Progress in Aerospace Science, 1976. Vol. 17, No. 2, pp, 109-146. Pergamon Press. Printed in Great Britain.

I N T R O D U C T I O N OF C O N C E N T R A T E D LOADS IN
P L A T E S AND S H E L L S
S. A. ~UKASIEWICZ
Warsaw Technical University, Poland
Summary: The deformations and stresses which result from the imposition of concentrated loads are
analysed taking account of stresses normal to the mean surface of the structure and of deformations
due to shear stresses. A brief account of methods for designing optimal structures is given. Special
reference is made throughout to the work of Russian and Polish authors.

NOTATION

~b stress function
E Young's modulus
E3 Young's modulus in the direction
normal to the middle surface
D bending rigidity
/9.. bending rigidity of sandwich plate
q, Z load normal to middle surface
G shear modulus
G3 shear modulus corresponding to the
normal direction
Gc shear modulus for the core of sandwich plate
M;~ bending stress resultants
N;; membrane stress resultants
Qi shear forces
R radius of spherical shell
R; principal radii of curvatures of middle surface, R~ < R2

/~R
30, Jz, Ie0, YI
T~
T2
w
v
v~3
h
I
g,)7
~,0
x

c
fl;
o~,/3, 3,
3'~i
3'0
E,g
7/
6(x, y )

R2/RI

Bessel functions of the first and

second kind
average temperature
difference between temperature of
external and internal surfaces
deflection
Poisson's ratio
Poisson's ratio corresponding to normal direction
thickness
characteristic length
rectangular dimensional coordinates
polar coordinates
= g / l , y = j / l , r = J/l, dimensionless
coordinates
radius of loaded circular area
angles of rotations of lateral sides of
an element of plate or shell
variables of integration
shear angles
Eu[er's constant
coefficients expressing effects of
stress normal to middle surface
coefficient expressing effect of transverse shear deformation
Dirac's function

JPAS Vol. 17, No. 2--C

A,/.t~, Kj
kR

thickness of external layers of sandwich plate

coefficients expressing effects of
curvature of a shell
12/R2

1/2k~

a,

coefficient of thermal expansion

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N

Thin-walled structures extensively used nowadays in industry and civil engineering are usually
loaded by very complex systems of forces acting at
their edges or over their surfaces. Calculating the
strength of a structure we replace real loads by
certain idealized loads, distinguishing between
typical surface loads distributed over a great area
of the structure and loads acting over a small area.
The latter are called concentrated loads. When the
area under the load is very small in comparison
with the other dimensions of the surface of the
structure, the load can be considered as a single
force or moment acting on the structure at one
point only. The real loads which are met in prttctice
always consist of a combination of components
such as forces normal and tangential to the wall as
well as bending and twisting moments. If we know
the distribution of the stresses in the structure
produced by each component we can find it under
any arbitrary load using the principle of superposition.
There are two main reasons for the appearance
of the stress concentration in the structure. It can
be produced by notches, rapid changes of the
cross-section, holes, cut-outs, etc. on the one hand
and by concentrated loads resulting from the
interaction of the elements of the structure on the
other. Only the latter problems are the subject of
the present paper. It should be noticed here that
such loads do not exist in practice. However, if we
calculate the stresses at points distant from the
point of application of the load, we can replace the
real load by an equivalent concentrated load
applied at one point of the surface of the structure.
This load is only a convenient idealization of the
real load.
The problem is different if we are interested in
109

S. A. J~UKASIEWICZ

110

the stresses in the vicinity of the small loaded

region of the structure. Then the correct answer
can be obtained only by taking into account the fact
that the load acts on a finite area and considering
the form of the distribution over this surface.
Usually, the surface loads do not involve
important difficulties while determining the stresses
and displacements in thin-walled structures. Analysing the problem by means of infinite Fourier series
we get the result in the form of rapidly convergent
series. In order to achieve a sufficiently accurate
result it is enough to take into account only a few
terms of the series. On the contrary, a calculation
for thin-walled structures loaded by concentrated
forces runs up against serious difficulties in
computation of the stresses. These difficulties are
brought about by the fact that the equations of the
theory of elasticity give singular solutions at the
points of application of the loads. In order to obtain
the stresses in the vicinity of the loading point a
great number of terms of the series must be
calculated which makes the amount of work
involved prohibitive and decreases the accuracy of
the results. Therefore in the case of concentrated
loads solutions by means of series should be
avoided. Here solutions in a closed form are
desirable.
2. METHODS OF SOLUTION

The most evident way of defining the state of

stress and displacement in the plates and shells
seems to be to solve the problem for a load
distributed over a finite small surface of the
structure. Next, calculating the limiting values
when this surface tends to zero and keeping a
constant value of the resultant of this load, we
obtain the solution for the case of a concentrated
load acting on one point of the structure. This
method is convenient in the axi-symmetrical cases,
in other cases it is not applied because of certain
difficulties met by the solution of the equations of
compatibility at the border of the loaded and
unloaded regions.
A second method often applied consists of the
presentation of the discontinuous load as the sum
of certain continuous forces acting on the whole
area of the structure. In applying this method we
express the load by means of Fourier series.
However, this method is not very convenient in the
case of concentrated loads because of slow
convergence of the series defining the internal
forces and moments in the structure. In the close
vicinity of the point of application of the load the
series are very slowly convergent. This requires
calculation of a very large number of terms and
produces errors in the results. Due to this, we aim
at a closed solution in the case of concentrated
loads. These solutions can be found more easily by
applying the method of Fourier integral or infinite
Fourier transforms.

In the mathematical analysis it is convenient to

present the concentrated load by the Dirac delta
function 6(x). This symmetrical unit-impulse function of the real variable x is defined by

f,) f(l~)8(x - ~) dse

0

~f(x)
I f(x)

x<a

if
if
if

x=a

or
or

x>b.
x=b.

(I)

a<x<b.

where f(x) is an arbitrary continuous function of x.

The delta function is not a "true" function since the
definition (1) implies the inconsistent relations

8(x)=0

if

x#0;

f[ 8(x)dx=l.

(2)

While presenting the concentrated load P acting in

the point (x = ~:) we can write

q(x, ~) = P~(x - ~).

The formal use of 6(x) function provides a
convenient notation permitting generalization of
many mathematical relations. The common use of
Dirac's function 6(x) and other nonfunctional
quantities in physics and technical disciplines
becomes the reason for a certain kind of computational formalism, for example concerning the rules
of differentiation of such quantities. Further formal
generalization of the classical notion of the
function found its realization in the theory of the
generalized functions, called the distributionsY~
The definition of the operations, the rules of
differentiation and integration of such functions is
particularly important. The ordinary derivative of
6(x) is equal to zero for any x # 0 and is undefined
at the point x = 0. The theory of distributions
gives, for example, the answer to the question of
what is the derivative of this function. Distributions
most often are defined as:
(1) a class of equiponderant sequences
(Mikusifiski's approach);
(2) linear functionals in appropriate linear spaces
(Schwartz's approach).
Taking as our starting point the functional
approach we can define the delta function as

8(x) = -1- f [ cos otx dt~.

77"

(3)

If integrating, for example, under the sign of the

integral we obtain
/.
1
s i n otx
dr, + C = I(x) + C
f S(x) dx =--" |
'n'Jo

ot

Introductionof concentrated loads in plates and shells

where I ( x ) is a unit step function defined as
i(x)={l0

for
for

x>0
x <0

and C is an arbitrary constant.

In a similar way we can define the Dirac function
of two variables. We have
8 (x, y) = ~

f[f[

cos ax cos/3y da d/3.

(4)

On introducing polar coordinates (r, 0) the function

6(r) can be presented as
a(r) = ~ - ~

Jo(3,,r)T dy

(5)

where J0(% r) is the Bessel function of zero order,

r = ?[l is a nondimensional coordinate, and l is an
arbitrary length.
The case of the load distributed over a surface of
radius c whose centre is at the origin of the
coordinates can be obtained by integration of the
expression (5) over the circular surface r ~< c. On
evaluation we obtain

q (r) = ~

J,(TC)Jo(Tr) d%

(6)

The above integral expresses the discontinuous

function satisfying the conditions:

r<c

P
rrc'-I"'

r=c

P
q =~ ,

r>c

q=0

and

The distributions are widely applied in the theory of

differential equations. The fundamental solution of
the differential equation

(7)
is called the
equation

distribution h ( x )

satisfying the

(8a)
If we know the fundamental solution h (x) and that
fix) is the distribution for which exists the
convolution

y(x) = f ~

h ( x - ~)f(~) d~,

then this convolution is the

(8b)

solution of the

111

differential equation (7). All solutions obtained in

the theory of plates and shells corresponding to
concentrated loads are fundamental solutions.
The third approach to the problem of concentrated loads consists of studying the singular
solution of differential equations of plates and
shells. Considering the equilibrium of a sector of a
plate or shell containing the surroundings of the
singular point we come to the conclusion that this
sector can be in equilibrium only if an external
concentrated force or moment is applied at this
point.
We usually demand from a solution for the
concentrated load:
(1) satisfaction of the differential equations of the
problem;
(2) satisfaction of the boundary conditions;
(3) regularity, except for the point of application
of the load; and
(4) satisfaction of the equilibrium of the concentrated load with the edge forces for an arbitrary
region surrounding the singular point.
The above conditions are not satisfactory. In
order to be sure that the solution is "pure", i.e. that
it is not contaminated by self-equilibrating singularities of higher order one must consider them as
a singular part of Green's function for the
concentrated load. Then integrating it over an
arbitrary area of the structure for a distributed load
it should be shown that:
(5) the
solution obtained satisfies the
nonhomogeneous plate or shell equations;
(6) the displacement w and aw/ax, aw/ay are
continuous everywhere;
(7) the stress resultants Nx~, N,., N~y, and Mx,, My,.,
M~y, Q~ and Qy are continuous everywhere.
In the following sections of the present paper all
the above-described methods will be illustrated by
several examples.
3. PLATES UNDER CONCENTRATED LOADS

3.1 The circularplate loaded by a concentrated

force at its centre
A solution of the problem of a plate loaded by a
concentrated force can be simply obtained by
considering at first a distributed load and then going
to the limit that a constant load acts on vanishing
area.
At the beginning let us consider the most simple
case--the circular plate simply supported at the
edge and loaded at its centre by a concentrated
force normal to its surface. The solution can be
derived by means of a solution for the plate in
which the load is uniformly distributed over the
inner portion bounded by a circle of radius ? (Fig.
1). Assuming that the radius ? becomes infinitely
small, whereas the total load P remains finite, we
obtain a solution for the case of a concentrated
force.

S. A. EUKASIEWICZ

112
I-

LI -

-I

t lrrTtir11i
rr t
-I

FIG. 1. Symmetrically loaded circular plate.

Let us consider the solution of the problem
which can be obtained by means of Reissner's
equations of transverse orthotropic plates, taking
into account the effects of transverse shear
deformations and transverse normal stresses.
These equations can be presented as follows, c2.

D A A w = [ 1 - 12(r/- )A]q,
AAqb=-12gAq,

A=12kax2

ay2],

(9)

Therefore the results which can be obtained

based on the equations presented above are only a
little better than the results of classical theory and
valid only in those regions where the load does not
change very rapidly. (See Fig. 3)
Let us introduce a system of polar nondimensional coordinates with the characteristic
length l = a, where a is the radius of the plate. The
solution for symmetrically loaded circular plate
takes the following form

w = wo+C~+C,.r 2+C3r 2 1 n r + C 4 1 n r
where w is the normal deflection of the plate, q is
the external load normal to the plate surface, qb is
the stress function and 71, , g, are certain
coefficients describing the transverse shear rigidity
of the plate. The coefficients and g result from the
effect of the stress normal to the middle surface of
the plate. The bending rigidity of the plate
D =Eh3[12 ( 1 - v : ) , and 1 is here an arbitrary
characteristic length

rl = D/k3G3hl 2, a = v,3E3h :/lO(1 - v)12E,

c: = v,3E3h 2/E12,
where vt3 is the Poisson's ratio in the normal
direction, G3, E3 are respectively the transverse
shear modulus and the modulus of elasticity in the
direction normal to the plate, k~ is a constant
coefficient which in case of an isotropic plate takes
the value k3 = 5/6. Then if G3 = G = E/2(I + v) and
E3 = E, r/ = h 2 / 5 ( 1 - v ) l 2.
The equations presented above are a simple
generalization of the equations given by E.
Reissner for transverse orthotropic plates and
obtained with the assumption that the material of
the plate had different elastic properties in the
direction perpendicular to the middle surface. The
effect of transverse normal stress tr= is here taken
into account in a very simplified manner i.e. by the
assumption that its distribution across the thickness
is
1

where C~ are the constants of integration and w0 is

the particular solution of eq. (8), r = Ha, c = g/a.
Let us divide the plate in two portions, loaded (1)
and not loaded (2) and apply the following boundary
conditions
r= 1

w '2~=0,

r = c,

w (2, =

W '1),

r = 0,

~(r I, =

0,

M~'=0,
M'r2, ) =

M."',

q c2a
2r

'

fl~'=/3~',

O(r' ' = 0,

(10)

where M~i are the bending moments in the plate, Q,

is the shear force and/3r is the angle of rotation of
the lateral side of the element of the plate.
(/3, = - ~w/O~ + Q,/k3G3h).
Owing to the complete symmetry of the plate, the
shear forces in the two portions are determined by
the equilibrium conditions and are

Q~,=_qra
2
where

Q~,=

qc2a
2r

q = P/zrc2a 2.

(ll)

On solving the above set of equations we find the

deflection of the inner portion 0 ~< r <~ c

=161rD

~-~c2+r'/

1- v
+ 2 In c + ~ 8 E

2(1+v)
- 2(-0

_~ 4 ( 3 + v ) - ( 7 + 3 v ) c :
which is justified only if q is constant.

Q)2,_

4(1 + v )

- E ) c -2]

c2

~-

l-v

In c - 8 ~ a

113

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

+ 2(,1 - E)(1 - 2 In c)}.

