w0,x + wd,xy w0,x w0,y + w0,yy wd,x w0,x
2

Eh
+ wd,y w0,xy w0,x )) + (u w + ud,y ws,xy + vs,x wd,xy + vd,x ws,xy + wd,xy ws,x ws,y + ws,xy wd,x ws,y
(1 + ν ) s,y d,xy
Eh
+ ws,xy ws,x wd,y + wd,xy w0,x ws,y + ws,xy w0,x wd,y + ws,xy wd,x w0,y + wd,xy ws,x w0,y )) + (u w
(1 + ν ) d,y 0,xy
+ vd,x w0,xy + w0,xy ws,x wd,y + w0,xy wd,x ws,y + w0,xy w0,x wd,y + w0,xy wd,x w0,y )) = μẅd
 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627 619

Fig. 3. The effect of the number of sampling points on the first two natural frequencies of the buckled plate.

E h3 E h3  
  (αd,xx + νβd,xy ) + α + βd,xy − Ks Gh(αd + wd,x ) = Ix α̈d (30)
12 1 − ν 2 24(1 + ν ) d,yy

E h3 E h3  
  (βd,xx + ναd,xy ) + α + βd,xx − Ks Gh(βd + wd,y ) = Iy β̈d (31)
12 1 − ν 2 24(1 + ν ) d,xy
Next, the differential quadrature element method will be applied to discretize the governing equations and corresponding
boundary and continuity conditions of elements. Finally, rearranging all equations in matrix form, an eigenvalue problem
such as Eq. (32) will be obtained.
     
ABB ABI XB 0 0 XB
= −ω 2
(32)
AIB AII XI BIB BII XI

where X is the displacement vector in the form of [u, v, w, α , β ]T . subscripts B and I stand for the boundary and the inner
points, respectively. Eq. (32) can be solved to get the natural frequencies and modal shapes of the cracked postbuckled plate.

3. Results

In order to verify the formulations presented in previous section and analyze the cracked buckled plate, they were put
into a Matlab code. To verify the results, they are compared with those obtained by finite elements of a commercial software,
namely Ansys, the results published in the literature, and the experiment carried out on simply supported cracked plates.
To assess the overall convergence efficiency of the DQEM, the natural frequencies of a square simply supported plate
with 0.5 m length and 6 mm thickness made of polyvinylchloride (PVC) is examined. The Young’s modulus, Poison’s ratio
and density of the plate are 3.7 GPa, 0.42 and 1400 Kg/m3 , respectively. The shear correction factor, Ks , is taken to be 5/6.
The Chebyshev–Gauss–Lobatto grid spacing which can be expressed by Eq. (A6) has been used. The resulting first and second
natural frequencies as a function of the number of sampling points are shown in Fig. 3. As can be seen from the figures, the
stability of the DQEM is excellent and even with lower number of sampling points the convergence of the method is good.
However, due to the hardware limitation the number of elements could not to be increased to more than six. Therefore, for
obtaining accurate results 6 elements, each with a grid of 9 × 9 sampling points have been used throughout this study.
To further evaluate the convergence of the DQEM with the selected grid spacing, the natural frequencies of a simply
supported rectangular plate having an all-over part-through open crack (i.e., Lc /b = 1) [7] is investigated. Hosseini-Hashemi
et al. [7] solved the free vibration of plates having all-over part-through edge cracks analytically. They considered a plate
with an aspect ratio of (a/b) 1.5 and thickness to width ratio (h/b) of 0.05 having
 a crack placed at its center with a relative
depth of 0.5. Table 1, compares the dimensionless frequency parameter ωb2 12(1 − ν 2 )/E h2 , obtained by the proposed
method and those of Hosseini-Hashemi et al. [7] for the first two natural frequencies of the cracked plate. The table shows
that the errors associated with frequency parameters are quite acceptable.
As for additional comparison, a simply supported square plate with 0.5 m length and 6 mm thickness is considered. The
plate has an initial imperfection in the form of the first buckling mode shape of intact-plate as Eq. (33).
π x
πy

w0 = W0 sin sin (33)

a b
620 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

Table 1
Nondimensional frequency parameters for plate with all-
over part-through crack.

Frequency DQEM Ref. [7] Relative error %

First 13.9057 13.8373 0.49

Second 27.2399 27.0866 0.57

Table 2
Natural frequencies of a cracked buckled plate.

