Three-Dimensional Elasticity Solutions for Rectangular Orthotropic Plates

A state space approach for three-dimensional analysis of rectangular orthotropic elastic plates subjected to external loads on the top and bottom faces is developed. Through Hamiltonian variational formulation via Legendre’s transformation, the basic equations of elasticity are formulated into the state space framework in which the state equation exhibits Hamiltonian characteristics and the associated eigensystem possesses symplectic orthogonality. By means of separation of variables and eigenfunction expansion, three-dimensional elasticity solutions for orthotropic rectangular plates with two opposite edges simply supported and the other two arbitrary—which can be any combinations of simply-supported, clamped, and traction-free edges—are determined in a systematic way. The existing elasticity solution for the fully simply-supported plate is recovered. The through-thickness variations of the displacements and stresses are evaluated within the context.     

Analytical solutions for single- and multi-span functionally graded plates in cylindrical bending

A recently developed plate theory using the concept of shape function of the transverse coordinate parameter is extended to determine the stress distribution in an orthotropic functionally graded plate subjected to cylindrical bending. The transfer matrix method is presented to derive the shape function. The equations governing the plate deformation are then solved analytically using the transfer matrix method for arbitrary boundary conditions. For a simply supported functionally graded plate, a comparison of the present solution with the exact elasticity solution, the first- and third-order shear deformation plate theories is presented and discussed. It is demonstrated that the present method yields more accurate stresses than the first- and third-order shear deformation theories. The effect of boundary conditions and inhomogeneity of material on the displacements and stresses in functionally graded plates are investigated. A multi-span functionally graded plate with arbitrary boundary conditions is further considered to demonstrate the efficiency of the present method.     

A refined theory of elastic thick plates for extensional deformation

Based on elasticity theory, various two-dimensional (2D) equations and solutions for extensional deformation have been deduced systematically and directly from the three-dimensional (3D) theory of thick rectangular plates by using the Papkovich–Neuber solution and the Lur’e method without ad hoc assumptions. These equations and solutions can be used to construct a refined theory of thick plates for extensional deformation. It is shown that the displacements and stresses of the plate can be represented by the displacements and transverse normal strain of the midplane. In the case of homogeneous boundary conditions, the exact solutions for the plate are derived, and the exact equations consist of three governing differential equations: the biharmonic equation, the shear equation, and the transcendental equation. With the present theory a solution of these can satisfy all the fundamental equations of 3D elasticity. Moreover, the refined theory of thick plate for bending deformation constructed by Cheng is improved, and some physical or mathematical explanations and proof are provided to support our justification. It is important to note that the refined theory is consistent with the decomposition theorem by Gregory. In the case of nonhomogeneous boundary conditions, the approximate governing differential equations and solutions for the plate are accurate up to the second-order terms with respect to plate thickness. The correctness of the stress assumptions in the classic plane-stress problems is revised. In an example it is shown that the exact or accurate solutions may be obtained by applying the refined theory deduced herein.     

Three-Dimensional Stress State of an Orthotropic Rectangular Prism under a Transverse Force Applied at its End

The exact three-dimensional elastic solution is found for an orthotropic composite rectangular prism (plate) bent by a transverse force applied to its end. The three-dimensional distribution of stresses and displacements is obtained. The distribution of tangential stresses in the prism and plate is analyzed numerically. New qualitative features of the distribution are established. The strength of the plate is estimated, and the transverse force and torque are determined. The Kirchhoff-Love relations of plate bending are partially justified__________Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 30–37, April 2005.     

Asymptotic splitting in the three-dimensional problem of elasticity for non-homogeneous piezoelectric plates

A novel asymptotic approach to the theory of non-homogeneous anisotropic plates is suggested. For the problem of linear static deformations we consider solutions, which are slowly varying in the plane of the plate in comparison to the thickness direction. A small parameter is introduced in the general equations of the theory of elasticity. According to the procedure of asymptotic splitting, the principal terms of the series expansion of the solution are determined from the conditions of solvability for the minor terms. Three-dimensional conditions of compatibility make the analysis more efficient and straightforward. We obtain the system of equations of classical Kirchhoff's plate theory, including the balance equations, compatibility conditions, elastic relations and kinematic relations between the displacements and strain measures. Subsequent analysis of the edge layer near the contour of the plate is required in order to satisfy the remaining boundary conditions of the three-dimensional problem. Matching of the asymptotic expansions of the solution in the edge layer and inside the domain provides four classical plate boundary conditions. Additional effects, like electromechanical coupling for piezoelectric plates, can easily be incorporated into the model due to the modular structure of the analysis. The results of the paper constitute a sound basis to the equations of the theory of classical plates with piezoelectric effects, and provide a trustworthy algorithm for computation of the stressed state in the three-dimensional problem. Numerical and analytical studies of a sample electromechanical problem demonstrate the asymptotic nature of the present theory.     