(12)

F o r the outside portion c <~ r ~< 1 we have

a)
W

Pa 2 {
= 16~rD [2(3 + v) - (1 - v)c 2
1 -r 2
- 16(1 - v ) E ] ~ +

2r: In r

+ [c z - 8('0 - e)] In r}.

(13)

Substituting r = 0
in eq. (12) we find the
deflection at the centre. The terms proportional to "0
and E represent the correction due to shear and
normal transverse deformations. W e see f r o m eq.
(12) that this effect is of order (h/c) 2. When ~ is
large in comparison with h it can be neglected.
Only in cases where the load acts on a small area
and t? is small, will this effect be important and
should it be taken into consideration. As c ~ 0 the
outer solution given in eq. (13) gives an expression
for the deflection due to a c o n c e n t r a t e d force
wa~=

Pa 2 ~ 3 + v ( 1
167rD ( l - ~ v

surrounding the point of application of the load

b e c o m e infinitely large. The only reason for the
a p p e a r a n c e of singular terms is the action of the
c o n c e n t r a t e d force. The boundary forces cannot
produce such an effect. The expression (15) below
can be considered as the particular solution w0 of
the general equation of the plate loaded by
c o n c e n t r a t e d f o r c e at the point r = 0.

-r2)+2r:lnr+

Pa2 [r" - 4 ( - q
Wo=87rD

(15)

To obtain f o r m u l a e for the plate with other

boundary conditions it is enough to add to the
particular solution (15) the general solution of eq.
(l) including a certain n u m b e r of constants of
integration so as to fulfil the new boundary
conditions.
The singularity of the functions defining the state
of stress near the point of application of the load
does not depend on the boundary conditions of the
plate.
The bending m o m e n t s in the simply supported
plate can be found on the basis of the solutions (12)
and (13). For the inner portion 0 ~< r ~< c
("

8(11+v-v ) e ( l - r2) - 4('0 - e) In r}. (14)

The singularities in the solution arise both f r o m the
classical approach (the second term within the
bracket) and f r o m the i m p r o v e m e n t s taking account of shear deformation (the fourth term). The
infinite deformations, of course, imply corresponding infinite stresses. The term proportional to
In r presents the effect of transverse shear and
normal d e f o r m a t i o n s and tends to infinity as r
approaches zero, as a c o n s e q u e n c e of our assumption that the load P applied to the surface rr~" is
always finite. Thus, w h e n c a p p r o a c h e s zero, the
shearing stresses on the lateral sides of an element

- E)] In r.

1-J-~c

r 2
1
- ~ ( 2 ( 1 + u) +- (1 - v))-c-5

+ 2(1 - v) x (c-2 _ 2)el,

(16)

when c ~ 0, M,~ = Moo ~ ~. The m a x i m u m bending

m o m e n t s are at the centre r = 0.
For the unloaded portion of the plate c ~ r ~ 1.

M~'l(2)= 5 [ - (

l+v)lnr~r

MooJ

l-vc2

- + - -(71 4

1-v~(l-v)
2

W-r2)+2(1_ - v ) ( r - : 7 - 2 )

:] .

4.0

~
3.0

2.0

-Thick plol"e "l'heory

h = 0,2
=0.3

n p l a t e "theory

Clessicol "theory

1,0

I
0.05

I
0.10

I
0.15

I
0.20

Z
O

FIG. 2. Comparison of the deflection of a circular plate loaded at its centre by a concentrated force as
obtained by means of various plate equations.

(17)

S. A. ~UKASIEWICZ

114

The maximum values of these moments are on the

circle r = c .
For c ~ 0 , M , ~ c ,
M ~ 0 ~ - ~ . It
follows from eqs. (16) and (17) that the magnitude
of the moments M~,~ and M~,~,~is different when we
come up to the radius c from the centre and from
the edge of the plate. These moments differ in the
case of an isotropic plate by vPh"/lO~rc-'-. The
moment in the plate is hence expressed as a
discontinuous function whose jump appears on the
radius c at the position of the rapid change of the
load. When c ~ 0 this difference increases to
infinity.
Expression (17) can be used to obtain the
bending moments M, and Mo,~ in the plate loaded
by the concentrated force P. Omitting the terms
containing ( h / a ) : we find for c = 0
M,}=~_~[_(l+u)lnr

+ ~ . However, the stresses produced by these

forces are very small in comparison with the
bending stresses and except for the immediate
vicinity of the point of application of the load they
can be neglected.
Analysing the previously obtained singular expression (15) for c ~ 0 we can prove that it satisfies
the eqs. (8) and the condition of equilibrium
of the shear forces with the load P for the region
containing the point (0, 0). If we separate from it the
expression
w* = -

~ Q, ds = 0 .

-+2(1 - u ) r - % ] .

(18)

We see that the moments for r approaching zero

become infinitely large: M , ~ : .
M o o ~ - ~ : as
r ---~0.

In order to obtain complete expressions for the

stresses it is still necessary to calculate the
membrane forces in the middle surface of the plate.
The solution of the eq. (8b) gives for 0 ~< r ~< c
Pga:
p = - 8 r r h c , r"

(19)

while for c < ~ r ~ < l

Pga 2

4~rh (1

c2)(ln r - ~r:).

Then we find for 0~< r <~ c

P~
N,, = Noo - 4rrhc~.,

and for c ~ < r < ~ l

N, }
N~o

P~

- ' - 1).

= - 4~rh-(l-- c2) (r " +

The value of the membrane force

of an isotropic plate jumps from
-z,hP/4~rc -2 at the radius c, i.e. at
the rapid change of load. If c ~ 0
forces become for c ~< r <~ 1
N,, )
Noo j

P~

= +
(r-2~
- 4~-h

Noo in the case

u h P / 4 7 r c - " to
the position of
the membrane

1).

(rl - e) In r

we find that the solution w* gives

+(l-v)~(l-u)

M,~o

Po 2

2rrD

(20)

For r - ~ 0 the membrane forces tend to _+:c. But,

calculating these forces at the point r = 0 for the
region O < ~ r < ~ c we find that for c-->0 both
membrane forces IV,, and Noo are equal and tend to

(21)

It represents the singular self-equilibrated expression which, added to the arbitrary solution, does
not change the equilibrium of the plate. This
solution can be obtained only when taking into
account the conditions[5,6,7] of 1.3. Let us
analyse the solution w* and find the resulting
bending moments.
M, =-

Pff l - / ~ ,

Moo

21r

r: '

M,o = Q , = O .

(22)

This state of stress can be defined as a centre of

bending analogous to the centre of compression
given by eqs. (20).
These expressions are the results of taking into
account the effect of transverse normal stress o-..:
perpendicular to the plane of the plate. According
to the simplified theory considered, these stresses
appear only in the loaded region. The strains
produced by o-~. in the directions tangential to the
plate surface are proportional to the coefficient v.
The bending moments (22) and forces (20) are the
resultants of these additional strains.
The above-derived relations can be used in the
calculation of deflections and stresses in the plate at
all points except in the immediate vicinity of the
load. If the radius r is smaller than the thickness of
the plate eqs. (8) and (18) should not be used. In
order to obtain more exact results the central part
of the plate should be treated as a threedimensional body.
The problem of a thick circular plate was
considered as early as 1925 by A. Nadai, ~3~and by S.
Woinowsky-Krieger~4~in 1933. The particular solution of the equations of the three dimensionaltheory of elasticity of axisymmetrical bodies takes
the form
w=
u =

f0
fo

[C~.. C"=J,(ar)+ C~.4z e-':Jo(ar)la da

[C,., e-':J,(/3r) + C7.~Co=J,(/3r)l/3 d/3

(23)

115

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

where u, w are c o m p o n e n t s of the displacement
vector, C,-~ integration constants, and a, /3 arbitrary parameters. The solution of the problem was
obtained by representing the load by means of the
integral (5) and satisfying the boundary conditions
on the plane z = 0 and z = h , where h is the
thickness of the plate. The numerical results
presented in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are taken f r o m the
paper by Woinowski-Krieger. (4)
The stresses obtained by means of the a b o v e
equations are c o m p a r e d with the stresses resulting
f r o m the classical theory of plates. We o b s e r v e that
only if ~ (the radius of the loaded circular area) is
smaller than the thickness of the plate, should the

plate be considered as thick. The stress distribution

across the thickness of the clamped circular plate
h / a = 0.4, g / a = 0.1 and v = 0.3 is presented in Fig.
4. In the s a m e figure the results obtained when
taking a c c o u n t of the effects of transverse shear
and normal stresses are presented.
We o b s e r v e also the differences b e t w e e n the
assumed and the obtained distribution of the
tangential stress z~. calculated at the radius r = c. A
c o m p a r i s o n of the stresses at the upper surface of
the thick plate, calculated f r o m the equations of the
three-dimensional theory of elasticity and the
classical theory of plates, is presented in Fig. 5. W e
o b s e r v e the j u m p of the calculated g ~ at the radius

C C

%1~

I0

pla~e theory

(7

'2

:='= IO

Improved thin plate theory

Clossicol theory
b

O,

.
cu
E

Thick plote theory

~

/~

v
o

I00

Clossicol Cheory

m
2

-e

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

I.O0

E
m
(3

FIG. 3. Stresses or. = cry, = O'o on upper and bottom surfaces of a thick plate loaded by a force
distributed uniformly over the circular surface rrc 2. We observe that the improved eqs. (8) give good
results for the stress on the bottom surface for g/a > 0.01 and a/h = lO.
Z
~- #0.1

Improved thin plate theory

Eqs. (8)

h
~-=0.4

Thick plote theory~

=c

J'Fo092.3

_ .

/ I I I I I I I I[ LcIossicol theory
/4q.3111111111 /

:E 3

l-2&O -28.1
I --2,5.2
FIG. 4. Distribution of stresses in a thick circular plate under a concentrated force at its centre [4].

S. A. J~UKASIEWICZ

116

_2ol

(a)

b
e4

-20 ~-

b -io

~\
,~
\XX

Thick platetheory
Classicaltheory

(b)

\\XX~x"
xx~x~~

->.4.

IO
O

I
a

FIG. 5. Distribution of stresses in a thick circular plate on upper and bottom surfaces under a force
distributed uniformly over surface ~rO2.~'~
r = c. Figure 6 presents the comparison of the
distribution of the stress at the upper surface of the
thick plate with clamped edges and loaded at the
centre by a concentrated normal force.
Differences between the results of the classical
and improved theories and calculations based on
the three-dimensional theory of elasticity appear in
the immediate vicinity of the loaded region as well
as at the edge of the plate. It follows from the above
comparison that taking into account the effect of
transverse normal and shear stress, we obtain a
relatively small improvement in the results for the
case in which the load is applied to the plate on a
circular surface of the radius smaller than the
thickness of the plate. These effects concern only
the close vicinity of the point of application of the
load. The effects of transverse shear deformations
are more important for the calculation of the
displacements than for the stresses. This effect is

more considerable for sandwich and anisotropic

plates.

3.2 Concentrated bending moments

A concentrated bending moment acting on the
plate can be defined as the resultant of oppositely
directed normal concentrated forces of infinite
magnitude acting at points at a vanishingly small
distance apart. Applying the theorem of superposition we can obtain the deflection due to the
concentrated moment by the addition of the
deflections due to two oppositely directed forces P.
Considering the limit of the deflection when the
distance between these forces tends to zero, we
find that deflection w(M) produced by the
concentrated bending moment M is defined by

(P)
w(M)=lim[w(P)]~x_o= M
p a w8x

(24)

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

117

-I0

I0

20

30

7
a

FIG. 6. Distribution of stresses on the upper surface of a thick circular plate with clamped edges, loaded
by a concentrated force at its centre. ''~
where w(P) is the deflection p r o d u c e d by a single
c o n c e n t r a t e d force.
The bending m o m e n t applied to the plate can also
be defined in another way. Into equations of
equilibrium of an element of the plate, we can
introduce the distributed m o m e n t s m , mr., applied,
for example, as a pair of two oppositely directed
forces tangential to the plate surfaces. T h e n the
c o n c e n t r a t e d m o m e n t can be presented, i.e. as
8(x, y)m~. This new definition does not introduce
any difference if we use the classical theory of
plates. H o w e v e r , if we take into account the effects
of transverse shear deformations, it leads to new
solutions. Let us notice that while calculating the
work of the m o m e n t MS(x, y) realized as a couple
of two normal forces we obtain M(Ow/ax) but the
w o r k of the m o m e n t m, is m~/3~, where /3~ is the
angle of the rotation of the lateral side of the plate
element;/3~ = -(aw/Ox)+ 3'~:, Y~: is the shear angle
in the x, z directions.
The m o m e n t m~ has in the case of a sandwich
plate, a simple physical interpretation. It is a couple
of two forces tangential to the plate surfaces and
applied to the external layers of the plate.
The singular solution of eq. (8) for an infinitely
large plate under a concentrated bending m o m e n t
has a f o r m identical to the solution of the classical
equations of the theory of plates. H o w e v e r , the
relations for the shear forces and m o m e n t s are
different. ~4~ We h a v e for e x a m p l e

M~x

47rMCs O{ [(l + v ) - 2 ( l +52 r:-:v(cos:h20

-

J P A S Vol. 17. No. 2 - - D

3 sin z O) x

v)sin2

_ 10~2K0(x/(10)h)]

r'

+~310~/(10) sin 0 cos

(25)

OK, ~/(10)

O = arccos ( x / r )
where K0 and K, are the Bessel functions. The
a b o v e solution differs f r o m the classical solution
only by the term in brackets multiplied by the ratios
h2/r " and r3/h 3. For small argument x the functions
K0 and K, are K o ( x ) = - I n x l 2
and K , ( x ) =
(i/2)x In (x/2) and the singularities of the bending
m o m e n t s are l/r In r and l/r 2.

3.30rthotropic plates
Singularities a c c o m p a n y i n g the c o n c e n t r a t e d
load in the orthotropic plate are similar to those for
the isotropic plate. The singular part of the
deflection of the plate has the f o r m
w = 8wDxh

(h 2 cos z 0 + sin 2 0 ) r

2 In r
(26)

where A 4 = Dy/D, and/~, = H/~/(DxDy)>~ 1. Dx, Dy

are the bending stiffnesses of the plate in the x, y
directions, H is the shear rigidity.
For the case tz, < I the singular solution takes the
form

PI2A I / 2 \ 2
w = 8--~-~.,~ [ l - - ~ t ) r l n r .