Nat. freq. (Hz) P/Pcr = 0

DQEM FEM Relative error %

ω1 38.859 38.480 0.985

ω2 98.493 96.980 1.560
ω3 98.643 97.156 1.530
ω4 158.920 154.990 2.536

Nat. freq. (Hz) P/Pcr = 1.2

DQEM FEM Relative error %

ω1 41.411 42.128 1.702

ω2 70.750 68.796 2.840
ω3 95.612 96.855 1.283
ω4 138.210 137.090 0.817

Nat. freq. (Hz) P/Pcr = 2.0

DQEM FEM Relative error %

ω1 87.376 86.542 0.964

ω2 121.120 119.423 1.421
ω3 121.830 120.580 1.037
ω4 159.290 154.126 3.350

where W0 is the initial imperfection amplitude and is taken 0.001 throughout this study. It is made of PVC with the Young’s
modulus, Poison’s ratio and density of 3.7 GPa, 0.42 and 1400 Kg/m3 , respectively. Also, the shear correction factor, Ks , is
taken to be 5/6. A central crack with a relative depth of 0.4 and relative length of 0.4 introduced at the plate center.
Table 2 shows the first four natural frequencies of the plate for three different values of in-plane uniaxial compressive
load. To compare the results obtained by the proposed method, they are compared with those obtained by the commercial
finite element software, Ansys. The finite element model consists of 20 0 0 elements, each a 20 nodded Solid186 element
type. In the finite element analysis, a linear buckling analysis of the cracked plate is done first. Then, the plate shape is
updated using a coefficient of the first buckling mode shape to account for the geometric imperfection. Next, a nonlinear
postbuckling analysis using the arc-length method is performed to find the postbuckled state of the plate. At the end, the
natural frequencies and mode shapes of the cracked plate at this state are extracted using an eigenvalue analysis. The FEM
results are also tabulated in Table 2. As can be seen from the table, the DQEM results are in good agreement with the finite
element results.
To further confirm the accuracy and validity of the proposed approach, an experimental study on vibration of buckled
cracked plates made of PVC has been carried out. The open edge cracks were introduced on one side of the plate by making
fine cuts at different positions, perpendicular to the loading direction. The plate’s material and dimensions are considered to
be the same used in finite element verification analysis, except that its relative crack location, depth and length are 0.375,
0.7 and 0.6, respectively. A fixture was made to hold the plate’s edges in such a way that the simply supported boundary
conditions can be stablished. The compressive force was exerted by certain amounts of end shortening of one edge to
produce the state of postbuckling. Then, the plate was impacted by a hammer (global test AU02) and the first four natural
frequencies were measured using a signal analyzer (B&K type 3032 A) and a miniature accelerometer (B&K type 4508) (See
Fig. 4). Fig. 5 shows the plate having a crack in the postbuckling state. The natural frequencies for different applied loads
are tabulated in Table 3 along with those obtained by the proposed method. As can be seen from table, the DQEM results
are in very good agreement with the experimental ones. The maximum relative error is limited to 3.32%.
To investigate parameters influencing the natural frequencies of cracked postbuckled plates, several case studies are con-
sidered. Fig. 6 shows the variations of the first four natural frequencies against the compressive load for a simply supported
square plate having a crack with a relative length and depth of 0.4 and 0.4, respectively, placed at its mid-span in the load
direction. It can be observed that increasing the load from zero toward the buckling load reduces the bending stiffness of the
plate and subsequently the frequencies. In the postbuckling stage, increasing the load results in an increase in frequencies.
This is due to the dominance of the dynamic stretching over the bending stiffness. In this stage, the amount of increase in
stretching stiffness would be more than decrease in bending stiffness and subsequently there would be an increase in total
 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627 621

Fig. 4. Experimental setup.

Fig. 5. Cracked plate in postbuckled state.

stiffness. Moreover, the figure shows that the second frequency increases more rapidly than the third one, where around
the load of 2Pcr it exceeds the third natural frequency.
Fig. 7 shows the variations of frequencies of a simply supported cracked plate against the applied load for different
values of initial imperfection amplitude. It shows that the initial imperfection affects the natural frequencies, but increasing
the load and consequently the large deformation will reduce this effect. This is because the initial imperfection becomes
negligible in comparison to large postbuckling deformations.
622 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

Table 3
Comparison of experimental and DQEM results for simply sup-
ported cracked plate.

