Dynamics of a Plate in Large Overall Motion

Equations of motion are formulated for a thin elastic plate that is executing small motions relative to a reference frame undergoing large rigid body motions (three-dimensional rotation and translation) in a Newtonian reference frame. As an illustrative example, a spin-up maneuver for a simply-supported rectangular plate is examined, and the vibration modes of such a plate are used to show that the present theory captures the phenomenon of dynamic stiffening.