Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E.

Haisler
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates
1. Introduction
A theory for the bending and extension of slender beams was developed in Chapter with
parti!"lar appli!ation to non#homogeneo"s and semimono!o$"e type beams typi!al to aerospa!e
!onstr"!tion. While a typi!al beam is !learly a three#dimensional str"!t"re, it is ideali%ed by
ass"ming that the axial and transverse deformations are f"n!tions of only one variable, x, whi!h
is the ne"tral axis along the length of the beam &as shown in 'ig. .(). Conse$"ently, slender
beams are !onsidered to be one#dimensional problems. This !hapter !onsiders the extension of
E"ler#Berno"lli beam theory to *ir!hhoff plate theory. Both the beam and plate theories are
referred to as !lassi!al or strength of materials theories in that the following ass"mptions are
made: a straight line perpendi!"lar to the ne"tral axis of the beam or plate is inextensible,
remains straight and only rotates abo"t the "ndeformed axis. +n !lassi!al plate theory, the same
general ass"mptions of beam theory are extended to thin planar bodies &see 'ig. ,) wherein the
geometry is now slender in only one dire!tion. This will res"lt in a two#dimensional problem
wherein deformations are now f"n!tions of the two in#plane !oordinates &x and y). +n beam
theory, bending and extension is !onsidered in only one dire!tion- in plate theory, bending and
extension is !onsidered in two dire!tions &x and y).
While beam theory may be $"ite ade$"ate in many sit"ations &as in the examples
ill"strated in Chapter of Allen and Haisler), many str"!t"ral !onfig"rations and stress analysis
re$"irements re$"ire a two dimensional analysis. .eferring to str"!t"res s"!h as shown in 'igs.
.//a or ./(a of Allen and Haisler, the web and s0in of the beam are in reality two#dimensional
flat or !"rved plates. +n beam theory, the shear stress &shear flow) in the webs and s0in of the
m"lti!ell beam are ass"med to be !onstant between longit"dinal stringers and for a given length
of beam span. +n Chapter , it was ass"med that the s0in and web !arried only shear and that the
stringers !arried all bending loads &as axial stresses). +n many !ases, the webs will a!t"ally !arry
some bending loads. 1ther plate#li0e str"!t"ral !omponents, s"!h as floor panels, e$"ipment
s"pport panels, et!. will experien!e both bending and in#plane stresses that may not be
ade$"ately analy%ed by the beam theory of Chapter &A2H).
+n the present !hapter, the development of plate and membrane theory will be restri!ted
to small deformations and strains. +t is possible for thin plates s"b3e!ted to large transverse loads
to experien!e large transverse deformations and large strains. +n those !ases where the thi!0ness
is very small and4or the bending stiffness is very small &referred to as a membrane), the bending
stresses will be small in !omparison to the in#plane stresses and the transverse deformations and
strains will $"ite often be large. The development of plate theory whi!h a!!o"nts for large strains
re$"ires the in!l"sion of nonlinear strain#displa!ement terms s"!h as that shown in E$. /#, and
res"lts in a nonlinear set of partial differential e$"ations whi!h are beyond the s!ope of this text.
The treatment of large deformation plate theory is !ontained in .ivello, 5Theory and Analysis of
'light 6tr"!t"res5 and many 3o"rnal p"bli!ations.
,
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
2. Geometry and Deformation
Thin plates are !hara!teri%ed by a str"!t"re that is bo"nded by "pper and lower s"rfa!e planes
that are separated by a distan!e h as shown in 'ig. ,. The x#y !oordinate axes are lo!ated on the
ne"tral plane of the plate &the 5in#plane5 dire!tions) and the %#axis is normal to the x#y plane. +n
the present development of !lassi!al plate theory, it will be ass"med that h is a !onstant and that
material properties are homogeneo"s thro"gh the thi!0ness. Conse$"ently, the lo!ation of the x#y
axes will lie at the mid#s"rfa!e plane &%78) with the "pper and lower s"rfa!es !orresponding to
%7h4/ and %7#h4/, respe!tively. The treatment of non#homogeneo"s plates "tili%ing mod"l"s
weighted se!tion properties is dis!"ssed in .ivello.
h
h/2
h/2
x
y
z
mid-plane
x
y
z
z
p
'ig. ,. Plate 9eometry
+n most plate appli!ations, the external loading in!l"des distrib"ted load normal to the plate &%
dire!tion), !on!entrated loads normal to the plate, or in#plane tensile, bending or shear loads
applied to the edge of the plate. 6"!h loading will prod"!e deformations of the plate in the x,y,%
!oordinate dire!tions whi!h in general !an be !hara!teri%ed by displa!ements "&x,y,%), v&x,y,%)
and w&x,y,%) in the x, y and % dire!tions, respe!tively.
As in beam theory, !lassi!al plate theory ma0es two ma3or ass"mptions: ,) a line normal
to the mid#s"rfa!e of the plate is inextensible &does not stret!h), and /) a straight line originally
normal to the "ndeformed mid#s"rfa!e remains straight and rotates so as to remain straight and
normal to the deformed mid#s"rfa!e plane. These ass"mptions imply that there is no transverse
normal strain &ass"mption ,) or shear strain &ass"mption /), i.e.,
8, 8, 8
zz xz yz