(27)

S. A. J~UKASIEWICZ

118

The curvatures, the bending moments, and so the

stresses are infinitely large at the point of application of the concentrated load.

3.4 Singular solutions [or sandwich plates

Concentrated normal force
A singular solution for the sandwich plate of the
simplified model, (that is, assuming that the bending
rigidity of the external layers is negligible in
comparis.on with the rigidity of the complete plate)
can be obtained immediately from the solution (15)
using the analogy of the governing differential
equations. The effect of the normal stress o-::
should be disregarded here because it has in this
case no physical meaning. Then the distribution of
the moments in the sandwich plate is the same as in
the isotropic plate. The only difference is found in
the relation for the deflection.
Singular solutions for the sandwich three-layer
plate have been obtained by R. Ganowicz ~ based
on the Hoff equations for a sandwich plate. The
singular solution for the normal deflection takes the
form

This result is interesting because in spite of taking

into account the effect of transverse shear deformation, the displacement is finite at the point of
application of the load. For r ~ 0 the concentrated
force P is equilibrated only by the shear forces in
the external layers.

Concentrated bending moments

If the concentrated bending moment is defined as
the resultant of two concentrated normal forces
acting at a vanishingly small distance apart the
solution for this case can be obtained by the
differentiation of the solution for the concentrated
normal force according to eq. (24).
The case when the concentrated moment is
defined as the resultant of two concentrated
tangential forces N acting on the external layers is
more interesting. The singular solution for this case
based on equations of sandwich plates derived by
Hoff is

N(2h + 6)ifx,,
~-~
[~tln r2+ 1)

--

+_D_~d,
~5[14KcD
X -- rk~K~(rkO]}.

PK.D f

(30)

(28)

K,. = Eh6/G~(I - v2), k~ = D:/2DK,.,

D.

(29)

= Pl" r Z l n r + P__~K~(lnr2+2 )
w 8rrD:
,~,~

where

w (0, 0) = 2 ~ D s:c [(1 - - ~ - ) In ~/(2K---~) - 1] -

E6(2h + 6 ) 2 + 2 D
2(1 - v:)

is the rigidity of the sandwich plate and D is the

rigidity of the external layer (Fig. 7).
The resultant bending moments calculated for
the whole sandwich plate are identical to those
obtained by means of the classical theory for the
isotropic thin plate. Considering the close vicinity
of the point of application of the load and
examining the above solution for r - ~ 0 we find that
the deflection of the plate at r -- 0 has a finite value.

Similar expressions can be derived for the

displacements u, v of the external layers. The
bending moments in the plate are identical to those
obtained by means of the classical theory of plates.

4. SHELLS UNDER C O N C E N T R A T E D LOADS

4.1 Solutions of Membrane Theory

In many technical problems the shells are loaded
in such a way that bending stresses are small and
can be neglected. Then only the membrane stresses
and strains in the middle surface of the shell are
considered. These stresses can be considered as

t z

ht

ink_

FIG. 7. Dimensions of sandwich plate.

hi

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

uniformly distributed across the thickness. The
equations based on such assumptions are called the
equations of the membrane theory of shells. The
concentrated loads usually produce bending stresses in the vicinity of the loading points and
calculations performed on the basis of the membrane theory give wrong results. However, at a
certain distance from the loading point, the bending
stresses vanish and only membrane stresses remain, which can be calculated easily by means of
membrane theory. If we neglect the bending, the
problem of stress analysis is greatly simplified,
since the resultant moments and resultant shearing
forces vanish in the equation of equilibrium. Hence
the problem becomes statically determined.
Let us consider as an example singular solutions
for the equations of the spherical shell, which can
be presented in the following form

Noo J

sin" ~o I_-

+C2(cot~)]+ ~ L C ,
sinmgF

No,,

= -

\"
ltan-~}

N..

The above solution is singular because the factor

sin q~ in the denominator vanishes at the poles of
the sphere. (Fig. 8.)
Taking, for example, only the constants C , n = 0
we have N ~ = - Noo = Cdsin" ~o. Considering the
equilibrium of the vicinity of the pole we find that
C~ = P/2rrR where P is a normal concentrated
force.
Assuming different values of the constants C,
and n we obtain solutions corresponding to various
z

FIG. 8. Spherical shell subjected to normal forces at the

poles.

119

combinations of concentrated forces acting at

the poles of the spherical shell, see the paper by G.
MessmerJ ~
These solutions contain singularities of the first,
second and third order and differ from the results
obtained by means of the bending theory. The
solution based on the membrane theory of shells
can be found in papers by V. Z. Vlasov, ~8~ W.
FliJggeJTM and F. Martin. ~7~
4.2 Solutions for the spherical shell based on
the general theory
The problems of spherical shells under concentrated loads have been widely studied. The
solutions for a concentrated normal force were first
obtained by Reissner in 1946, ~9~using the classical
theory of shallow shells. This problem was also
considered by Flfigge and Conrad, "~ Kalnins and
Naghdi, "2J Nordgren "3~ and Koiter. "4~ Solutions for
other concentrated loads, such as a tangential force
and a bending moment have been obtained first on
the basis of the membrane approximationJ ~'7~ The
bending stresses and displacements in a spherical
shell subjected to localized loads were determined
by Leckie "s~ for non-shallow shells on the basis of
the simplified theory of spherical shells due to
Havers "6~ and working in spherical polar coordinates. Leckie obtained an asymptotic solution
which was valid for all values of the angle ~o. This
solution contained constants depending on the
boundary conditions. It is known, however, that
bending effects in a spherical shell are highly
localized, except in the case of a shell with free
edges. The stresses produced by concentrated
forces can consequently be separated from those
resulting from boundary effects and can be
considered separately.
If we consider only stresses and displacements
due to concentrated loads, simple solutions corresponding to a normal force, tangential force and a
bending moment can be obtained.
Let us present the scope of the improved theory
given by Naghdi "7~ in which the effect of transverse
shear as well as those of rotary inertia are included
was first obtained by J. P. Wilkinson and A.
Kalnins "~ for the case of normal concentrated
force.
Let us present the solution which can be obtained
by means of linear shallow shell equations taking
into account the effect of transverse shear deformations and transverse normal stress. If we adopt the
non-dimensional system of rectangular Cartesian
coordinates x, y defined by x = .~[l, y = ~/l where l
is a certain characteristic length, the shell equations
take the form

= [1 - (t/ - e)12A]Z

(32)

S. A. JdUKASlEVOCZ

120
(A+-~)[(A+~-~)*+~w]=-gRAZ

where
D(3~) = ("/" - kR )2 + "03,2+ I ;
kR = l']R" = h / R N / [ 1 2 ( l - v2)],

where in the case of isotropic shell '0 =

h2/5(1 - v)l 2, E = vh2/lO(l - v)l:, ?: = v h / 2 R , and

"0 = D/k3G3hl 2

l(a2+a2]
a = 7~kTx~ Tr'-J

On evaluation we find

is
the
Laplacian
operator,
where
l =
"v/(Rh)/'~/(12(1- v2)] is a characteristic length for
the shell.
As, first of all, we are interested in the state of
stresses near the loading point, we assume to
simplify the calculations, that the coefficients of the
first quadratic form of the middle surface are
constant. This simplification enables us to achieve
the solution of the problem in differential equations
with constant coefficients. It can be also assumed
that the shell extends infinitely in all directions.
This assumption is made to avoid the influence of
boundary effects on the stresses and displacements
near the loading point and enable us to derive the
simple particular solution of eq. (32) corresponding
to the concentrated force.
We consider now a spherical shell loaded by a
concentrated normal force acting at the point x = 0,
y = 0 (Fig. 9) in the outwards direction.
05

04

Improved theory Eqs,(32)

Yo(r %/{2kR }) + k e r r + 2 r ker

'r)]

+ ('0 - ~) k e r r + ~ r ker' r}

(33)

where Yo(r~/{2kR}) is the Bessel's function of the

second kind. Its numerical values can be found in
the tables of special functions.
The first term in (33) corresponds to the Reissner
solution obtained by means of the theory of shallow
shells, the second term multiplied by the coefficient
kR appears as the result of using c o m p l e t e
non-shallow shell equations (32). The third term in
(33) presents the effect of transverse shear and
normal deformations. These terms are significant
only for small r. For small r ,~ 1 we can replace the
functions ker r, kei r, by the p o w e r series expansion. Taking only first two terms of the series we
obtain an approximate formula for the displacement for r ,~ 1.
w

= Pl" [ - k e i r - k R [ ( l + u )
2~'D L

~/[3(1 - v-')] P R
~.
~--~ far - 4 ( 1 + v)kR In ~/(2kR)

O3

where 3'o = 0.57721566.

v
O2

OI

FIG. 9. Deflection of a spherical shell subjected to normal

concentrated forces.
W e apply the Fourier transform. The displacement w and the stress function 4) are then obtained
f r o m eqs. (32) in the f o r m of the integrals
w = 2 -pI2
-~

fo~ {[1+('0

- E)T2][T2- (1 - v)kR]

z) 2, J0(vr)v dT
- ~ ( 1 + "03' 3' t(TT-L-~2kR)~-y )

(34)

We o b s e r v e that near the loading point the

deflection of the shell is defined by identical
functions to those obtained for the plate resting on
an elastic foundation. The terms containing the
coefficient kR resulting f r o m the effect of nonshallowness of the shell are of the order
( h / R ) l n ( R / h ) . They are therefore only a little
larger than the r e j e c t e d terms of the order h / R .
Taking into account the deflection resulting f r o m
the effect of transverse shear deformation, we
obtain the term containing - In r which increases to
infinity if r--*0. This deflection is of a local
character and for thin shells the effect of transverse
shear deformations is limited to the area 0 < r < 1
(Fig. 9). H o w e v e r , eq. (33) cannot be used to calculate the deflection at the points of the shell that
are v e r y close to the point of application of the
load ( r < h ) . W h e n r is of the same order of
magnitude as the thickness of the shell, eqs. (32) are
no longer applicable. W e know f r o m the theory of
thick plates (see Section 3.1) that the deflection at
the point r = 0, z = 0 is finite. To calculate the

121

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

maximum deflection we can proceed as previously,
namely, calculate the deflection from formula (34)
for ~ ~- h and the deflection of the central portion of
the shell (~ < 2h). This deflection can be estimated
approximately as for thick plates resting on elastic
foundations.
The bending moments are the following:
M,=

~_~{

-(~-e)

For the shallow shell the coefficient kR "~ 1 and we

have

-~ Yo(r~/[2kR ] ) = In r + yo.

N,~-

1 d~b ~b M,,
r dr R 2 R

X [Tr(Y"(r~/[2kR])+~ Y'(r~/t2ka])
-(3 + v)keir-r

(37)

The membrane forces obtained from (37) are

l+v.
k e r r - ( 1 - v) 1 kei' r +--f-/cR

- 2 ( 1 - v) I k e r ' r

keir-~rkei'r}.

2rrl2 r

kei' r/

(~)
-E

+ [ - ( 1 - v ) e l ker' r

Y'(r~/[2kR ]) + ker' r-F: ker' r

r
kei' r +~ k e r r

--kR[r ker r - ( 1 - v) kei' r]}

+ l r / ( 1 + 5v)kei r+~'or kei' r]},

(35)

d2~b

Noo =
Moo = ~

P {

vkerr+(l-v)

l+v,
lkei'r+--f-aR

dr'-

_ PR

27rl 2

x [ ~r(l y'(rx/[2kR l) + vTr Y"(r~/[2k, ]) +

M,o

Y"(rx/[2kR ] ) - kei r - - ker' r

r

+ F:(lkei' r + k e i r ) - ( ~ n - E )

- 2(1 - v) 1r ker' r - v kei r - l-~-~v

v r kei' r ]

+ (1-v)e

q5

R "-

ker'r+Tl'O(5+v)keir

kerr

+ ( ~ - F:)I kei' r + n2 kei' r]

-kR[kerr+(1-v)

1 kei' r]}.

+~nvr kei' r]}.

The formulae for the membrane forces for r , ~ l

can be transformed to

For small r ,~ 1,

Y'(r~/[2k,]) = 2/rrr,

Y"(r~/[2kR]) =-2/Trr z

= ~/[3(1 - v")]

1 + 4(1~.+ v)kR

x [In r
1 - v]
.
~+ y 0 + T J
+4(r/ - )
r
1-v

and finally we obtain

Mo, j=-~--~ - ( l + v )

rr}

N,0

I n ~ + y o ~- 2

+ 2 ( 1 - v)E1].

(36)

(38)

The bending moments are singular at the point r = 0

and approach +o~ and -oo. Two singular terms
appear in the expressions (36). First, classical In r
and second 1/r 2 coming out from the improved
theory which takes also into account the transverse
shear and normal deformations. The terms containing i/r 2 contain stronger singularities of the second
order. We see that the moments have a singularity
identical to that obtained for flat plates. When the
load is an outward direction, M, and Mnn approach
+oo and -oo as r---,0 for improved theory, and for
the classical theory both approach +oo (Fig. 10).
The stress function can be obtained in a similar
way to the deflection w. On integration we find

The first term "1" in the bracket { } corresponds to

the result of the shallow shell equations. The
remaining terms, are the results of the effect of nonshallowness of the shell and the transverse normal
stresses or,. These terms contain singular functions
ln(r/n) and 1/r 2.
Taking into account the effect of transverse
normal stresses we see that N,~ ~oo, N= ~ - o ~ for
r ~ 0 . At a large distance from the point of
application of the load the membrane forces
approach the values which are obtained from the
equations of membrane theory (31).
The non-shallow spherical shell loaded at the
vertex was considered by W. T. KoiterY 4) He
obtained the following expression for the normal
deflection at the point of application of the load.

q~ = ~---ffR{ - 2 Yo(r'x/(2kR l) - ker r - F: ker r

w(0) = ~/[3(114_- v")] Eh

2PR [ 1+ '2(lrr.~
T - + v)

S. A.

122

~UKASIEWICZ

2 Rh
"[

which slightly differs f r o m eq. (34).