Mathematical model of micropolar elastic thin plates and their strength and stiffness characteristics

A number of hypotheses were formulated using the properties of an asymptotic solution of boundary-value problems of the three-dimensional micropolar (moment asymmetric) theory of elasticity for areas with one geometrical parameter being substantially smaller than the other two (plates and shells). A general theory of bending deformation of micropolar elastic thin plates with independent fields of displacements and rotations is constructed. In the constructed model of a micropolar elastic plate, transverse shear strains are fully taken into account. A problem of determining the stress-strain state in bending deformation of micropolar elastic thin rectangular plates is considered. The numerical analysis reveals that plates made of a micropolar elastic material have high strength and stiffness characteristics.     

Energy Scaling of Compressed Elastic Films –Three-Dimensional Elasticity¶and Reduced Theories

We derive an optimal scaling law for the energy of thin elastic films under isotropic compression, starting from three-dimensional nonlinear elasticity. As a consequence we show that any deformation with optimal energy scaling must exhibit fine-scale oscillations along the boundary, which coarsen in the interior. This agrees with experimental observations of folds which refine as they approach the boundary. We show that both for three-dimensional elasticity and for the geometrically nonlinear Föppl-von Kármán plate theory the energy of a compressed film scales quadratically in the film thickness. This is intermediate between the linear scaling of membrane theories which describe film stretching, and the cubic scaling of bending theories which describe unstretched plates, and indicates that the regime we are probing is characterized by the interplay of stretching and bending energies. Blistering of compressed thin films has previously been analyzed using the Föppl-von Kármán theory of plates linearized in the in-plane displacements, or with the scalar eikonal functional where in-plane displacements are completely neglected. The predictions of the linearized plate theory agree with our result, but the scalar approximation yields a different scaling.     

BENDING RESPONSES OF AN EXPONENTIALLY GRADED SIMPLY-SUPPORTED ELASTIC/VISCOELASTIC/ELASTIC SANDWICH PLATE

The bending response for exponentially graded composite (EGC) sandwich plates is investigated.The three-layer elastic/viscoelastic/elastic sandwich plate is studied by using the sinusoidal shear deformation plate theory as well as other familiar theories.Four types of sandwich plates are considered taking into account the symmetry of the plate and the thickness of each layer.The effective moduli and Illyushin’s approximation methods are used to solve the equations governing the bending of simply-supported EGC fiber-reinforced viscoelastic sandwich plates.Then numerical results for deflections and stresses are presented and the effects due to time parameter,aspect ratio,side-to-thickness ratio and constitutive parameter are investigated.     

A new simple third-order shear deformation theory of plates

An improved simple third-order shear deformation theory for the analysis of shear flexible plates is presented in this paper. This new plate theory is composed of three parts: the simple third-order kinematics of displacements reduced from the higher-order displacement field derived previously by the author; a system of 10th-order differential equilibrium equations in terms of the three generalized displacements of bending plates; five boundary conditions at each edge of plate boundaries. Although the resulting displacement field is the same as that proposed by Murthy, the variational consistent governing equations and the associated proper boundary conditions are derived and identified in this work for the first time in the literature. The applications and accuracy of the present shear deformation theory of plates are demonstrated by analytically solving the differential governing equations of a twisting plate, a bending beam and two bending plates to which the 3-D elasticity solutions are available, and excellent agreements are achieved even for the torsion of a plate with square cross-section as well the local effects of stresses at plate boundaries can be characterized accurately. These analytical solutions clearly show that the simple third-order shear deformation theory developed in this work indeed gives better results than the first-order shear deformation theories and other simple higher-order shear deformation theories, since the present third-order shear flexible theory is based on a more rigorous kinematics of displacements and consists of not only a system of variational consistent differential equations, but also a group of consistent boundary conditions associated with the differential equations. The present simple third-order shear deformation theory can easily be applied to the static and dynamic finite element analysis of laminated plates just like the applications of other popular shear flexible plate theories, and improved results could be obtained from the present simple third-order shear deformable theories of plates.     