9iven that the only non#%ero strains lie in the x#y plane, we have what was referred to as plane
strain in Chapter / of A2H. +t sho"ld be noted that sin!e
8 and 8
xz yz

, this implies that
8 and 8
xz yz

&or that the transverse shear mod"l"s is infinity). 6in!e the transverse stress
zz
!an be no larger than the normal press"re
z
p and in general will be m"!h smaller than the
/
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
in#plane stresses
and
xx yy

, one !an ass"me that 8
zz
. This implies that the only non#%ero
stress !omponents are in the x#y plane and we have a plane stress !ondition. The stress#strain
relations that will be "tili%ed later will ma0e the plane stress ass"mption.
Consistent with the ass"mptions made in E"ler#Berno"lli beam theory, the plate
deformations will be restri!ted s"!h that the normal displa!ement w is a f"n!tion of x and y, and
only an ass"med linear f"n!tion of % &analogo"s to the ass"mption of 5plane se!tions remain
plane5 in beam theory). ;i0ewise, the in#plane displa!ements " and v are ass"med to be
f"n!tions of x and y only. As a res"lt of these ass"mptions, the deformations !an be des!ribed
entirely in terms of the deformation of the mid#s"rfa!e plane- hen!e, the plate is red"!ed to the
st"dy of a two#dimensional problem !onsisting of the plate mid#s"rfa!e. 'ig"re / shows the "
and v displa!ement ass"mptions in the x#% and y#% planes respe!tively.
x-z plane
y-z plane
z
y
w
v
x
w
y

z
x
w
y
w
x

u
'ig. /. <id#plane =ispla!ements
'rom 'ig"re /, the following displa!ement patterns may be ass"med:
& , , ) & , , 8) & , )
& , , ) & , , 8) & , )
& , , ) & , , 8)
y
x
u x y z u x y z x y
v x y z v x y z x y
w x y z w x y

where
x
w
y

and
y
w
x

are rotations of a normal the mid#plane abo"t the x and negative y#

axes, respe!tively.
>
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
3. tress !esultants
+n beam theory, the stress distrib"tion that a!ts over a !ross se!tion may be integrated over the
!ross se!tion to define e$"ivalent for!es and moments a!ting at the ne"tral axis. 'or two#
dimensional plate analysis, it is more !onvenient to define stress res"ltants per "nit length by
integrating only thro"gh the thi!0ness. Th"s, stress resultants are defined to be forces and
moments per unit length. The general stress !omponents a!ting on an infinitesimal element are
shown in 'ig. >.
x
y
z
xx

xy

xz

yy

yx

yz

zz

zx

zy

note: stresses not shown all faces

xx

xy

xz

h
'ig. >. 'ree Body of 6tress Components
The differential e$"ations of e$"ilibri"m for an infinitesimal element in terms of stresses
were previo"sly derived in Chapter / of A2H &see E$"ations /.,?).
8
8
8
yx
xx zx
xy yy zy
yz
xz zz
X
x y z
Y
x y z
Z
x y z