Analysing all the above-obtained solutions we
see that in a shell with bending rigidity, the
deflection under a normal load remains finite, if we
neglect the effect of transverse shear deformations.
But there are still infinite bending m o m e n t s and
shear forces. The strongest singularities those
involving an infinite deflection o c c u r in structures
lacking bending rigidity, (see the case of the
m e m b r a n e shell considered in Section 4.1). This
indicates that the bending rigidity is of local
importance.
The stresses on the upper surface of the shell
caused by bending the m e m b r a n e forces are
presented graphically in Fig. 10. The case when the
concentrated force is distributed o v e r the surface
of the circle of a radius c is interesting f r o m the
technical point of view. The following equations
can be written for the deflection and the stresses in
the isotropic shell. At point r = 0 we have

w(0) x/t12(_l-v2)]PR[l,+Iker,c
E h 2 LC-

+v)

c ker' c]

X/[3(I- v2'] P~ [ 1 + 1
O'deN =

--31"-

kC 2

ker' c]
C

1.5

1.0
w

~1..5

c ker' c l
X/[3(l - v')] P I
k e r c + v~,-TV--~..,/
tL_,jj+
2~"
Rh c 2
3(1 + v) P kei' c

O'~M

O'OOM
"n"

h2

6 X / [ 3 ( 1 - v2)] P ker' c
10,r
VRh
c
'

where c = ( / l is the non-dimensional value of &

The first terms in the a b o v e relations which
correspond to the results of the shallow shell
equations are the most important. The remaining
terms appear as the result of taking into account the
effects of transverse shear deformations and the
complete equations of the spherical shell. T h e s e
terms are negligible if ( > I.
W h e n the load is distributed o v e r a certain small
area, the m e m b r a n e and bending stresses at the
point r = 0 are equal O-,,~ = O-ooN, O-,,u = o'oou. We
obtained previously for the c o n c e n t r a t e d load

Improved"theory
Classicaltheory

~
~

This result can be explained in the following way.

If the load acts on the surface fro 2 the m e m b r a n e
stresses O-o0N and bending stresses O-0ou change
rapidly at ~ = ~. Calculating the stresses in the
circular plate we obtained previously a difference
between the m o m e n t s Moo for r > c
and r < c ,
when r o c ,
equal to v P h 2 / l O z r g '. If c ~ 0
this
difference tends to infinity. The m e m b r a n e f o r c e
Noo behaves in the similar way, it changes rapidly
from v h P / 4 7 r ( 2 to - v h P / 4 1 r ~ 2 for F = (. If c ~ 0

- ~ ( 1 + v)kR l n v ' ( 2 k R ) - l k R ] + 5 - ~ ( 1

O-~N =

v) kei' c + ~ ker' c

+ 3(1 + v ) ( 2 - v) P
107r
Rh

2 = 1/2kR = X/[3(1 -- v " ) ] R / h .

~"

(1 -

ff rrM

\ ~
I\

h
R- =Oll v=0.3

0.5 ~!

'rrM

C~~'~M

.--~ ~

a'rrN

0
o'm~,N
I

7
l
FIG. 10. Distribution of stresses in a spherical shell subjected to normal forces. "Improved theory"
means the theory taking into account effects of transverse shear and normal stresses.

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

this difference tends to infinity. This peculiar
behaviour of the stresses ~r~ is caused by
imperfections of the theory of shells which reduce
the analysis of the three-dimensional problem of
the theory of elasticity to a two-dimensional
problem. Considering this problem more accurately
we would obtain another, also discontinuous
distribution of stresses (see the solution for the
circular plate).

123

Some numerical results for the deflections and

stresses in the shell for different ratio ~/1 are shown
in Figs. 11 and 12. We see that when the load is
distributed over a small area the logarithmic peak is
replaced by a sharp finite cusp. The height of this
cusp depends decisively on the area over which the
load is distributed. Only precise information on the
load distribution can give the real maximum stress.
Outside the direct vicinity of the loaded area the

2=0.1
Experiment

Theory

0.35

0.30
i/
0.25

" Nrr

Points from experiment

[25]

4~)2

N
u

=0.3

c o

E/t

0.20

0.15

O.JO,F

C=2.6

0.05

"~"~J~-4 ~ ~ "5 - - ~ l r - - . -

l
FIG. I I. Deflection o f a spherical shell under a load distributed u n i f o r m l y over surface ~r~ 2 f o r various
ratios = ~./l.

lllcal

III

Experiment

[Cbl

Theory

~I~-

~I~1.0

Poini's from expen"meni"

)8 -I~

L= ~
4

.-8

o.5

Bending stresses
I

area ~ U
c On

'~ ~ _ - - - - ? M e m b r a n e

stresses

-~=.=jT'~.~,.j,~,
~' - ~ . m " ' ~
~-'------~
_.______~
\
~-.-...._e~---I,
~

~-...

area-'I
= 0
-~
6

O'rr

~ ' ~ - ~

~ A

"~,----"0
I

cree

7-

FIG. 12. C o m p a r i s o n o f stresses calculated theoretically and obtained f r o m e x p e r i m e n t f o r t w o values

ofc=

~11.

S. A. ZUKASIEWICZ

124

point load analysis usually gives an accurate

answer if the loaded area is small enough.
When the ratio ?/2h is very small, the portion of
the shell near the point of application of the load
should be treated as a body, all three dimensions of
which are of the same order of magnitude. The
stresses in this area will be different from the
results given by eqs. (32). The tensile stresses can
be obtained approximately from Westergard's
formula ~29~ for the plate resting on an elastic
foundation. For the spherical shell the coefficient
k-~ E h / R 2. Then, adding the effect of membrane
forces we have the tensile stresses
tr,=~-~ 0 . 2 7 5 ( l + v ) l n

b~

--

the load did not undergo changes with change of

position of the loaded point on the surface of the
shell. The experiments were performed for loads
acting on a circular surface with the radius t~ and
different ratios g/l.
The results described make it possible to build a
solution for a more complicated load. It is possible
to find a solution for the case of arbitrary load by
using the singular solution as the Green's function
of the problem.
For example, we can calculate the case of a load
acting along a certain line and distributed in a
specified way, by superposition of the solution for a
simple concentrated force. The solution for the
load presented in Fig. 13 can be obtained by the

where
b =X/(1.6c2+h2-0.675h)
b =6

when

where

?<1.724h

~>1.724h.

The general conclusions concerning the application of shallow shell theory resulting from the
above calculations are as follows:
In the case when the load is distributed over a
surface rr~: where ~ is of the order of the
characteristic length I or when the deflection or
stresses are calculated at points lying several l
away from the point of application of the load, the
differences between the results of shallow shell
theory and the theory taking into account the effect
of transverse shear deformations are negligible.
In the case when the load is distributed over a
surface 7r~: where h < ~ < I and the stresses are
calculated at points lying at a distance of the same
order, the complete equations improved by taking
into account the influence of transverse shear and
normal deformations must be applied. If t7 < h the
exact stress distribution in the vicinity of the loaded
area can be obtained only by using the three-dimensional equations of the theory of elasticity.
The last two remarks refer to rather thicker shells
when 0.02 < h/R < 0.1. In the case of thinner shells
the non-linear effects of large deflections quickly
invalidate the results obtained by means of linear
theory.
The theoretical results have been examined by
experiments. Tooth "-~ carried out experiments with
a shallow spherical shell loaded at its top by a
concentrated normal force and obtained data which
confirmed the theoretical calculations. The points
(Fig. 12) present results obtained using
strain gauges. Good agreement is found between
theory and experiment both for stresses and
displacements.
The displacement of the shell shows greater
deviation from the theoretical curves than the
stresses. It was also found that the stress and
displacement field near the point of application of

FIG. 13. Spherical shell under a line load.

integration of results obtained for the concentrated
force along the loaded circumference.
4.3 Concentrated bending moment
The solution for the spherical shell loaded by a
concentrated bending moment can be easily obtained by the differentiation of the result for
concentrated force according to the formula (24).
We mention here only the formula for the
deflection w and stress function ~b based on the
classical shallow shell equations

MI [kei' r - ('0 - E) ker' r

2~-D

+-~r kei r} cos O

~b=

_MR[I+
21rl(r

(40)

ker'r

+~,r/[(3 - 2 v ) kei' r + r k e r r + g l } c o s

O.

4.4 Concentrated tangential .force

The case of spherical shell loaded by a concentrated tangential force T is more interesting. In this
case the effect of transverse shear deformation is of
small importance. If we solve this problem by

125

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

-08

-06

-04

-.2
b
0

02

(?.4
-:

--2

--I

(2,ro~

~:o, ~-

--~-iw

FIG. 14. Membrane and bending stress variation in a spherical shell subjected to a concentrated bending
moment.
means of classical theory assuming, as previously,
that the shell is shallow and of infinite extent we
obtain the following solution using the infinite
Fourier transform:

. Tl 3cos 0 (= J,(yr) dy
w=(l+~j g:~--k J0 UTi
.

Tl ~

/1

=(l+vl-~-~---~r+ker'r}

cosO.

$2 = - ( 1 + v) T-~/ f0* fo* sin otx cos fly dot

(ot2+ fl2)2+ 1

(43)

The integral for ~b, is not convergent and so c a n n o t

be evaluated immediately. However, on calculating
the so-called finite part of the integral (43) we
arrive at the following expression for

(41)
4~, =

Then we obtain the following expressions for the

bending m o m e n t s

dfl

- T21r
l(r

In r c o s O -

Or sin O )

const.

Finally we obtain

Tl

Moo

=-(1 + v)~-~- +-(1-

c# = - ~-~-[r In r cos O - Or sin O

r2

+ (1 + v) kei' r] cos O + const.

(l+ker' r) +-(l-v) l-keirr

(42)

- 1 [ ( 1 + v ) - ( l - v)] kei' r } c o s O,
,

Tl

=-2~'~

+ lr kei r] sin O.

l + v Tl ~
16 RD r Cs O"

kerr--kei'r

x ( k e r r - 2 k e i ' r - r k e r ' r)]

'

The m e m b r a n e forces are calculated from

expression (43) for the stress function. We can
write gb = ~b~+ 4)2, where
~b~= T! f0~ f0= sin otx cos fly dot d/3
,

r ,

(44)

and

N'e = 2 - - ~ [ l - ( l + v ) ( k e r r

W -- - -

ot(~ 2+ fl2)

l-(l+v)

Noo = ~-~/ 1 - ( l + v )

Replacing ker r, kei r by the first two terms of

their power series expansions, we obtain from (41)
an approximate formula for the displacement of the
shell near the loading point (r ,~ l) as

~.

This yields the following expressions for the

m e m b r a n e forces

-2kei' r ) ] ~

(45)

The singularities of the m e m b r a n e forces at the

loading point are the same as in the flat plate
subject to a concentrated force. The numerical
results for the stresses and displacements in a shell
with Poisson's ratio v = 0.3 are presented graphically in Fig. 15.

S. A. EUKASIEWlCZ

126
-0.8

06

-0.4

S,
b

-O2o ;
0.2

04

-3

-2

-I

W\pt

1"

FIG. 15. Membrane and bending stress variation in a spherical shell subjected to a tangential force P.
4.5 T w i s t i n g m o m e n t

giving

Let us consider now a spherical shell subjected

to a twisting m o m e n t M, acting about its axis of
revolution. The shell is fixed at the boundary r = a.
This case can be solved very simply by considering
the equilibrum of a cup cut out by a plane
perpendicular to the shell axis. We find that there
exist the shear stresses only.

M,

(46)

r ~ = 2~rrZh .

Since the equilibrium equations and the equation

of compatibility are in this case automatically
satisfied, we conclude that the m e m b r a n e and
bending stresses are equal to zero. T h e n the
displacements u = w = 0 and nothing but the shear
strain 3',~ appears in the shell.
W e h a v e the following relation
r d{d~
~ =~ff/=~.

T,~

On substitution of z,~ and integrating we find the

displacement

-r -- 27rR 2hG

Since at r = a ,

- ~ cosec ~ cot ~o+ 1 In tan

+ C.

v=O

(47)

M,
v =~

[ ~ / ( R 2 - a 2)
L
Ra 2

~ / ( R : - r 2)
Rr 2

1
"

+ N/(R

2 _ r .~) j .

For R - - * ~ this solution is in a g r e e m e n t with the

solution for flat plate. If the twisting m o m e n t is
introduced in the shell by a rigid circular insert the
distribution of stress does not change.

4.6 A r b i t r a r y shell, l o a d e d b y a n o r m a l
concentrated force
Let us consider now an arbitrary shell loaded by
a concentrated force P normal to the shell surface,
introducing the local non-dimensional system of
coordinates (x, y) with a characteristic length I. The
origin of the coordinates is at the point of
application of the load. The directions of the axis
follow the directions of the main curvatures of the
middle surface and are denoted by I/R~ and l/R2.
As, first of all, we are interested in the state of
stresses in the area surrounding the loading point,
we assume, to simplify the calculations, that in this
area the radii R~ and R2 and the coefficients of the
first quadratic f o r m are constant. This simplification enables us to achieve the solution of the
problem by means of differential equations with
constant coefficients.
Let us assume further that the shell extends
infinitely in all directions. In this way we avoid the
boundary effects on the state of stresses and
deflection near the point of application of the load.
W e solve the problem by means of the shallow
shell equations, taking into account the effect of
transverse shear deformations. T h e s e equations

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

take the following form

127

T h e i n t e g r a n d D(3,, ~0) c a n b e p r e s e n t e d
f o r m D(3', ~o) = (i + 3,')(1 - - ~ ) w h e r e

in t h e

DA2w - ( 1 - 1 2 , / A ) A ~ = [1 - 12(~ - e ) A ] Z ,
sin2 ~/'-12A-----2
/~ = 2(1 - ,,R) 7--z-~-~ ~,
sin' ~p)(1 + -03, 2)

?:R2Az
ffh a ~ + A,w = - ~ - - - .
1

3,2

- ~ 7~;
where

AR = R2/R,;

R2 < Rz.

