Abstract
A novel numerical manifold method was derived from the cubic B-spline basis function. The new interpolation function is characterized by high-order coordination at the boundary of a manifold element. The linear elastic-dynamic equation used to solve the bending vibration of thin plates was derived according to the principle of minimum instantaneous potential energy. The method for the initialization of the dynamic equation and its solution process were provided. Moreover, the analysis showed that the calculated stiffness matrix exhibited favorable performance. Numerical results showed that the generalized degrees of freedom were significantly fewer and that the calculation accuracy was higher for the manifold method than for the conventional finite element method.