+ + +


+ + +

+ + +

where @, A and B are body for!es per "nit vol"me.
+n order to ma0e the analysis easier, we define C stress resultants &for!es and moments per "nit
length) by integrating thro"gh the thi!0ness of the plate:
, ,
, ,
,
x xx y yy xy yx xy
t t t
x xx y yy xy yx xy
t t t
x xz y yz
t t
N dz N dz N N dz
M z dz M z dz M M z dz
Q dz Q dz

Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler

These for!e and moment res"ltants are shown in 'ig. .
x
y
z
x
N
x
N
y
N
y
N
x
Q
x
Q
y
Q
y
Q
xy
N
yx
N
xy
N
x
M
x
M
y
M
y
M
yx
N
xy
M
xy
M
yx
M
yx
M
'ig. a. 'or!e 6tress .es"ltants 'ig. b. <oment 6tress .es"ltants
where
x
N
and
y
N
are in plane membrane for!es per "nit length &d"e to stret!hing of the plate
mid s"rfa!e),
x
M
and
y
M
are bending moments per "nit length abo"t the y and x axes,
respe!tively,
x
Q
and
y
Q
are transverse shear for!es per "nit length,
xy
N
is an in#plane shear
for!e per "nit length &same as shear flow in a shear panel), and
xy
M
and
yx
M
are twisting
moments per "nit length &similar to torsion in a beam).
Dote that yo" have to be !aref"l abo"t the sign !onvention for the for!es and moments- some
follow 5"s"al5 dire!tions and notation, b"t some donEt. 'or instan!e, the bending moment
notation is opposite to what yo" normally thin0 of &
x
M
is a bending moment abo"t the y#axisF)
and the shear for!es
x
Q
and
y
Q
are opposite to the shear stresses. This notation and sign
!onvention for for!e and moment res"ltants has been "sed for a long time in plate theory and is
still "sed.
". E#uili$rium E#uations in terms of tress !esultants
E$"ilibri"m of the plate mid#s"rfa!e in terms of stress res"ltants is derived in exa!tly the same
manner as was done for stresses in Chapter / of A2H, i.e., s"mmation of for!es and moments in
the x, y and % dire!tions. 'ig"res a and b show separately the for!e and moment stress
res"ltants. +t is ass"med that the plate mid#s"rfa!e is s"b3e!ted to applied distrib"ted loads
x
p
,
y
p
and
z
p &for!e per "nit area). +n reality, these loads are applied to the "pper or lower s"rfa!e
b"t in terms of the free body diagram of the plate mid#s"rfa!e and ass"mptions made here, they
!an be !onsidered to a!t at the mid#s"rfa!e. To ill"strate, !onsider e$"ilibri"m in the x dire!tion
for a plate differential region x by
y
:
?
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
x
y
z
x
N
yx
N
x
p
y
p z
p
x
y
x
x
N
N x
x

yx
yx
N
N y
x

For clarity, only force

resultants in x direction
are shown.
We note that
x
N
and
yx
N
!an be written as Taylor series in x and y, respe!tively. Then,
8 & ) & )
yx
x
x x x yx yx x
N
N
N x y N y N y x N y p x y
x y

+ + + +

=ivide by
x y
and we obtain:
8
yx
x
x
N
N
p
x y

+ +

6imilarly, we !an do for!e e$"ilibri"m in y and % dire!tions, and moment e$"ilibri"m abo"t the x
and y#axes. Hen!e, we have ? e$"ilibri"m e$"ations in terms of for!e and moment stress
res"ltants:
8
8
8
8
8
yx
x
x
xy y
y
y
x
z
yx
x
x
xy y
y
N
N
p
x y
N N
p
x y
Q
Q
p
x y
M
M
Q
x y
M M
Q
x y