~ = vh/2R2
c9z

1 02

c92

Z = PS(00, y),

A s R is a l w a y s s m a l l e r t h a n u n i t y if 0 < AR < 1
we
can
develop
the
fraction
1/0-/~) =
1 + R + R 2 +....
We can then obtain the displacem e n t in t h e f o r m of t h e f o l l o w i n g s e r i e s

3:

Rx<R,

If w e i n t r o d u c e t h e s y s t e m o f c o o r d i n a t e s (r, O),
connected with the rectangular coordinates by the
relations x=rcosO,
y=rsinO,
w e find t h e
following solution applying the Fourier transform
to eqs. (48)

p l 2 ~= /o "n

w = # - - ~ Jo

{1-(n

W ~ 2"--~

m=O n=O

x[I.,+(rl

-~)I~.+-(l+n)'~I~..+,] 1 .

w h e r e a~.. a r e t h e
recurrent formulae

coefficients

defined

(50)
by the

- ~)3"~- #[~ + n3"q

ao.o = 1,

a,,:

p:'=

1 2hnp4,.

(cos 2 ~o + h~ sin 2 ~)} c o s (3"x c o s ~p)

x c o s (3'y sin ~o) 3" d3' d~p
D(3', q~)

a.o--o

(49)

T h e sign x m e a n s h e r e m u l t i p l i c a t i o n w h i c h f o r t h e
c o e f f i c i e n t s p " " s h o u l d b e p e r f o r m e d p " " x p~'~ =
p'*'"*L T h e c o e f f i c i e n t s p ' ~ a r e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e
c o o r d i n a t e s a n d a r e p r e s e n t e d in T a b l e I.
T h e f u n c t i o n s I~.,

where
D ( % ~o) =

3 4 -.I- (I

+ "03'2)(c0s 2 ~0 + AR sin 2 ~ ) ,

1' = R22h2/3(l - v2), AR = R,/R,.

T h e a b o v e i n t e g r a l is c o m p l e x a n d its e x a c t
s o l u t i o n is u n k n o w n . H o w e v e r , it c a n b e e v a l u a t e d
a p p r o x i m a t e l y b y t r a n s f o r m i n g it i n t o t h e f o r m o f
series making analytical integration possible.

I,... =

fO~/2cos (7x cos ~ ) c o s ( T y

ff

3"+~ J=(Zr)
d3".
3'

(3,4 + 1),+.

are p r e s e n t e d in T a b l e 2.

TABLE

H2. =

....

1.

sin ~0) sin2" ~0 d~0

~rl" 2,,J,(~'r)+. ...... Jr,- (3,r)

]
-~
[p ~
p
~
4-... + p2".Jo(vr)j.

2nO

p="'"=l.3...(2n-l)cos

p2 . . . . . = I - 3- (2n - 2 m - I ) [ 2n(2n - l ) - ~ . w(2n

. - - 2 m + 1)
cos 2~"-'J O sin TM 0 - 2n(2n - 1) - (2n - 2m - 1)(m + 1) cos 2~. . . . "O.
(2m + 2)!
x sin 2~-" d + . . + ( - l ) ' 2 n ( 2 n

- 1). (2n - 2 m - 2 i +
(2m + 2 0 !

1)

x (m .+i)(m + i - 1). - (i + l)cos~ ~. . . . " O sin2C'+'O + - -

m!

+(-l)"-=n(n-l)'"(n-m

m = l , 2 . . . m <ni=Ol'2""n-+
ml

p 2"." = sin s" 0

p.=l;

O=arcsin-Y;
t

r=~/(x2+y

2)

S. A.

128
TABLE

EUKASIEW1CZ

2.

Y'+~ Jm(yr)
I~.,= f f (y,+l),+.
(y)m dy
Io.,,= - k e i r:
1

I~.o= 1+ ker' r
r

l._',,= ~ - r kei' r + kerr

o = ~r
_~(_2rlOo _ / ~ , ) + k e i , r
L.o

o _
I~.o-

r':"

2._1(m

2(m-l)[2(mr-2)lO

1)!

2o
~-

. -

l~-~,o

+ 2 ( m - 3 ) 1 o ..... - I ~ ,.o; m >>-4

account the way in which the load is distributed

over this surface. This calculation can be done in a
similar way to the case of a force concentrated at
one point of the shell surface, i.e. using the Fourier
transform for eq. (48). Then the problem reduces to
the solution of a double integral of the type (49).
Let us consider a case when the load is uniformly
distributed over a small circular area of the radius
c. Then the integral (6) can be used. We obtain a
solution by simple multiplication of all integrals
previously obtained by [2J,(y, )]/3',.- T h e n on integration with respect to q~ we obtain the following
relation for the deflection of an isotropic shell.

r
9\

I,~.,= 1-4)Io0-7~Io'o=.

PI2 ~ 2 [ 2 ( 1 - Au)l"a.,.

-~keir+~keCr,

W ~

-(n_~_--2))lO.o_r
o,
~I..o

io...,=( 1
I.... =

-(m -2)].o

"4n

......

n~>l

l~.o = 2 I o - Io = 2 + 2 ker' r + kei r

'

"

r"

f f ( T 4 3'
J,,,(Tr)J,(YC) dy"
+ 1 ) " " ymrm TC

Eh
P ~/(R,R:) [ 1 , + / k e r ' c]

w(O'O) = X / [ 1 2v( "l -) ] ~

LC"

I~.o : [2(mr- l) I., .... - I~ .... ].

m >~2

l g t = ( l _ 4 ) lo.o - ~I0'.o
r 2 = - ~r ker' r

(53)
(when c < 2.)

3 ,
1
I ~1 = ( I - ~)I;.o
- ~ rI , ':o = ~ k1e ( r.- ~ l r k e r r

-(m -4)It 2

i~. = i _ - (

4 : ]4)

I~.....

The bending m o m e n t s calculated at the point r = 0

in a similar way are presented by the formulae

r ~nn
. I .....

M,.

=~--~ (1
1-x/(AR)(

In this way we obtain a solution of the equations

in the form of relatively convergent series of
T h o m s o n functions ker (r), kei (r).
The displacement of the shell at the point of
application of the load (if we neglect the effect of
transverse shear deformations) can be easily
calculated in closed form. We obtain

w(O,O) =

(52)

The evaluation gives the following simplified

relation for the deflection at the point r = 0, valid if
the radius c is not very large.

2 __
I,.okei' r

m =0 n =0

r o,

] 1 . . . . . - ~n l

l?,.o= kerr

V ' [ 3 ( 1 - v2)] P
4
Eh 2X/(RIR');

x\

--c
48

ker' c
l-v

(kei' c__l
1
"~
c
2 kerc +~ c ker'c /J

AR > 0 .

The twisting m o m e n t M , = 0 at the point r = 0. If c

is small, c ,~ 1 the functions ker c, kei c . . . can be
replaced by series expansions. Then the bending
stresses are defined in the following way

AR > 0 .
(51)

~x 1 = 2 3P
~ - ~ { - (1 + v) ( I n ~c + yo)

or:,,:,, J

The above formula is in agreement with the result

+ 1 + ,,/5G3-~ l + V ; - l + V - - ? ~ )
'
obtained by E. Reissner for the spherical shellY ~
The bending and twisting moments and the
AR > 0, (55)
m e m b r a n e forces can be obtained in a similar way.
The results of these calculations are presented in where c = C/I is the non-dimensional value referFigs. 16 and 17.
red to the characteristic length.
The m a x i m u m m e m b r a n e stresses do not d e p e n d
From the practical point of view the case of a
load distributed over a small surface is very on the coefficient he if 1/> he >/0. In the case of the
interesting. If we need to calculate the m a x i m u m load distributed over a small surface c ,~ I. these
deflection and stress in the shell we should take into stresses depend to a small degree on he and can be

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

129

~I

(a)

{.0
=

ba~

0.8
0.6
0.4

12XR 0 ~" Trl2

-0"20

I0

7.

{.0

H~I

(b)

III

O'S~ / /
~l..._~

x :o, ~-= r / 2

o.,l-i\\\
I\\V,

x:o,.:o

eL/

o210
I

--7---7

IO

FIG. 6. Bending stress variation in double-curvature shell under a concentrated normal force P for
two values of the parameter AR.
obtained in approximation from
o~, = o'y, = X/[3(I -

v2)]PI8h 2.

The integrals (49) have been calculated also by

many Russian investigators ~4.3'64'65~ in other ways.
Solutions in the form of various series of Bessel
functions were obtained for the case 7/ = E = 0.
Also orthotropic shells, have been the subject of
many papers in which a similar method was
applied. L. J. Ernst (9" considered the doubly-curved
shell and obtained closed solutions for some
quantities of stress and strain for elliptic and
hyperbolic paraboloids. He applied the infinite and
finite Fourier transform to the shallow shell
equations, and obtained interesting results for
shells of negative Gauss curvature. The results
have been tested by experiment.( 37~

4.7

Simplified solution

Following the previous Sections, evaluation of

the integrals defining the internal forces and
moments in closed form is possible for spherical
shells. The series (50) for arbitrary shells become
less and less convergent when the shape of the shell
deviates from the sphere and becomes nearly

cylindrical. In order to solve such problems it is

necessary to evaluate the integrals (49) numerically.
Very often, however these integrals converge only
very slowly. In order to facilitate the computations,
the integrals between the limits 0 and co can be
calculated in two steps. First between the limits 0
and B, where B is a certain arbitrary value and then
from B to oo. We have

fox F(3,)d3, = joBF(3')d3' + f ; F(3") d3,.

I

The closed solution of the integrals between the

limits B to ~ can be found from asymptotic
formulae presenting the integrand in the form of
power series in respect to 113,. The formulae
obtained in this way are similar to those for plates
loaded by concentrated forces. (u~
The above method has a physical interpretation.
The internal forces obtained from the integrals
calculated between B and oo are the results of the
self-equilibrated local load ZS(xy). c~
For example, in case of concentrated force we
have (3),

ZS(x) = P f[

cos ax da = P8 (x)

PsinBx
~"

130

S . A . EUKASIEWICZ

(o)
1.00 ~ , .

/ X ~ = O, ~ = 0

075L~X'
~
%
0 I

\~"
,X \

o.4

X,e=025
"
' ~=.'/2

,,

,5

I0

(b)
I O0

0.75

~~'~"x.

;"R=O'u'=0

%
050

0.25
b

X # = O , ~'= 7 r / 2

I
I

I
2

I
3

I
4

I
5

I
6

I
7

I
8

7"
{

FIG. 17. Membrane stress variation in a double-curvature shell under concentrated normal force P for
various parameter AR.
4.8 Singular solution method
The calculation of the stresses in a shell of
positive Gaussian curvature loaded by a concentrated normal force was performed by K. Forsberg
and W. Flfigge.(42~ They applied a method of
studying singular solutions of the homogeneous
differential shell equations. These solutions can be
interpreted as the effect of concentrated loads. The
environment of the point of application of the load
was approximated by an elliptic paraboloid which
has principal radii of curvature at its vertex equal to
those of the shell at the loading point. The shallow
shell equations were applied to a solution which
was assumed to be in the form of an infinite series

r/(r,O)=n =0,1
~ ._ f . ( r )

cosnO

where ~(r,O) is the function solving the shell

equations. Applying the perturbation method, the

function [o(r) was assumed to take the form of a
power series

f. = f~, fro. (r)k'~

m

where k~ = [(1 - AR)/(I + AR)], AR = R J R , is the

parameter depending on the curvature of the shell.
In effect, an infinite set of recurrent ordinary
differential equations was obtained.
The formulae for the concentrated normal load
were obtained by use of the following conditions:
1. the displacement w normal to the shell surface
to remain finite as r--, 0;
2. slope at the origin: lim [aw/Or] = 0 as r ~ 0 ;
3. hoop strain Eoo to remain finite as r ~ 0 ;
4. the shell element cut out at the vertex is in
equilibrium under the normal load and the
stress resultants.

131

Introductionof concentrated loads in plates and shells

The numerical evaluation of the series gives values
which are in a good agreement with results obtained
by means of integrals (49), (Fig. 18).
A further recent solution is reported by R. Dore
and W. Fliiggefl6~

a radius smaller than the thickness of the shell.

In zone II, with dimensions of the order of the
characteristic length l and surrounding the region I,
the shell can be treated as a plate, in which the
bending stresses are largest. In this zone we should

05

"~

kx ~'\R,+ez / =0..3

: ' (!~_~_~
= rd-- ~-

(degree)

30

oo /

FIG. 18. Distribution of bending moment M, in a double-curvature shell under a concentrated normal
force. (Forsberg and FI/iggem~).
Experimental investigation concerning shells of
positive Gauss curvature +~ proved the correctness
of the assumptions and the theoretical results
obtained by the above-described methods. All the
effects produced by the concentrated loads in shells
of positive curvature are of a local character. If
the edge of the shell is not very close to the point of
application of the load, the boundary effects have no
influence on the state of stress and displacement at
this point..

4.9 Conclusions
From theoretical and experimental results obtained for shells of positive Gauss curvature we can
draw the following conclusions. If we consider a
shell under the action of a concentrated load applied
at a sufficient distance from the edge we can divide
its surface into the five zones, I, II, III, IV and V (Fig.
19).
In zone I which lies in the close vicinity of the
point of application of the load, the shell behaves
like a flat, thick plate. The dimensions of this zone
are of the order of the thickness of the shell. If we
calculate the stresses at points lying at distances
smaller than the thickness of the shell from the point
of application of the load, the stresses can be
obtained approximately from the respective threedimensional solution of the problem of a thick plate
based on the equations of the theory of elasticity. In
the same way we would obtain the stresses if the
load was distributed over a small circular surface of

' , ~,I k ' l l ~ l ,

l l l l l ,i/Ill, ' l q l l / I / I / 1 / / / / l i I i ] . . . . .

