Thin Plate Theory

Bending of a thin elastic plate:

D
d
4
w
dx
4
+ P
d
2
w
dx
2
q(x)
where D
EH

( )
3
2
12 1
is the flexural rigidity, H = thickness of the plate, E & are
Young's Modulus and Poisson's Ratio respectively. Also, w=w(x) is the vertical
displacement that varies with horizontal location x, P is the Horizontal Force of
compression and q(x) is the distributed load on the surface of the plate.
For the earth, any displacement of the lithospheric plate (density
o
) into the fluid mantle
result in an upward buoyancy force ( )gw
m 0
. On the surface of the lithosphere, a
trough is associated with such displacement. In the ocean, water is drawn in to fill the
trough and on the continents, sediments will fill the basin. This infill material acts as an
extra load (downward force) that further deform the lithosphere. Let the density of this
infill be
f
then the downward load is ( )gw
f o
. Combining the upward force at the
base and the downward force on the surface of the lithosphere,
gw x q x q
f m applied
) ( ) ( ) ( where ) (x q
applied
is the applied load that cause the
deformation in the first place.
In the following, we will take P=0, i.e. no horizontal compression force.
The bending/fiber stress at some height z above the neutral plane is given by:

xx
x z
Ez d w
dx
, ( )

( )
1
2
2
2
, so that it becomes maximum at the surfaces z H t / 2 with

xx
x
EH d w
dx
D
H
d w
dx
max
( )

( )

2 1
6
2
2
2 2
2
2
or

rr
r
D
H
w
r r
w
r
max
( ) +

_
,

6
2
2
2
(in cylindrical coordinates)
Flexure of a thin elastic plate due to a line load V
0
applied at x=0:
D
d w
dx
gw V x
m f
4
4
0
+ ( ) ( )
The solution of the above can be expressed in terms of the flexural parameter
(wavelength)
( )
4 / 1
4

,
_

g
D
f m

and is: w x
V
D
e
x x x
( ) cos sin
/
+
[ ]
0
3
8

The maximum deflection is at x=0 with amplitude w
V
D
0
0
3
8

.
The deflection of the lithosphere under a line load is characterized by a forebulge.
The zero crossing of w(x) is at x
0
1 3
4
1 ( )

tan
The peak of the bulge is at x
b
( )

sin
1
0
The height of the bulge is w w e w
b

0 0
0 0432

.
Flexure of a thin elastic plate due to a box-car load with half-width L:
{
0
) (
4
4
gh
gw
dx
w d
D
L
f m

+ for
L x
L x

where the box-car load has density

f
and height h.
The solution of the above can be expressed in terms of the flexural parameter
(wavelength)

( )

_
,

4
1 4
D
g
m f
/
and the isostatic displacement w
h
isos
L
m f

( )

.
w x
w C C
w e F F
isos
x x x x
isos
x x x
( )
cos cosh sin sinh
cos sin
/
{
+
{ }
+
{ }

1 2
1 2
1

for
L x
L x

where C e
L
L
1

/
cos

, C e
L
L
2

/
sin

, F
L L
1
cos sinh

, F
L L
2
sin cosh

.
This solution show a depression under the load and a peripheral bulge (peak) outside.
At x=0, the amplitude of the depression is ( ) 1
1
C w
isos
The zero crossing of w(x) is at ( )
2 1
1
0
tan F F x

The peak of the bulge is at ( )

4
tan
2 1
1

+

F F x
b
The height of the bulge is w w e
b isos
x

0
4
4
/ /
sin


Flexure of a thin elastic plate over a liquid-filled shell of thickness h and radius R:
D w
EH
R
w gw q
m f applied
+ +
4
2
( )
where the 2
nd
term represents the effect of shell action (i.e. in plane forces and curvature
of the shell). The solution can be expressed in terms of flexural parameter
l
+
( )

_
,

( )

_
,

D
g
D
g
EH
R
m f m f 2
1 4
1 4

/
/
and the Bessel-Kelvin functions of zero
o r d e r ber, bei, ker & k e i where ber x i bei x J xe
i
( ) + ( )
( ) 0
3 4 /
and
ker
/
x i kei x K xe
i
( ) + ( )
( ) 0
4
and the primes indicate their derivatives.
For a concentrated (point) load of magnitude P:
w r
P
D
kei
r P
g
kei
r
m f
( )

_
,

( )

_
,
l
l
l
l
3
2
2

For a disc load of radius A and w
q
D
q
g
q
g
isos
applied applied
EH
R
m f
applied
m f

+
( )

( )
l
4
2

:
w r
w ber kei bei
w ber bei kei
isos
A A r A A r
isos
A A r A A r
( )
ker' '
' ker '
{
( ) ( )

( ) ( )
+
{ }
( ) ( )

( ) ( ) { }
l l l l l l
l l l l l l
1
for
r A
r A

Thin Plate Theory is valid only if A/ l is small (or A H 100

3 4 /
)
-30
-20
-10
0
10
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n
0.0E+0 2.0E+5 4.0E+5 6.0E+5 8.0E+5 1.0E+6
Distance from center of the Disc Load (M)
Lake Bonneville
DISC
H=200km
H=120km
H=75km
Disc Radius = 117km
Ave.Height of Ice Load=305m
-800
-600
-400
-200
0
200
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
M
)
0E+0 5E+5 1E+6 2E+6 2E+6
Fennoscandia Ice
DISC
H=200km
H=120km
H=75km
-1000
-800
-600
-400
-200
0
200
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