+ +


+ +

+

%. train&Dis'lacement !elations
As in beam theory, we will ass"me that all displa!ements and strains are small &infinitesimal).
6imilar to the ass"mptions made in E"ler#Berno"lli beam theory &refer to Chapter .> in A2H,
in parti!"lar e$"ations .>., and .>.>), we ass"me displa!ement patterns of the mid#s"rfa!e as
dis!"ssed in 6e!tion / above. 6"bstit"ting these displa!ement ass"mptions &e$"ations )
into the infinitesimal strain#displa!ement e$"ations developed in Chapter / &E$"ations /./)
res"lts in
G
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
/
/
/
/
/
& , , 8) & , , 8)
& , , 8) & , , 8)
& , , 8) & , , 8) & , , 8)
/
xx
yy
xy
u u x y w x y
z
x x
x
v v x y w x y
z
y y
y
u v u x y v x y w x y
z
y x y x x y

+ +

+n the above expressions, all displa!ements are at the mid#s"rfa!e and are f"n!tions of x and y
only. To simply the notation, the f"n!tional notation of &x,y,8) will be dropped and the above
expressions will be written as
/
/
/
/
/
/
xx
yy
xy
u u w
z
x x
x
v v w
z
y y
y
u v u v w
z
y x y x x y

+ +

(. tress&train !elations
As noted in 6e!tion /, !lassi!al plate theory leads to a sim"ltaneo"s ass"mption of plane strain
and plane stress !onditions. While this re$"ires that the transverse &% dire!tion) Ao"ngEs
mod"l"s and shear mod"l"s be infinity and the transverse PoissonEs ratio be %ero, this
re$"irement is !onsistent with the ass"mption that normals are inextensible and remain normal
d"ring deformation &i.e., the material appears to have an infinite mod"l"s in the transverse
dire!tion). 'ollowing the notion that the dominant stresses lie in the x#y plane, !lassi!al plate
theory "tili%es the plane stress ass"mption for an isotropi! material. 'rom Chapter > of A2H,
E$"ations >.(( give
/
/
& )
,
,
& )
,
,
/&, )
xx xx yy
yy yy xx
xy xy xy
! !
"
! !
"
!
#

+
where E,

and

are in#plane val"es of the isotropi! material properties defined in Chapter > of
A2H &Ao"ngEs mod"l"s, PoissonEs ratio and !oeffi!ient of thermal expansion, respe!tively, and
" is the temperat"re !hange above a referen!e %ero stress state. As noted before, we will
ass"me that the material properties E,

and

are homogeneo"s thro"gh the thi!0ness-

however the temperat"re !hange " may vary thro"gh the thi!0ness.
H
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
). tress&Dis'lacement !elations
6"bstit"ting the strain#displa!ement relations in 6e!tion ? into the stress#strain relations in
6e!tion G gives the following stress#displa!ement relations:
/ /
/ / /
/ /
/ / /
/
& )
,
,
& )
,
,
/
/&, )
xx
yy
xy xy
! u v w w !
z "
x y
x y
! v u w w !
z "
y x
y x
! u v w
# z
y x x y

1

+ +
1


1
]
1

+ +
1

1
]
1

+
1
+
1
]
+n Chapter of A2H, the stresses for beam theory were also expressed in terms of
e$"ivalent for!es, moments and thermal loads a!ting at the ne"tral s"rfa!e &see E$"ation .??).
6"bstit"ting e$"ations into the definitions for stress res"ltants given in 6e!tion > and integrating
thro"gh the thi!0ness &remember that ", v and / do not depend "pon %), yields the following
e$"ations:
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/
,
/&, )
&, )
"
x
"
y
xy yx
"
x
"
y
xy yx
u v
N $ N
x y
v u
N $ N
y x
v u
N N $
x y
w w
M % M
x y
w w
M % M
y x
w
M M %
x y

_
+


,
_
+


,
_
+

+
,
_

+



,
_

+



,

x
Q
and
y
Q
are obtained by "sing the last two e$"ilibri"m e$"ations . +n the above, the
following 5stiffness5 properties &per "nit length) have been defined
/
>
/
&, )
,/&, )
!h
$
!h
%

C
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
and the following thermal for!e and moment res"ltants have been defined:
& ) 4&, )
& ) 4&, )
"
t
"
t
N ! " dz
M z ! " dz