FIG. 19. Zones in a shell of positive Gauss curvature

subjected to a concentrated load.
apply the improved theory of plates or shells, taking
into account effects of transverse shear and normal
deformations.
In the zone III the membrane and bending
stresses appear comparable. Calculations in this
region can be based on the shallow shell equations.
In zone IV, that is outside zones II and III, there
appear only the membrane stresses which can be
calculated by means of the membrane theory of
shells.
The last zone, V, lies in the neighbourhood of the

S. A. EUKASIEWICZ

132

edge. The stresses in this area consist of membrane

stresses and stresses produced by the edge effects.
Calculation of the stresses in the shell can be
performed in a few stages. At first, we calculate the
membrane stresses, then we take into account the
edge effects. Finally we consider the local effects in
the vicinity of the loaded places. On the boundary
between zones III and IV the membrane stresses
resulting from shallow shell equations must match
with the results of the equations of the membrane
theory.
The dimensions of zone III in the case of doubly
curved shells are between 61 for near-spherical
shells and 30l for near-cylindrical shells.

4.1 1 Cylindrical shells

In the case of cylindrical shells, the distortions
produced by the concentrated loads are not stifled
so soon as in the case of shells of positive Gaussian
curvature. In this situation the real boundary
conditions must be taken into consideration,
particularly the deflections and stresses of the shell
along the circumference should be presented by
periodic functions. In solving such shell problems it
is convenient to express the deflection of the shell
in cylindrical coordinates (x, q~), where x is the
distance measured along the generator, ~o--the
angle defining the point on the circumference. Then
the solution usually takes the form of Fourier series.
Considering an infinitely long shell we can present
two radial concentrated forces P acting along the
diameter, in the following way:

Z=P6(x,y)=~ Pfo ~
x [ 1 +,= ~
cosmp]cosaxda.,_.4.6

(56)

The deflections of the shell and the stress function

can be presented in the form of similar series. Then
we obtain the following solution from Morley's
equations~

summation. In this way the value of the deflection

at the point of application of the load was obtained
as (Eh 2/PR)~,/(h/R) w (0, 0) = 0.740. The equations
of the Donnell-Vlasov technical theory of shells
give the value 0.555.
The same problem was considered by S. W. Yuan
and L. Ting~'~ who replaced Donnell's equations by
those of Fliigge. Morley ~48~also considered a shell
loaded in the same way. Bijlaard ~5~presented much
data and curves for bending moments, membrane
forces and radial displacement in a cylinder due to
radial loads distributed over small areas. A circular
cylinder of finite length was assumed to be simply
supported at the ends.
Kempner, Sheng and Pohle ~2~ obtained displacements, rotations, membrane and bending stresses
corresponding to line loads on a simply supported
circular cylinder for the cases:
1. a radial load uniformly distributed along a line
segment,
2. uniformly distributed bending moment acting
in the direction of the axis of the cylinder and
in the direction tangential to the circumference.
Kleinc66~ presented numerous diagrams for the
deflection and stresses in the region of loaded areas
of an infinitely long circular cylinder subjected to
internal pressure. The series for the stresses in the
shell, especially for the bending stresses, converge
slowly. In order to facilitate numerical computation, a method consisting of the division of the load
into a local and a global part can be applied.
This calculation can also be accelerated by
elimination from the series of singular parts. For
example the bending moments in the shell for x = 0
are defined by the series
M.~(O, ) =

M.(O, ~)

P ! + u ~, ( k . + l ) ''2
- 2~" ~/(2) .~...
nk. cos n~o

(58)

where
K 4

kn2 = l -I 4n 4.

=2PR2[l_fo~ cosaxda
rr2D (2 ( a 2 - 1)2+4K 4
+

(~ (a z + n 2) COS aX COS n~o da l

2~.4.6 Jo ( a 2 + n 2 ) ' ( a 2 + n : - l)2+4K*a"J '
(57)

where
4K4= 12(i -

u2)R2/h2

and a similar expression for the stress function.

The above integrals can be easily evaluated with
the aid of the calculus of residues. Calculation of
the shell deflection is then reduced to numerical
summation of Fourier series. These series converge
rapidly and no special techniques are required in

As for large n, k -~ 1 the series (58) converges as

slowly as the series E~ [(cos n~ )/n ], this convergence can be improved by the use of the sum of
the series E~:2.4...[(cos n)/n] = -(1/2) In (2 sin ).
The displacements, bending moments and membrane forces were calculated in the infinitely long
cylindrical shell by S. W. Yuan in 1946,~49~taking
Donnell's equations as starting point, and by K.
Bieger in 1959~62~based on W. Flfigge's equations.
Results were derived assuming a double Fourier
series representation.
Holand ~67~ also gave influence diagrams for
moments, forces and displacements for segments
of circular cylindrical shell. The analysis was based
on Donnell's equations. In Reference 58 Holand

133

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

considered the same problem. The cylindrical
segment was simply supported at the edges. The
problem was solved by dividing the infinitely long
shell into two parts in the loaded cross-section.
Stresses and displacements were then obtained as
edge disturbances originating from this section.
The deflections of the cylindrical shell with
simply-supported edges can be easily deduced from
the diagram for an infinitely long shell by a method
of images. This method was first used by Nadai t3' in
the theory of plates. In the case of cylindrical shell
simply supported at the edges it was applied by
Yuan and Ting.'ss'-~4~These authors based their work
on Flfigge's equation. I. Kempner, I. Sheng and F.
V. Pohle '-~-'~obtained solutions for locally loaded
cylindrical shells based on the results of the paper
by N. J. Hoff, J. Kempner and F. V. Pohle. ~-~"This
consisted of presenting the solution in the form of
the series
w=~Ce

k*cos(nx/R),

n =mrrR/L

while adopting a system of non-dimensional rectangular coordinates x = .~/R, y = ~0 with the origin at
the point of application of the load. The equations
of the cylindrical shell can be reduced to the one
eighth order differential equation
A4

W+4K

4 a 4w

~X 4 =0,

4K 4 = 12(1 -

where

v2)R2/h 2.

(59)

Factorizing the differential operator we obtain the

equation

L,L2L3L4w = 0 ,

where

0
L, = A+/31~-x,
i = 1,2,3,4

fl,=-fl4=(l+i)K,

/32 = -/33 = (1 - i)K.

It is evident that the solutions of the following

equations

n =0

where ~o is the coordinate measured round the

circumference x along the generator, and L is the
length of the shell. If the cylindrical segment is
simply supported at all edges, the solution can be
found easily be means of a double Fourier series.
Such a treatment was first applied by V. Z.
Vlasovfl' If the load is distributed over a rectangular surface the solution can be also obtained
representing the load by means of Fourier
series; Bijlaard in 1954-1955 calculated in this way
the stresses in cylindrical shells simply supported at
the edges under concentrated forces and bending
moment distributed over rectangular small surfaces
of various dimensions. Numerical results were
obtained by use of a computer. For the bending
moments a great number of terms was calculated
-7000. In another paper ~s~ more than a million
terms were necessary to obtain satisfactory results.
The problem of a cylindrical shell with free edges
loaded by two radially directed concentrated forces
was solved approximately by S. Timoshenko by the
assumption of inextensional deformations of the
shell, t2~Results of such calculations are in satisfactory agreement with experiment.
In a similar way singular solutions for orthotropic
shells can be obtained, see papers by I. P.
Artiukhin,'7~' and I. P. Jikalko a'~ and S. A. Khrustenko. (63~
4.12

Singular solutions for shallow

cylindrical shells

A. Jahanshahi '73~examined singular solutions of

the eighth order equations for shallow cylindrical
shells and found that the force singularities were
expressible in terms of integrals of the products of
cylindrical and circular functions.
Let us consider a cylindrical shell of radius R

Aw +/3,-~-xW= 0

(60)

also satisfy eq. (59). It may be shown by direct

substitution that
w=---~K

e-~"l-~'"/2~'Yo( 1 i )

(tZ+yZ) I1' dt

Yo[(li)s]ds dt.

-+ i(1 t)-~-

(61)

Here Y0 is the Bessel function of the zero order and

the second kind. It follows that

X =12----iKfo~sin(l-i)2tYo[(1-i)2(tZ+Y")"2]dt
+

K 2

(l-,)--~ f dt fo' Yo[(1-i)s]ds

(62)

is also a solution of eq. (59). Examination of this

result indicates that the singular solution corresponding to the action of the concentrated normal
force P takes the form
w = C Im)t"

[,x',y'-(1-t

(63)

'Im' denotes imaginary part of the function X. C is a

constant determined from the condition of equilibrum of force P with the resultant of the shearing
forces for small r
I" f2~ a
r~-~,
r - ( x 2 + y2),/2

Finally we obtain

PR 2
C - 4DK 2.

134

S. A. J~UKASIEWICZ

R. Dor(~ and W. Fliigget76~ show that the above

solution can be presented in the form of real
functions

P
w

A4w + 4.K 4c~'w

~
= _ [ ~ R 2 T ~ , A .3.
+ 4K4RT~,A~x:]8(0, 0, xy ).

(66)

2PRK :

8wD(~b,+ ~b,); ~b

87r (~bk-- ~b,)

(64)

where

The hot spot is assumed to be located at the origin

of coordinates. The particular solution of eq. (66)
which constitutes the singularities for the hot spot
is~73~

( x)co

[- l + v
K2
]
w = _ [r~2-~-ff-re + T , ~-~- Im

c s h ( ; x ) sin(;x)kei(-~(2)r)]

c o s ( I - i ) 2 Y 0 [ ( l - i ) 2 r ].

+ fot'l fo' [ker (~(2)s) ~ kei (~(2)s) ] ds dt.

This solution has been proved to be a pure solution,
i.e. it is not contained by self-equilibrating singularities of a higher order.
In the vicinity of the origin, w and ~b behave like

where Y0 is the Bessel function of the second kind.

Let us note that in the vicinity of the origin the
deflection and stress function can be presented in
the form

PR 2 ,,

w =~--~r'lnr,

PR

,Ir',

qb=--4--~K k ~ m r + x " r l n r .

(67)

(1 + , ) %2
h
27r

K 4

K' _[l + v\ T~,/r ~"

r 2

,\

EhT, I

4~ = T ~ L , ~ - T - ) --~ ~7 + x -) ln r - - - T ~ ln r.
The above solution can be easily generalized for the
case of the force moving along the generator of the
shell.3~
R. Dor6 and W. FlOgge6~ obtained in a similar
way a solution for various singular displacement
dislocations. The stress function and the components of the displacement vector were given for all
cases considered.
4.13 Shallow cylindrical shells subjected to

local hot spots

The equations of the shallow cylindrical shell
subjected to a field of variable temperature may be
presented in the following form

02q"b = _~_~.EDR2A(cl, T,),

D A 2w - R-ff~x,
l 2
-tgZw
- ~ A ~ + R~x 2 = -- R'-A(a,T,),

s~0
T~

We obtain the equation

7",2 = lim
s-,O
T~

(a,T2S).

Based on eq. (68), singular expressions for the

stress resultants can be easily calculated. The
above solution was obtained by A. Jahanshahi. ~73~
4.14 Shells loaded by concentrated bending

moments and tangential [orces

If the concentrated bending moment is presented as a resultant of two oppositely directed
normal forces of infinite magnitude acting at points
zero-distant apart, all effects produced by it can be
obtained from the solution for the concentrated
normal force. In order to find the deflection
produced by a moment M = lim PAx it is enough
Ax-~0

(65)

where Tj is the average temperature of the shell at

the arbitrary point (x, y), 7'2 defines the difference
between the temperature of the external and
internal surface of the shell, and a, is the coefficient
of thermal expansion.
Eliminating the stress function and introducing
the intensities T,~ of the plane hot spot and T,,--the
intensity of the bending hot spot

T,~ = lim (a,T,S),

(68)

to differentiate the respective results with respect

to the variable x and multiply the result by M/PI.
If the shell is loaded by a moment distributed
over a small surface which is for example the
resultant of a variable normal load q(x, y) acting
over this surface the solution can be obtained by
taking the solution for unit normal force as the
Green's function for the considered problem. In
this way T. E. Hals ~ obtained solutions for
concentrated moments applied to a segment of an
infinitely long shell with simply supported edges.
The cases considered were, firstly, a concentrated
moment distributed along a restricted length of one
of the generators of the surface, and secondly, a
moment distributed over a finite but restricted
rectangular element in the surface. The results were
presented in numerous diagrams.
The solution f o r a double-curved shell subjected
to a force T tangential to its surface can be

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

obtained in a similar way, using infinite Fourier
transforms.
The solution of eq. (48) can be presented in the
form

.,,..

w = ( 1 + v) 2"~"~-'D

135

vicinity of the loading point and extends to infinity

from the edge in all directions. Let us perform the
calculations applying the non-dimensional system
of coordinates x, y with the origin at the point of
application of the load at the edge. (Fig. 20)

f:,: y: 1_]-+-7'r,,.,, + ,.

- (1 - AR) sin-' q~] cos q~

sio,

Tl f "'" (~ [A. (cos" p + )t. sin" ~o)

4' = *:J0

.10

+ y4(sin-' ~o - u cos-' p)] sin (yx cos ~o)

cos (yy sin

"

d y d~p

q~) D(y-)-y:-~os ~o'

(69)

where
D ( y ) see (49),

An =

RdR,.

The first integral (69) can be evaluated by the

same method as the integrals in Section 4.5. The
integral for the stress function can be divided in
two parts ~b --- 4~, + ~b,. where
~, = T_~/f"'-' f " _____~__1 sin (yx cos ~)
7r-jo Jo y-' cos ~o
COS (yy sin ~0) d y d~o,
qb-' = T! f " n f =(I -I- u)y4 + ( 1 - A . ) [ I - ( 1 - AR) sin-' ~o]
7r- Jo J0
y-'D(y)
x cos ~ sin (yx cos ~) cos (yy sin ~ ) d y dq~.

R,

FIG. 20. Shell loaded at its free edge.

Applying a single Fourier transform to the governing differential homogeneous equations (48) we find
the following set of algebraic equations for the
u n k n o w n functions w and qb,'7" in which the effects
of transverse shear and normal deformations are
neglected here
D(c& +/32)2w(/3) +

( a : + AR/32)4~(/3) = 0,

~-ff (~-' +/3 2)% (/3)- Rt~"~(~-' + X,/3-')w(/3) = 0.