Theory and refined theory of elasticity for transversely isotropic plates and a new theory for tnick plates

A theory of elasticity for the bending of transversely isotropic plates has been developed from the basic equations of elasticity in terms of displacements for transversely isotropic bodies, which takes into account the loads distributed over the surfaces of the plates. Based on this theory, a refined theory of plates which can satisfy three boundary conditions along each edge of the plates and a new theory of thick plates are established. The solution of the refined theory for simply supported polygonal plates has been obtained; and its numerical result is very close to the exact solution of the three-dimensional theory of elasticity. A systematic comparison with the former theories of thick plates shows that the present theory of thick plates is closest to the result of the theory of elasticity.     

Equations of cylindrical bending of orthotropic plates with arbitrary conditions on their front surfaces

Based on approximations of solutions of elasticity theory equations by Legendre polynomial segments, differential equations for bending of orthotropic plates are constructed. In contrast to equations constructed with the use of kinematic and force hypotheses, the order of these differential equations is independent of the type of conditions on front surfaces. The matrices of the constructed equations depend on the type of boundary conditions. An analytical solution is given for the system of equations in the case with normal and shear stresses being specified on the upper and lower front surfaces.     

Winkler地基上四边自由正交各向异性矩形薄板弯曲问题的辛叠加解

研究Winkler地基上正交各向异性矩形薄板弯曲方程所对应的Hamilton正则方程, 计算出其对边滑支条件下相应Hamilton算子的本征值和本征函数系, 证明该本征函数系的辛正交性以及在Cauchy主值意义下的完备性, 进而给出对边滑支边界条件下Hamilton正则方程的通解, 之后利用辛叠加方法求出Winkler地基上四边自由正交各向异性矩形薄板弯曲问题的解析解. 最后通过两个具体算例验证了所得解析解的正确性.     

Nonlinear equations of elastic deformation of plates

A method for constructing nonlinear equations of elastic deformation of plates with boundary conditions for stresses and displacements at the face surfaces in an arbitrary coordinate system is proposed. The initial three–dimensional problem of the nonlinear theory of elasticity is reduced to a one–parameter sequence of two–dimensional problems by approximating the unknown functions by truncated series in Legendre polynomials. The same unknowns are approximated by different truncated series. In each approximation, a linearized system of equations whose differential order does not depend on the boundary conditions at the face surfaces which can be formulated in terms of stresses or displacements is obtained.     

复合材料层合板的三维研究

本文提出了固支复合材料各向异性层合圆板受均布横向载荷作用下的满足三维弹性力学基本微分方程和边界条件的解析解答。文中采用一种发展的摄动方法进行求解，板中的每个应力和位移都展开为无量纲厚度参数ε的摄动级数，并采用二维板理论解答作为其相应三维摄动解答的一个基本解的形式，通过摄动方法逐级求解而获得完整的三维解答。文中以解析形式和数值形式给出了高精确度的三维应力和位移结果，结果表明，本文求解三维问题的解析方法是合理有效的。     

Determination of the natural frequencies of vibration of nonuniform slabs

The natural frequencies of vibrations of laminated plates are determined in a three-dimensional formulation by analytical separation of the sought functions for plate thickness. The system of differential equations which describes the natural vibrations of the plates is solved analytically. The solution makes it possible to study plates with a large number of layers, including orthotropic plates with elastic characteristics that vary through the thickness. Numerical experiments show that a step approximation can be used to approximate the variable elastic modulus. Ukrainian Transportation University, Kiev, Ukraine. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 47–53, February, 1999.     

Exact Solutions for a Thick Elastic Plate with a Thin Elastic Surface Layer

A procedure has been developed in previous papers for constructing exact solutions of the equations of linear elasticity in a plate (not necessarily thin) of inhomogeneous isotropic linearly elastic material in which the elastic moduli depend in any specified manner on a coordinate normal to the plane of the plate. The essential idea is that any solution of the classical equations for a hypothetical thin plate or laminate (which are two-dimensional theories) generates, by straightforward substitutions, a solution of the three-dimensional elasticity equations for the inhomogeneous material. In this paper we consider a thick plate of isotropic elastic material with a thin surface layer of different isotropic elastic material. It is shown that the interface tractions and in-plane stress discontinuities are determined only by the initial two-dimensional solution, without recourse to the three-dimensional elasticity theory. Two illustrative examples are described.     