The terms * and = in plate theory are similar to the axial and bending stiffness terms EA and E+
defined in beam theory.
6imilar to beam theory &see E$"ation .G, in A2H), we !an "tili%e the definitions for
stress res"ltants in terms of displa!ements and rewrite the e$"ations relating stresses to
displa!ements to obtain stress e$"ations in terms of stress res"ltants. 'or example, we note that
the term
/
&, )
! u v
x y

_
+

,
is e$"ivalent to & ) 4
"
x
N N h + , and the term
/ /
/ / /
&, )
! w w
z
x y

_ _

+


, ,
is e$"ivalent to & ) 4
"
x
z M M & + where
>
4,/ & h
. Th"s, the first
stress e$"ation &see ) !an be written in terms of stress res"ltants as
& )
&, )
" "
x x
xx
N N M M z ! "
h &

+ +

and in a similar fashion we obtain

& )
&, )
" "
y y
yy
xy xy
xy
N N M M z
! "
h &
N M z
h &

+ +

where + 7 moment of inertia &abo"t the x or y axis) for a "nit width of plate 7
4 /
/ >
4 /
4,/
h
h
z dz h

.
(
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
*. +ormulation and olution of the Plate E#uations
We !an now develop the differential e$"ations of e$"ilibri"m in terms of the displa!ements ", v
and w and the applied loads. Consider the in#plane for!e e$"ilibri"m e$"ations in the x and y
dire!tions given in 6e!tion . 6"bstit"ting the stress res"ltant#displa!ement relations derived in
6e!tion H into these two for!e e$"ilibri"m e$"ations res"lts in
/ / / /
/ /
/ / / /
/ /
/&, )
/&, )
"
x
"
y
u v $ v u N
$ p
x y x y x
x y
v u $ u v N
$ p
x y x y y
y x

_ _

+ + +




, ,
_ _

+ + +




, ,
6"bstit"ting the two moment e$"ilibri"m e$"ations into the transverse for!e e$"ilibri"m
e$"ation Isee J gives
/ / /
/
/ /
yx y xy
x
z
M M M
M
p
x y x y
x y

+ +


Doting that
xy yx
M M
, then the above e$"ation may be written as
/ /
/
/ /
/
yx y
x
z
M M
M
p
x y
x y

+ +


The last e$"ation !an be written in terms of the transverse displa!ement
w
by s"bstit"ting for the
moment res"ltants in terms of w from 6e!tion H Isee J. Ksing the notation &the ;apla!ian
operator)
/ /
/
/ /
&) &)
&)
x y

+

we obtain the following e$"ation
/ / /
/ / /
/ /
/ / /
/ /
& ) &, ) /
"
z
w w w
% % %
x y
y x
% w p M
x y
x y

_ _ _ _






, , ,
+ +





,
+f we ass"me !onstant material properties and thi!0ness for the plate, then = is a !onstant and the
terms in the bra!0et are %ero- and the above e$"ation red"!es to
/ "
z
% w p M +
where

/ /
/
w w w
w
x x y y

+ +

,8
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
6ol"tion of the three partial differential e$"ations given by and !onstit"tes the sol"tion of the
plate bending problems. +t sho"ld be noted that all five e$"ilibri"m e$"ations &two in#plane and
one transverse for!e e$"ilibri"m e$"ations and the moment e$"ilibri"m e$"ation) have been
"tili%ed to obtain the three partial differential e$"ations above. The partial differential e$"ations
defining the in#plane displa!ements " and v are !o"pled. Consistent with small strain theory, the
partial differential e$"ation for the transverse displa!ement w is "n!o"pled from " and v.
,. Boundary -onditions
The sol"tion of the differential e$"ations defining ", v and w re$"ire !aref"l attention to
bo"ndary e$"ations. 'or the present dis!"ssion, we only !onsider re!tang"lar plates whose
edges are parallel to the x and y !oordinates axes. +n the x and y dire!tions, the " and v
displa!ements ea!h m"st be spe!ified along at least one of the plate bo"ndaries &similar to a
simply s"pported beam). The bo"ndary !onditions for the transverse displa!ement w are
somewhat more !ompli!ated b"t are analogo"s to those in beam theory. ;etting n and s be
dire!tions normal and parallel, respe!tively, to a bo"ndary, then we !an write the following
bo"ndary !onditions:
Clamped edge: 8 w and 8
w
n