(7O)
The first integral in (70) has a closed singular
solution
7"/
qbj = - " ( r
21r

In r cos 0 - rO sin O) + const.

The second integral can be solved in m a n n e r

analogous to that used earlier for w.
The above relations allow calculation of the
deflections and stresses in the shell. The respective
diagrams can be found in Reference 68. The
problem of the cylindrical shell under tangential
load was solved by T. E. Hals 'u~ applying the
method proposed by J. H o l a n d : 67~ The result of
these calculations was a n u m b e r of influence
diagrams for the displacements, m e m b r a n e forces
and bending moments.

4.15 Edge loads

Let us consider now an arbitrary shell loaded by
concentrated forces at the free edge. This problem
can be solved approximately by similar assumptions to those made previously. That is, we will
a s s u m e that the shell has c o n s t a n t curvature in the

(71)
Then we find the solution of eqs. (48) as:

w = L" ~/ [B~ eh: cos a~x

+ C~ C : cos c~x ] cos/3y d/3,

(72)

where a, b~ and cl, d~ are roots of the characteristic

equation
( a : +/32) 4 + 4K'(t~-' + AR/32): = 0;
4 r ' = 12(1 -- v2)R~/h "-.
The following b o u n d a r y conditions must be
satisfied at the free edge for

x=0,

Nx~ + M , IR2=O,

N~=0,

Mx,=0,

Q, + a M , / a , = P S ( 0 , y).

Solving the above set of equations we find values of

the constants Bi and Ci and finally the displacements and stresses in the shell in the form of
integrals. The integral (72) defining the deflection
gives on numerical evaluation a value of the

136

S. A. EUKASIEWICZ

deflection which is much bigger than the correct

result. The reason for this is the assumption that the
shell is of infinite dimensions. The formula (72)
presents only the deflection of the shell in the

Berry. ~ He obtained an exact solution based on

the complete equations for the spherical shell in
terms of Legendre functions. It is very interesting
that the results of the simplified calculations

15

FIG. 21. (a) Deflections of a cylindrical shell under a concentrated normal force at its free edge. (b)
Deflections of a cylindrical shell under a concentrated bending moment at its free edge.
vicinity of the point of application of the load with
the accuracy down to the constant value (Fig. 21).
The membrane forces and bending moments can
be, however, obtained in this way to a much closer
approximation. Integrals for the internal forces
decrease rapidly with the distance from the point of
application of the load and depend to a smaller
degree on the boundary conditions as x--*~ and
___y ~ oo. S. Jukasiewicz m~ obtained the stresses in
the shell while applying the above described
method for various edge loads and a range of the
parameter 1 ~>}tR ~> =0.2. The results were presented in the form of diagrams. The slowconverging integrals were evaluated in two steps as
was explained in article 4.7.
This problem was solved by P. Seide c93~in case of
a cylindrical shell loaded at its edge by a system of
concentrated and distributed radial forces and
moments. However, he calculated only the displacement w and the slope awlax because of slow
convergence of the applied series. The hemispherical shell under concentrated radial forces and
moments at the free edge was considered by J. G.

08

i~

O6

O4

Mr x
IOO

O2

02

ffYYN

/ /

GXXM/"

O4

O6

08

I0

12

[
2

]
3

/
4

I
5

I
6

I
7

T
FIG. 22. Stresses in a hemispherical shell under two

concentrated bending moments at the free edge.

137

Introductionof concentrated loads in plates and shells

described here are in complete agreement with his
results in the case of a shell under concentrated
bending moments (Fig. 22). No difference in the
diagrams would be observed if we introduce the
notation of Reference 77.
4.16 Large deflections of shells
Experiments with shells loaded by concentrated
loads proved that the deflections calculated from
the linear equations formula (51) are compatible
with those coming from experiments only for the
initially small values of the forces. In the case of a
shell of positive curvature an elliptical dimple-zone
of reversed curvature was observed on the shell
surface. This zone spreads outwards as the load
increases. This particular behaviour, observed first
in the case of the spherical shell, has aroused the
interest of many scientists. Bieseno (8~ solved this
problem as early as 1935, reducing it to two
simultaneous non-linear differential equations for
two unknown functions, v - - t h e displacement
normal to the axis of symmetry and ~o = d w / d r - where w is the displacement of the shell in the
direction of this axis. This function was assumed to
take the form:

~o = C,r/R + C,.(r/R ) In (b /r),

which is similar to that for an axisymmetrically
loaded plate. In consequence a relationship between the applied load and the deflection of the
shell was obtained, shown in Fig. 23. Chien ~8"
treated the spherical cup with a line load uniformly
distributed along a circle concentric with the apex
and of a radius ~c. Putting a = 0 gives the case of
concentrated load. Two simultaneous non-linear
equations for w and Nrr were applied. The solution
was obtained by an energetic method assuming the
deflection to take the form

w = w0(1 - r2/b2)[l(l + ~,)r2/(5 + v)b 2]

where w0 was a free parameter.
The same problem was considered by D. G.
Ashwell, who applied a very interesting method of
solution. He solved the non-linear problem of large
displacements of the spherical shell by means of
the combination of two linear solutions. Namely,
observing the behaviour of the shell during
deformation he noticed that the dimple appearing
on the shell surface has a spherical shape of the
opposite curvature to the initial shape. Only in the
boundary between the two regions does a bigger
deviation from the sphere appear. It can be
assumed that the dimple, i.e. the inner region, and
the outer region suffer a small displacement from
the spherical shell shape. Then for both regions,
linear equations can be adopted. In this way a large
deflection and non-linear behaviour of the shell can
be described in terms of two sets of equations of
small deflections, only the compatibility and
equilibrium conditions must be satisfied at the
boundary between the two zones.
Results of numerical calculations obtained by
this method are presented graphically in Fig. 23.
The thick full line is the variation predicted by
Ashwell. The thin full line results from the linear
theory.
R. Archer (~) reduced the problem of the spherical
shell loaded by concentrated force to the solution
of a set of algebraic equations by means of
non-linear Reissner's equations and the method of
finite differences.
A simplified method of calculation of large
deflections proposed recently by Pogorelov (9~ is
also worth mentioning here. This method is
founded on a similar perception to that of Ashwell,
that the shell deflecting elastically, takes a form
resembling one of the forms of its isometric
deformation. It means that geometrical bending

Ashwell

~,~'c~/~/~"
"~ Y ~ - Biezeno
. .----

,,P///

Z..J

m
Q_

./,//

0.5

' ~ !~

1.0

1.5

2.0

2,5

FIG. 23. Load-deflection curves for spherical shells loaded by a concentrated normal force. Points from
Ashwell's experiment, c~)

S. A. EUKASmVnCZ

138

plays the most important role in deformation of the

shell, while the strains in its middle surface are of
smaller importance. In fact, assuming that the shell
is made of steel of modulus of elasticity E =
2.106kG/cm 3 and yield stress tre = 5.103kG/cm ',
the corresponding strain in the middle surface does
not exceed E = tr/E = 2.10 -3 which is a sufficiently
small value. The deformation of the shell by such a
change of metric tensor of the middle surface, does
not differ much from the isometric deformation, by
which the metric tensor does not change at all. It
means that it is possible to foresee to a certain
degree the shape of the deflected shell, looking for
it among the isometric transformations. Considering a spherical shell, we come to the conclusion that
the simplest isometric deformation corresponds to
a mirror-like reflection (Fig. 24). We can assume

Assuming that the strains are almost isometrical,

Pogorelov obtained the following relation for the
strain energy in the shell referred to unit length of
the geometrical rib.
U = 0.19E(ha )torT'l:.

(75)

where r, is the radius of the rib, 2a is the angle

between the straight lines tangential to shell surface
at the internal and external region near the rib and
perpendicular to it. Fig. 24. Since for a shallow
spherical shell we have

a =r,/R,

2[=r~/R,

the strain energy is

U = 2rr0.19E(2f)312h ~12R-I

(76)

Forming the functional W = U - L

and equating
the variation of it to zero, we find the following
formula for the deflection of the shell

2[ = R 2P:/(97r:c"E:h -~),
'

(77)

1"17

which is presented in Fig. 25. The results of the

103rr

Pogorelov

I_

..... =

~'~

O?

FIG. 24. Shape of a deflected spherical shell.

6

therefore that the deflection produced by the

concentrated force, has approximately the shape
presented in Fig. 24 and consists of the increase of
the dimple and the generation of certain strongly
curved region at a place where the shell is rapidly
bent, which is called a geometrical rib.
The relation between the deflection and the load
can be found by means of the variational Lagrange
theorem which can be formulated in the following
way. Under the action of the given conservative
load, the shell takes the form for which the
variation of functional W = U - L is equal to zero;
U being here the total strain energy caused by the
change in the shape of the shell, L representing the
work of the external load. So:
8 ( U - L) = 0.

(73)

In our case it is easy to calculate the work of the

external load, L = P - 2f, where 2f is the deflection
of the shell.
Calculation of the strain energy is more troublesome. It can be done approximately. The area of
the shell can be divided into three zones: I--central,
I I - - a r e a near the rib, III---external area. The
energy can be calculated separately in these zones.

Q.
4

I0

15

20

25

I
30

I
35

40

FIG. 25. Comparison of the results of Pogorelov's theory

with results of Penning's experiments. (")
experiment by F. A. Penning (8") are also shown
there. These experiments were performed on a
number of shallow spherical shells with clamped
edges made of aluminium and loaded at the apex
over a small circular contact area. We observe that
the deflection given by formula (77) corresponds
quite well to the curve resulting from experiment
for the larger value of the ratio b/l, where b is the
radius of the edge and l is the characteristic shell
length I = v'(Rh)~/[12(I - v2)]. The experiments

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

proved that the deflection patterns are symmetrical
only if the force is smaller than a certain critical
value. After surpassing this value the shape of the
deflection undergoes a change and its magnitude
grows rapidly. The deformed area takes a form
similar to the triangle, quadrangle, etc. The problem
of determination of this critical force can be solved
by analysing the stability of the shape of the rib on
the shell surface. Pogorelov obtained the critical
force for a near-triangular deformation pattern:

Pc, = 3"rcEh3R -'.

(78)

In Fig. 25 this force is given by the horizontal

straight line.
The non-linear displacements of the shell of
positive double curvature when R. #R2 can be
calculated similarly to those for the sphere. An
elliptical dimple which has the form of the original
surface but of opposite curvature is observed on
the shell surface. Pogorelov obtained the complete
energy integrating it along the rib and in the internal
region, as

U =O.19"rrEhS/Z(2f)3r'(--~+l)._

(79)

The relation between the deflection of the shell and

the concentrated force P is

139

Pogorelov obtained similar simple results for other

cases of shells under bending moments, forces and
moments introduced by rigid inserts.
5. D E S I G N O F P L A T E S A N D S H E L L S U N D E R
CONCENTRATED LOADS

Results obtained in the previous chapters showed

that concentrated forces causes stress concentrations in thin-walled structures. When the force acts
at a point infinitely large stresses always appear. In
a real structure the stresses are limited by the
plasticity of the material. Therefore in the vicinity
of the points of application of loads, plasticized
areas appear. Sometimes these areas have a local
character and are not decisive as to the strength of
the whole structure.
However, structures submitted to fatigue loads
should be considered differently. There a local
concentration of stresses may be the reason for a
local crack, which as it widens in time, leads to
damage. In this case we always try to design a
structure to have the smallest possible concentration of stresses. We have two methods at our
disposal. The first consists of introducing the load
to the thin-walled structure in such a way as to act
on the greatest possible portion of the surface with
as little variation as possible. The other consists of a
local increase of the rigidity of the structure in the

2a

--------...

FIG. 26. Infinite plate joined to a bar of finite length and loaded by a force P applied to the cross-section
of it.

P =~ffO.19Eh~'-(-~+~z)(2f)'~2.

(80)

The maximum stresses appear near the rib and are

the effect of bending in the direction perpendicular
to the rib. These stresses can be calculated
approximately from

o'b

= { _Eh
~ _]~ ( w, ) m x = 0 9 E ( \
"

2fh y,2 "

\RjR,.]