P/Pcr Nat. freq. Experiment DQEM Relative error %

0 ω1 38.75 38.94 0.49

ω2 95.00 98.84 2.96
ω3 98.00 99.34 1.37
ω4 156.80 157.98 0.75
1.15 ω1 42.50 42.86 0.85
ω2 73.75 73.97 0.30
ω3 97.50 97.90 0.41
ω4 138.30 141.84 2.56
1.20 ω1 48.75 48.79 0.08
ω2 77.30 77.49 0.26
ω3 10 0.0 0 99.88 0.12
ω4 143.80 143.21 0.41
1.35 ω1 63.00 63.05 0.08
ω2 87.00 87.82 0.94
ω3 105.00 105.75 0.71
ω4 149.30 148.05 0.84
1.47 ω1 72.25 72.33 0.11
ω2 98.00 96.87 1.15
ω3 110.30 110.46 0.14
ω4 158.30 153.04 3.32
1.60 ω1 81.50 81.50 0.00
ω2 106.00 108.66 2.51
ω3 116.00 116.09 0.08
ω4 160.30 160.52 0.14

Fig. 6. Variations of the first four natural frequencies against the applied load (Lc /b = 0.4, hc /h = 0.4, lc /a = 0.5).

Fig. 8 shows the effect of crack location on natural frequencies of a cracked plate prior to the application of compressive
load. In this figure, variations of frequencies against the crack location for several crack depths are depicted. It can be
concluded that when the crack is placed on the node-line, it does not affect the frequencies. This is because of the zero
bending moment and slope discontinuity in node-lines. The figure also shows that the maximum change in the natural
frequency of a mode occurs when the crack is placed at the position with the highest curvature of that mode. Moreover, as
the crack depth increases, the stiffness of the plate decreases, which leads to the natural frequency decrement. The figure
also shows that the natural frequencies are not much affected by the changes in depth of the crack. For the worst cases in
Fig. 8, i.e., the crack with relative depth of 0.6, the changes in the first four natural frequencies are 2.11%, 2.83%, 0.27% and
0.50%, respectively.
Fig. 9 shows the effect of crack location on the first four natural frequencies of a buckled plate having a crack with
relative length of 0.4 and relative depth of 0.4 under the applied load ratio of 1.2. It can be seen that the effect of crack
location in each mode is different compare with those of Fig. 8. In other words, the natural frequencies variation is a function
of curvature. As the curvature affects the bending moments in each point, the effect of crack at each point is different.
 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627 623

Fig. 7. Variations of the first four natural frequencies of a simply supported cracked plate against the applied load for different extents of initial imperfec-
tion amplitude (w0 = 1 × 10−5 (…), w0 = 1 × 10−4 (—), w0 = 1 × 10−3 (—), Lc /b = 0.4, hc /h = 0.4, lc /a = 0.5).

Fig. 8. Variations of the first four natural frequencies of a cracked plate against crack location for different amounts of crack depth (hc /h = 0.2 (…), hc /h = 0.4
(—), hc /h = 0.6 (___ ), Lc /b = 0.4, P/Pcr = 0).

In Fig. 10 the effect of crack depth on plate natural frequencies is illustrated. The crack is at the center of the plate and
the load ratio is kept at 1.2. The figure shows that an increase in the crack depth causes a decrease in the plate stiffness and
leads to natural frequency decrement. This conclusion can also be drawn from Eq. (5), where increasing the crack depth will
also increase the bending compliance. Since the frequencies are proportional to the stiffness, the natural frequencies will
decrease as well. Moreover, it can be seen from the figure that for a central crack with relative length of 0.4, the presence
of a crack with relative depth of 0.3 results in a 1.85%, 0.73%, 1.75% and 1.07% decrease in the first four natural frequencies,
while these percentages for a crack with relative depth of 0.7% are 16.40%, 6.32%, 6.21% and 5.96%. Therefore, if one wants
to use the changes in natural frequencies in a crack detection scheme it is much more difficult to find the former case (i.e.,
thin crack) compare with the latter case (i.e., deep crack).
624 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

Fig. 9. Variations of the first four frequencies of plate against the crack location (Lc /b = 0.4, hc /h = 0.4, P/Pcr = 1.2).