6imply s"pported edge: 8 w and

/
/
"
w M
%
n

'ree edge:
/ /
/ /
> >
> /
&/ )
"
"
w w M
%
n s
w w M
%
n
n n s

+

_

+




,
The !lamped bo"ndary !ondition is e$"ivalent to saying that the displa!ement and slope
are %ero. 'or the !ase of no thermal edge loads &
8
"
M
), the simply s"pported bo"ndary
!ondition re$"ires that the displa!ement and !"rvat"re &i.e., the moment normal to the edge) be
%ero. The free edge bo"ndary !onditions re$"ire that the moment and shear be %ero on the free
edge &for the !ase of
8
"
M
). When the thermal moment is not %ero, the above e$"ations
re$"ire that !"rvat"res at the plate edge satisfy the above relations &i.e., the internal moment at
the edge m"st e$"al the thermal moment
"
M
&or its gradient for the shear bo"ndary !ondition
on a free edge).
,,
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
1.. ome im'le Plate olutions
The exa!t sol"tion of the fo"rth#order, partial differential defining the transverse defle!tion w is
generally $"ite diffi!"lt. 'or !ertain spe!ial !ases, approximate analyti!al sol"tions !an be
obtained by ass"ming a displa!ement w&x,y) and obtaining a parti!"lar and !omplimentary
sol"tion in the traditional manner of solving differential e$"ations. 1ther approximate sol"tions
may be obtained by "sing finite differen!e or finite element methods. +n pra!ti!e, n"meri!al
finite differen!e methods &whi!h repla!e derivatives by algebrai! approximations) tend to
!"mbersome and diffi!"lt to apply for general plate geometries. The finite element method,
whi!h "ses a !ombination of ass"med displa!ement sol"tions and energy prin!iples to solve the
differential e$"ations, is better s"ited for arbitrary plate geometries. The finite element sol"tion
of plate problems will be !onsidered in a later se!tion.
Consider the analyti!al sol"tion of a thin, re!tang"lar plate that has "niform material
properties, is loaded with a "niform normal press"re
o
p
, and is simply s"pported along all
edges. Ass"me the plate has dimensions a and b in the x and y dire!tions, respe!tively, and that
the !oordinate system is lo!ated at one !orner of the plate as shown below.
x
y
a
b
p
o
6in!e the thermal loading is ass"med to be %ero, we are fa!ed with solving the following fo"rth#
order differential e$"ation

z
% w p
As with the "s"al sol"tion of differential e$"ations, we ass"me a sol"tion that satisfies the
bo"ndary e$"ations. Trigonometri! series !an generally be "sed to satisfy many type of
bo"ndary !onditions. 'or the simply s"pported plate of dimensions a and b we !an "tili%e the
Davier series:
& , ) sin& 4 )sin& 4 )
mn
m n
w x y w m x a n y b

where the !onstants

mn
w
. have to be determined and will depend on the loading. +t sho"ld be
noted that the above sol"tion satisfies the simply s"pported bo"ndary !onditions, i.e., w78 at x78
and x7a and y78 and y7b,
/ /
4 8 w x
at x78 and x7a, and
/ /
4 8 w y at y78 and y7b. 6in!e
the sol"tion for w&x,y) has been ass"med in the form of a do"ble trigonometri! series, it is
,/
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
!"stomary and !onvenient to also expand the loading in a similar do"ble 'o"rier series as
follows:
& , ) sin& 4 ) sin& 4 )
z mn
m n
p x y p m x a n y b

where the 'o"rier !oeffi!ients

mn
p
may be determined in the "s"al manner of 'o"rier series
analysis. That is, we first m"ltiply both sides of the above e$"ation by
sin& 4 ) r x a
and
sin& 4 ) s x a
where r,s are positive integers &as are m and n), and then integrate both sides of the
e$"ation from x78 to x7a and y78 to y7b. This gives the following
8 8
8 8
& , )sin& 4 )sin& 4 )
sin& 4 ) sin& 4 ) sin& 4 ) sin& 4 )
a b
z
a b
mn
m n
p x y r x a s x b dxdy
p m x a r x a dx n y b s x b dy