(81)

region near the point of application of the load and

shaping the structure in such a way as to make it
transmit the loads without any or with but little
concentration of stresses only.
For example at the loading point we can place a
bar or a rib whose task is to distribute the
concentrated load over the structure in the form of
continuous tangential and normal line loads.
If we assume that at such point of the whole
structure the reduced stresses reach a certain

S. A, EOKASmWlCZ

140

constant value then we design it for a uniform

strength. Such problems which consist of defining
the shape, thickness and distribution of strengthening elements in the structure, are rather
complex and in the case of concentrated loads they
have not been widely studied. Only a few basic
solutions will be presented here.
5.1. Design of plates

As the first example, let us consider the problem

of introducing a load into an infinitely large sheet.
In order tO avoid a strong concentration of stress in
the region near the point of application of the load,
we apply the load through a shaped bar. Then the
load is introduced in form of distributed line forces.
We assume that, for example, the bar is of finite
length. If we demand that between the sheet and
the bar there should appear only continuously
distributed tangential line forces q(x), the crosssection of the bar should be variable and equal to
zero at its ends.
The solution to that problem can be found after
analysing the equations of compatibility of strains
in both elastic elements--bar and sheet. Let us first
consider a more general case, namely, two elastic
elements I and II joined along the line A B . The
forces acting on each other should be equal and
oppositely directed. The equations of compatibility
of strains for both elements can be written in form
of integral equations. For the strain e~, we find

e,~ = f~ [Kl(x,~)qn(~)+
=

e(x)

fox
_
P
x
- -1
A(x)Eb
q ( x ) dx
EhA (x-~) a"

(83)

The strains in the sheet are

e(x) = -

q(~)E(x - ~) dr,

(84)

where e(x) = [(3 - u)(l + u)147rhE](l/x) is the influence function for the strain e,. Equating the strains
in the plate and in the bar we have
A (x) = Ao -

x+a

x--a

In x ~ a a

"

where

(85)
A0 =

21rhaE
( 3 - v)(I + v)Eh"

It follows from the above formula that for x = 0 the

cross-section of the bar increases to infinity. But if
the applied load is distributed along a certain
distance we obtain a finite cross-section of the bar.
At the ends of the bar the cross-section decreases
to zero; it can be proved that even if the force
q ( x ) = const, the stresses in the sheet increase to
infinity at the ends of the segment of the joint.
Thus, if we want the sheet to be free of infinitely
large stresses, the ends of the bar should get thinner
more rapidly than follows from the above formula.
A good result may be found if we assume that the
interaction between the bar and the sheet q ( x ) is
presented by the equation

K,.(x,
' ~)qt (~)] d~

(KE~t(x,~)qn(~)+K~X(x,~)qt(~)d~

(82)

where Kt~, K~ and K~~ and K~~ are the influence

functions for both elements respectively. K~ is the
strain produced at point x by unit normal load
applied at point ~.K2 is the strain produced at point
x by unit tangential load applied at point ~. If we
know the influence functions KI, KI ~, then solving
the equations (82) together with the equations of
equilibrum we can define the distribution of forces
q, and q, acting between the adjacent elastic
elements. However, these equations can be used to
design a proper shape of both elements. If the
influence functions, or certain parameters of the
influence functions are considered unknown then,
assuming proper and desirable distribution of the
reacting forces q, and q, and solving the equations
of compatibility, we obtain the geometry of the
structure. If we look only for certain parameters of
the influence functions, these equations become
ordinary algebraic equations.
Let us require, for example, that between the
sheet and the bar there should appear uniformly
distributed tangential forces q ( x ) = qo. The strains
in the bar of variable cross-section are

Then the reduced stress in the sheet along the joint

is almost constant. The shape of the bar can be
easily found from eqs. (82).
In the same way various problems of plates and
sheets strengthened by designed ribs can be easily
solved. The design of an attachment introducing a
tangential load into a spherical shell was solved by
Eukasiewicz and BorajkiewiczY4~ based on the
influence functions given by the relations (33, 41,
44). The solution for the infinite sheet loaded directly
at the edge by concentrated normal formal force was
found by Kapkowski25~ The thickness of the sheet
was designed with the conditions of uniform
strength. The thickness distribution obtained has the
form
h

2P cos 0
or0

(87)

where r and 0 are polar coordinates and or0 is the

reduced stress. The same solution may be applied
in the case of a wedge loaded at the apex by a
concentrated force

h = P

1 f cos

cos O

sin

sin_ O__]

O.o r L~0 +~ sTn ~.oL,~+ oL0+ ~sin 2a0j

(88)

141

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

where 2a0 and ~o are the angles defined in Fig. 27. It
should be noted that this solution is valid if the edge
r = const, is far from the point of application of the
load and assures the appearance of radial stresses
only. Also the region immediately surrounding the
point of application of the load should be excluded,
because h --, ~ as r ~ 0. The load must be applied in
the form of distributed radial pressure.

,o

0~0

~0

Fro. 27. Wedge-plate loaded at the apex.

The optimum design of plates with the assumption that under a certain load every point of the
plate simultaneously reaches the plastic state was
studied by D. C. Drucker and R. T. Shield, (96~ W.
Prager, ~97~and M. Sz. Mikeladze. ~gs~A circular plate
under concentrated normal force was the subject of
the paper by E. T. Onat, W. Schumann and R. T.
Shield. ~99~In the case of an elastic design, i.e. with
the assumption that the plastic state appears only in
the outermost layers, this problem was solved in
References 100, 101.
5.2.

Design of shells

If the loads act over a small portion of the shell

surface the designers strengthen the loaded regions
locally by welding in strips, ribs or other elements.
A uniform strength of the shell can be achieved by
designing the thickness of the shell to vary
symmetrically with respect to the middle surface.
To ensure constant strength it is enough to
determine the proper thickness, while the form of
the middle surface does not undergo a change. The
second approach to the problem consists in
designing the thickness of the shell together with a
change of its middle surface. The solution in the

first case is reduced to solving the problem of a

shell which carries both direct and bending stresses
and is usually rather difficult. In the second case we
design the shape of the middle surface and
thickness of the wall by assuming that only
membrane forces appear in the shell, and bending is
eliminated. By designing it in this way we can
achieve the smallest weight for the whole structure.
The solutions obtained by the assumption that both
main stresses are equal and constant at any point of
the shell are well known (see References 102, 103).
However, this assumption determines simultaneously the thickness and the shape of the shell. If we
assume satisfaction of the condition of constant
strength it determines only the thickness and we are
still able to choose the shape of the middle surface.
Owing to this the shape of the shell can be found
from additional conditions for example, a minimum
weight, a minimum of costs, etc. As an example let
us consider a shell loaded by a concentrated force
and by a constant external pressure po. Let us
design a shell to the assumption that the bending
moments are zero and that equilibrium is satisfied
by the membrane forces only. Simultaneously let us
demand satisfaction of the condition of minimum
weight for the whole shell and that each point of the
shell fulfils the condition of uniform strength. Such
an optimum design is worked out without regard to
difficulties and costs that may arise in its manufacture. Nevertheless it can be the basis of comparison
with any proposed structure. We shall consider this
problem as axisymmetrical.
The four unknowns to be found are the
following: the internal forces N,~, Noo, the thickness of the shell and the shape of the shell
determined by the function z(r) (Fig. 28). We have

~P

B=Sr~

FIG. 28. Shell of minimum weight and unifrom strength

subjected to a force P and pressure Po.
at our disposal the following two differential
equations of equilibrium containing the unknown
functions. "7~

d-~(rN~, sin ~o) = (Z -

X tan ~0)rd-~ ,

N ~ Noo
R, ~ = Z.

(89)

where Z and X are the loads normal and tangential

to the generator respectively.

S. A. EUKASIEWICZ

142

W e apply the condition of constant strength by

assuming that the material of the shell obeys the
T r e s c a yield criterion, and the condition of
minimum weight, which depends on the v o l u m e of
the shell.
The function z(r) can be determined f r o m the
condition of minimum volume. Let us assume that
N~ <~No~ <~O. Then the stresses are represented
by the straight line DE of the hexagon Fig. 29.

0"1

1[ r~+r"

where

0"2
mN~-

E(r) is an elliptic function. For r = 0 the angle of

slope depends on the constant B and is z ' =
+-(r~/ro+B) m. This angle has real values when
r~, + B > 0. The thickness takes the following form

20"fl

(94)

The above solution holds valid only when 0 ~< X ~<

1. T h e r e f o r e the value of X must be defined. It can
be obtained f r o m the second equilibrium equation.
On transformation we have
r"

FIG. 29. Yield conditions.

R : - r ( l + z'-')""

z'

4r~,+ B + 4 r "

X = ro+r'2ro+B + 2 r "

We write N . = - o-oh; Noo =-Xooh where X is

a coefficient which should be 0 ~< X ~< 1, ~r0 is the
tensile yield stress of the material.
The radii of curvature of the middle surface R,,
R2 can be expressed by the function z ( r ) ; we have

z"

dt
cosht"

h = p__Lr(2r~+n B + 2r:)"-'(r~+ r'-) '/-"

R , - (1 + z'") ~f"

(93)

where B is an arbitrary constant. The equation (93)

can be integrated. We obtain

gd(r)=

z' = - ~ / i r o + B + r"

z = -r2E[gd(arc sinhx/(ro+
rl B))' \(ro+B]
r--~/ w-]J + C

N~p~p

fro

c/

which yields

(90)

where

(95)

which satisfies the condition 0~<X ~<1 when 0<~

r4<~ r~(r~+B/2). The constants B and C make it
possible to determine the shape of the shell in
a c c o r d a n c e with the boundary conditions. An
example has been given in Fig. 28.
Let us assume now that the height of the shell is
not determined and its edge lies on the line r = r,.
The condition of minimum v o l u m e gives z' = 1. In
conclusion we o b s e r v e that the minimum value is
obtained for the conical shape with the slope angle
o~ = 45 . The thickness should change as

z' = dz/dr.
_

We have further; sin ~ = ( z ' / ( l + z'")""). On substitution into equilibrium equation we obtain the
thickness

po r2o+r"(l+z'") m
2or0

z'

ro- P
~'po"

r~+ r 2

N/2o'0

(96)

When the shell is subjected only to the concentrated force we have

(91)
=--

0%

+ z'

dr.

(97)

The v o l u m e of the shell is

,o

(92)

The a b o v e functional is minimum w h e n z' = const.

The absolute minimum of v o l u m e is for z ' = 1,
i.e. for the conical shell with thickness h =

P /~/ 2 7rcror.
The a b o v e functional has a minimum w h e n the
following Euler's equation is satisfied.

In a similar way we can find solutions if the load

is uniformly distributed in the horizontal plane.

143

Introduction of concentrated loads in plates and shells

The first equilibrium equation does not change
and therefore the thickness of the shell and v o l u m e
are e x p r e s s e d by means of the same formula as
previously. The only change is in the equation for X.
A f t e r s o m e manipulation we obtain

X = r2/(ro + r2)

(98)

W e see that for arbitrary r the condition 0 ~< X <~ 1

is fulfilled. The shape and the thickness of the shell
are as previously.
If we consider a case when the concentrated
f o r c e P acts in the opposite direction to the
distributed load, we assume that the force N,~ is a
c o m p r e s s i v e force and N0o is a tensile force. Such
state of stresses is presented by the straight line EF
in Fig. 29.
The shape of the shell is given in Fig. 30. We

h = C VC d+z'2)exp
' z fJ

+ z')

C is here an arbitrary constant and can be found by

comparing formulae (91) and (99). For z / = 0 we
should obtain a result for the shell loaded only by
the c o n c e n t r a t e d f o r c e P. The v o l u m e of the shell
is, on integration,

v =

3/

f"

+ z')dr-1]

o'oJo

(I00)

If we assume that z' > 0 when 0<~ r ~< r~, then the
integral in the a b o v e expression is positive. The
functional V has its minimum w h e n this integral is
minimum. That gives z = const., i.e. the conical
shell. The absolute minimum is when z ' = 1. The
thickness of the shell z' = 1 is
h = ~ P
exp 2~r.
N/(2)TrCro
o'o

(101)

The parameter X satisfies the condition 0 ~< X ~< 1 if

for z' = 1, r ~< cr0/'~.
The shape of the shell is similar to that given in
Fig. (27). When P = 0 and the shell is loaded only
by its own weight, we also obtain the minimum
weight for the conical shell. In order to c o m p a r e the
result obtained here with that taken f r o m R e f e r e n c e
104 we can transform expression (99) using the
second equation of equilibrium (89)
FIG. 30. Shell of minimum weight and uniform strength in
the case when a load P is oppositely directed to the
resultant of the pressure po.
o b s e r v e that the thickness of the shell grows to
infinity when r--* r0. The reason for this p h e n o m e non is that the radii of curvature R ~ 0 and R , ~
at this point. But the surface of this part of the
cross-section of the shell is limited. We can imagine
that the shell is strengthened there by a ring of
certain cross-section, which carries the tension in
the parallel circle.
In the case of a uniformly distributed load in the
horizontal plane we find the shape of the shell in a
similar way.

5.3

The shell carrying its own weight

Let us consider now a shell loaded by a

c o n c e n t r a t e d normal f o r c e and by its own weight. If
z/ is the specific weight of the material, the
c o m p o n e n t s of load per unit area of the surface are
x = -~h sin ,p ; Z = - Z/h cos q~.
W e assume that both internal forces are compressive and N~ <~Noo <~0. T h e n this state of
stresses is e x p r e s s e d by the line DE in the
h e x a g o n - - F i g . (29). The N ~ = -her0, No~ = -xhcro,
where 0~<X ~< 1. On substitution into the first
equilibrium condition (1) and integration

h = hoexp f

(3'z'-X r

. i \cro

1)dr.

(102)

Assuming )( = 1 we find the known solution

h = hoexp [(-~/tro)Z]; we see that only in this case
w h e n P = 0 the thickness of the shell is limited at
the top and the shell is not a conical one.
N o w we consider a case when the force P acts in
the opposite direction to the weight. Assuming that
N,~ =Xcroh > 0 and No~ = - ( 1 -x)croh < 0 we find
on substitution into eq. (89)., the thickness
h=C

V,(I+z'2)

xr z,

exp

[ ~ f {l--+z']dr]
-~oo

\z'

/ X J"
(103)
On integration the v o l u m e of the shell is

V = 2"a'c{l-exp [-~ofor' ( l + z ' ) ~ ] } .

(104)
A s s u m i n g that z' > 0 when 0 ~< r ~< r~ we h a v e the
minimum of the functional V when the integral in
eq. (104) has its minimum.
P a r a m e t e r X can be evaluated f r o m the second
equation of equilibrium. Introducing it into eq. (104)
we find the following differential equation

z'"[z'2(l+B)-2(l+B)-~-~r-2+tro
B~/r2]
=0fro

(105)

144

S. A. EUKASIEWlCZ

where B is an arbitrary constant. This equation has

one solution z '2 = 0 which corresponds to infinitely
thick, flat sheet. Then there remains the algebraic
equation of second order in respect of z'. On
solving it and integrating we find the shape of the
shell. Let us consider now the optimum shape for
which the weight has absolute minimum.
F r o m the variational conditions for the edge
r = r~ we find that B = 0. The solution takes the
form
z' = - - o-0

+2

(106)

Since z ' > 0 we take the + sign.

The shape of the shell can be obtained by solving
eqs. (106), (103) and is given in Fig. (31). Introducing z' f r o m eq. (106) into eq. (89) we obtain the

6. FINAL REMARKS

This paper presents solutions and results concerning the distribution of stresses and displacements in plates and shells under c o n c e n t r a t e d
loads. The analysis was limited to those problems
which can be described by the linear and geometrically non-linear theory of shells. T h e r e are many
different problems c o n n e c t e d with the action of
concentrated loads on shells which are not discussed here, though they are very important f r o m the
technical point of view. N a m e l y such problems as:
elasto-plastic behaviour of shells, fibered shells,
buckling of shells and optimum design of shells in
the case of more complicated loads, dynamic and
contact problems, etc. Many of them still need to be
solved and others are not mentioned here because
of the limited scope of the paper.

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The results presented have been obtained by
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