Fig. 10. Variations of first four frequencies of plate against crack depth (Lc /b = 0.4, hc /h = 0.5, P/Pcr = 1.2).

Fig. 11 shows the effect of crack length on natural frequencies of a simply supported postbuckled plate. Here the crack
is placed at the center of plate and perpendicular to the compressive load. The relative crack depth is 0.4 and the load ratio
is 1.2. The figure shows that increasing the crack length reduces the plate stiffness and consequently decreasing the natural
frequencies. However, the figure shows that the presence of a crack with relative length of 0.8, only reduces the first four
natural frequencies by 1.31%, 1.22%, 0.11% and 0.26%, respectively.

4. Conclusion

This study proposed a model to investigate, for the first time, the effects of crack on vibrations of plates subjected
to a uniaxial inplane compressive load. The crack, assumed to be open, modeled by a rotational spring. Solution of the
attained nonlinear differential equations assumed as a summation of static and dynamic parts. The differential quadrature
element method is used to discretize the governing equations. The effects of different parameters such as depth, location
 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627 625

Fig. 11. Variations of first four frequencies of plate against crack length (lc /a = 0.4, hc /h = 0.4, P/Pcr = 1.2).

and length of the crack, initial imperfection amplitude and in-plane compressive load on natural frequencies of the plate
were investigated.
It is concluded that since the stretching stiffness dominates the bending stiffness, an increase in the compressive load
before the buckling load, decreases the natural frequencies, and increases them after the critical load. Moreover, increasing
the length and depth of the crack decrease the plate stiffness and natural frequencies.
It was demonstrated that the effects of crack location on natural frequencies are more complicated, since they depend
on the mode shapes, and when the crack is placed at a node-line, it does not have any influence on the frequencies. Also,
it was shown that in many cases the changes in natural frequencies, due to the presence of crack, are small (even for large
and deep cracks). Therefore, this may cause some problems if one wants to use strategies based on changes in natural
frequencies in crack detection schemes.

Appendix A. Differential quadrature element method (DQEM)

The differential quadrature element method is a method for solving linear and nonlinear differential equations. The main
idea consists of three main parts: 1- discretizing the domain into subdomains or elements 2- using the differential quadra-
ture method to discretize the governing equations on each element 3- superposing the elements and considering suitable
boundary and continuity conditions.
The differential quadrature method is based on calculating the derivative of a function as a linear weighted sum of its
values in some points on its domain. This definition was first presented by Bellman et al. [43]. The method implies that
the nth, mth and (n + m)th derivatives of f(x,y) at a point (xi ,yj ), with respect to x and y, and x and y, respectively can be
presented by:
  nx  
∂n
∂ xn f xi , y j = Cik(n ) f xk , y j
k=1
  ny
∂m
∂ ym f xi , y j = C (jkm ) f (xi , yk ) n = 1, ..., nx − 1 , m = 1, ..., ny − 1 (A.1)
k=1
  
nx 
ny
∂ ( n+m )
∂ xn ∂ ym f xi , y j = Cik(n ) C (jlm ) f (xk , yl )
k=1 l=1

where nx and ny are the number of discrete points in x and y directions, respectively. Ci(jk ) represent weighting coefficients
of the kth-order derivative. In this study, the weighting coefficients are calculated using the method developed by Quan and
Chang [44]:

1 
nx
( xi − xk )
Ci(j ) =  
1
i, j = 1, 2, 3, ..., nx (A.2)
xi − x j ( xi − xk )
k=i, j
i= j
626 S. Moradi et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 66 (2019) 611–627

 nx
Cii( ) = −
1
Ci j (A.3)
j=1
j=1

They also used Eqs. (A.4) and (A.5) to calculate the weighting coefficients of higher order derivatives based on the first-
order derivative weighting coefficients.
 
Ci(j
k−1 )
(k ) (1 )
Ci j = n Ci j .Cii(k−1) −   j = i (A.4)
xi − x j

 n
Cii( ) = −
k
Cikj (A.5)
j=i

Selecting the sampling points plays a significant role in the accuracy of the method. Here, roots of the Chebyshev–Gauss–
Lobatto polynomials in the normalized region [0,1] have been used as:
  i−1 
xi = 1
2
π
1 − cos
n−1
i = 1, 2, ..., nx
   (A.6)
y j = 12 1 − cos nj−1
−1
π j = 1, 2, ..., ny

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