D
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

(
M
)
0E+0 5E+5 1E+6 2E+6 2E+6 2E+6 3E+6
Prediction from Thin Plate Theory
DISC
H=200km
H=120km
H=75km
Disc Radius = 1300km
Ave.Height of Ice Load=3km
Laurentian Ice
Disc Radius = 675km
Ave.Height of Ice Load=2.2km
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

D
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
k
m
)
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
X (km)
Boxcar Load:
1/ 2width=200km, height=3km, density=2800kg/ m^3
Lithosphere: E=1E11 Pa, Poisson =0.25
Mantle: density=3300 kg/ m^3
150 km Lith
100 km Lith
50 km Lith
25 km Lith
-400
-200
0
200
400
M
a
x
.

F
i
b
r
e

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
X (km)
Maximum Bending Stress (MPa)
-4000
-3000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
W
(
r
)

(
M
)
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
Load Radius = 2000 km
A / l =26.14
Thin Plate Theory
FE results
-2000
-1500
-1000
-500
0
W
(
r
)

(
M
)
0 100 200 300 400
R (km)
Load Radius = 100 km, A / l =1.30
-4000
-3000
-2000
-1000
0
1000
W
(
r
)

(
M
)
0 250 500 750
Load Radius = 250 km
A / l =3.27
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
W

(
M
)
0 50 100 150 200
R (km)
Load Radius = 50 km,
A / l =0.65
Thin Plate Theory breaks down when A / l < 1.5
l = Flexural parameter
A= Load Radius
H = 50 km lithosphere
Degree of Compensation:
Let the load be a harmonic load of wavelength : q x gh
x
applied c o
( ) sin

_
,

2
, then
D
d w
dx
gw gh
m f c o
x
4
4
2
+
( )
( ) sin

Let the solution be: w x w

x
o
( ) sin

_
,
2

, by substituting into the equation above, we get

w
h
o
o
D
g
m
c c

+
( )

1
2
4
.
Since the isostatic displacement (due to buoyancy force alone) is w
h
isos
c o
m c

( )

then
w w C
o isos
where C is the degree of compensation: C
m c
m c
D
g

( )
+
( )

2
4
If the wavelength of the load is long,

>>
( )

_
,

2
1 4
D
g
m c
/
, then C=1 and
w w
o isos
.
If the wavelength of the load is short,

<<
( )

_
,

2
1 4
D
g
m c
/
, then C=0 and w
o
0.
The degree of compensation C tell us to what degree a harmonic load is supported by
isostasy. Loads with short wavelengths are supported by the lithosphere while loads of
long wavelengths are supported by Airy Isostasy or buoyancy beneath the lithosphere.

2
1 4
m c
g
D
( )

_
,

/
0.00
0.25
0.50
0.75
1.00
D
e
g
r
e
e

o
f

C
o
m
p
e
n
s
a
t
i
o
n
C
0 1 2 3
Normalized wavelength
Let us now calculate the gravity of such harmonic mountain chain:
There are 2 contributions to the surface Free-Air gravity anomaly. The first is the
contribution due to the topography: g x Gh
x
topo c o
( ) sin

_
,
2
2

The second is due to the deflection at the base of the lithosphere. The anomalous mass
associated with the deflection is:

( )
( )
+
( )

1
]
1
c m
m c o
D
g
w
h x
m
c c
1
2
2
4
sin , but this
mass distribution is buried at depth H, so this mass contribution to surface gravity is:
g
G h e x
m
m c o
H
D
g
m
c c

( )
+
( )

1
]
1

2
1
2
2
2
4

/
sin
Thus the surface Free-Air gravity anomaly is: g x g x g x
FA topo m
( ) ( ) ( ) +
g G h
e x
FA c o
H
D
g
m c

+
( )

1
]
1

'

( )
2 1
1
2
2
2
4

/
sin
Since Bouguer gravity anomaly is g x g x G h
B FA c
( ) ( ) 2
therefore, g
G h e x
B
c o
H
D
g
m c

+
( )

1
]
1

( )
2
1
2
2
2
4

/
sin
If the wavelength of the load is long,

>>
( )

_
,

2
1 4
D
g
m c
/
, and >>H
then g x
FA
( ) 0 and g G h
x
G h
B c o c
2
2
2

sin , thus the surface is totally

compensated.
If the wavelength of the load is short,

<<
( )

_
,

2
1 4
D
g
m c
/
,
then g G h
x
FA c o
2
2

sin and g x
B
( ) 0, thus the local topography is
uncompensated.
The correlation between Bouguer gravity and topography is given by:

+
( )

1
]
1

( )
2
1
2
2
4

G e
c
H
D
g
m c
/
, thus one can determine the thickness of the lithosphere from such
correlation.
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
100
V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l

D
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

(
M
)
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Distance from the Load Center (km)
Effect of Lithospheric Thickness
Boxcar load magnitude = 15 MPa
w(z=0) 25km
w(z=0) 50km
w(z=0) 75km
w(z=0)100km
w(0)150km
w(0)200km
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
D
e
g
r
e
e

o
f

C
o
m
p
e
n
s
a
t
i
o
n
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Wavelength (km)
Harmonic Load on top of Floating Beam