Abstract
A simple and accurate method is proposed for the vibration analysis of rectangular plates with one or more guided edges, in which bicubic B-spline interpolation in combination with a new type of basis cubic B-spline functions is used to approximate the plate deflection. This type of basis cubic B-spline functions can satisfy simply supported, clamped, free, and guided edge conditions with easy numerical manipulation. The frequency characteristic equation is formulated based on classical thin plate theory by performing Hamilton's principle. The present solutions are verified with the analytical ones. Fast convergence, high accuracy and computational efficiency have been demonstrated from the comparisons. Frequency parameters for 13 cases of rectangular plates with at least one guided edge, which are possible by approximate or numerical methods only, are presented. These results are new in literature.