Ksing the orthogonality properties of trigonometri! f"n!tions &see E$"ation d in Example G.( of
A2H), the integral with respe!t to x on the right side is e$"al to a4/ only when m7r &and %ero
when mn. 6imilarly, the integral with respe!t to y is e$"al to b4/ only when n7s. Th"s the
right side of the e$"ation red"!es to &ab4)
rs
p
. Th"s the 'o"rier !oeffi!ients of the loading is
given by
8 8
&4 ) & , ) sin& 4 ) sin& 4 )
a b
rs z
p ab p x y r x a s x b dxdy

'or the !ase when & , )
z
p x y 7 !onstant 7
o
p
, the above red"!es to
( ) ( )
8 8
/
/
&4 ) sin& 4 ) sin& 4 )

, !os& ) , !os& )
,G 4& ) , ,, >, ?,...

8 , /, , G,...
a b
rs o
o
o
p ab p r x a dx s x b dy
p
r s
rs
p rs for r s
for r s

'

Th"s the 'o"rier approximation of the "niform load may be written as
/
,,>,... ,,>,...
,G
& , ) sin& 4 )sin& 4 )
o
z
m n
p
p x y m x a n y b
mn

6"bstit"ting the ass"med sol"tion for w&x,y) into the left side of the e$"ilibri"m e$"ation gives
/ / /
I& 4 ) & 4 ) J sin& 4 ) sin& 4 )
mn
m n
% w % w m a n b m x a n y b +

,>
Bending and Extension of Thin Plates, W.E. Haisler
Ksing the last two e$"ations, the e$"ilibri"m e$"ation

z
% w p be!omes
/ / /
/
,,>,... ,,>,...
I& 4 ) & 4 ) J sin& 4 )sin& 4 )
,G
sin& 4 ) sin& 4 )
mn
m n
o
m n
% w m a n b m x a n y b
p
m x a n y b
mn

E$"ating li0e !oeffi!ients of the sine f"n!tions allows for the sol"tion of
mn
w
&i.e., e$"ating left
and right sides for ea!h term the series):
/ / / /
,G
& )I& 4 ) & 4 ) J
o
mn
p
w
mn% m a n b

+
and the sol"tion for w&x,y) be!omes:
/ / / /
,G
& , ) sin& 4 ) sin& 4 )
& )I& 4 ) & 4 ) J
o
m n
p
w x y m x a n y b
mn% m a n b

+n general, series sol"tions s"!h as the above !onverge slowly primarily be!a"se the 'o"rier
series representation of the distrib"ted load re$"ires a large n"mber of terms in order to
ade$"ately represent a "niform load over the plate.
'or the simply s"pported plate !onsidered here, the sol"tion for the in#plane
displa!ements is %ero be!a"se there are no in#plane &membrane) loads applied. Also, sin!e we
have ass"med small displa!ements there is no !o"pling between transverse and in#plane
displa!ements. Hen!e,
& , ) & , ) 8 u x y v x y
The sol"tion for w&x,y) may be s"bstit"ted into the stress#displa!ement e$"ations of 6e!tion H
Ie$"ations J to obtain the stress !omponents
, , and
xx yy xy

.
As was noted above, the !losed#form analyti! sol"tion of the
th
order differential e$"ation for
the plate bending problem is limited and almost impossible ex!ept for spe!ial sit"ations li0e
re!tang"lar or !ir!"lar plates &and even then, finding a s"itable displa!ement f"n!tion may be
diffi!"lt. +n other words, it is a ni!e and elegant approa!h b"t it has limited "sef"lness ex!ept for
spe!ial !ases. 'or more general geometries &odd#shapes, plates with holes, !"rved plates, et!.)
and loading, the finite element method is m"!h more pra!ti!al and "sef"l.
!eferences
,. 5"heory of 'lates and (hells,5 6.P. Timoshen0o and 6.Woinows0y#*rieger, <!9raw#Hill.
/. 5"heory and )nalysis of light (tructures,5 ..<. .ivello, <!9raw#Hill.
,