Axisymmetric bending of functionally graded circular magneto-electro-elastic plates

Axisymmetric bending of functionally graded circular magneto-electro-elastic plates of transversely isotropic materials is analyzed based on linear three-dimensional theory of elasticity coupled with magnetic and electric fields. The transverse loads are expanded in Fourier-Bessel series and therefore can be arbitrarily distributed along the radial direction. The radial distributions of the displacements are assumed in combination of Fourier-Bessel series and polynomials as well as the electric potential and magnetic potential. If the material properties obey the exponential law along the thickness of the plate, two three-dimensional exact solutions for two unusual boundary conditions can be derived since they satisfy the governing equations and specified boundary conditions point by point. For simply supported or clamped boundary, the obtained solutions satisfy the governing equations exactly and the boundary conditions approximately. A layer wise model is also introduced to treat with the plates whose material property components vary independently and arbitrarily along the thickness of the plates. The numerical results are finally tabulated and plotted to demonstrate the presented method and agree well with those from finite element methods.     

Three-dimensional analysis of transient thermal stresses in functionally graded plates

An analytical solution is presented for three-dimensional thermomechanical deformations of a simply supported functionally graded (FG) rectangular plate subjected to time-dependent thermal loads on its top and/or bottom surfaces. Material properties are taken to be analytical functions of the thickness coordinate. The uncoupled quasi-static linear thermoelasticity theory is adopted in which the change in temperature, if any, due to deformations is neglected. A temperature function that identically satisfies thermal boundary conditions at the edges and the Laplace transformation technique are used to reduce equations governing the transient heat conduction to an ordinary differential equation (ODE) in the thickness coordinate which is solved by the power series method. Next, the elasticity problem for the simply supported plate for each instantaneous temperature distribution is analyzed by using displacement functions that identically satisfy boundary conditions at the edges. The resulting coupled ODEs with variable coefficients are also solved by the power series method. The analytical solution is applicable to a plate of arbitrary thickness. Results are given for two-constituent metal-ceramic FG rectangular plates with a power-law through-the-thickness variation of the volume fraction of the constituents. The effective elastic moduli at a point are determined by either the Mori–Tanaka or the self-consistent scheme. The transient temperature, displacements, and thermal stresses at several critical locations are presented for plates subjected to either time-dependent temperature or heat flux prescribed on the top surface. Results are also given for various volume fractions of the two constituents, volume fraction profiles and the two homogenization schemes.     

A general vibration model of angle-ply laminated plates that accounts for the continuity of interlaminar stresses

This paper presents the generalisation of a well documented two-dimensional shear deformable laminated shell theory [Compos. Struct. 25 (1993) 165] that, based on a fixed number of unknown variables, was initially proposed for laminates made of specially orthotropic layers only. The theory is here specialised for laminated plates but is able to encompass monoclinic layers in a general multilayered configuration. Moreover, it is able to account for the interlaminar continuity of both displacements and transverse shear stresses. Higher-order effects, as shear deformation and rotary inertia, are naturally included into the formulation. In order to obtain the relevant governing differential equations, both Hamilton's variational principle and a recently proposed vectorial approach [Compos. Engng. 3 (1993) 3] have been independently used. The effectiveness of the present model is tested numerically by comparing its results with exact three-dimensional elasticity results obtained under the particular condition that the plates vibrate in cylindrical bending.     

AN ACCURATE TWO-DIMENSIONAL THEORY OF VIBRATIONS OF ISOTROPIC,ELASTIC PLATES

An infinite system of two-dimensional equations of motion of isotropic elastic plates with edge and corner conditions are deduced from the three-dimensional equations of elasticity by expansion of displacements in a series of trigonometrical functions and a linear function of the thickness coordinate of the plate. The linear term in the expansion is to accommodate the in-plane displacements induced by the rotation of the plate normal in low-frequency flexural motions. A system of first-order equations of flexural motions and accompanying boundary conditions are extracted from the infinite system. It is shown that the present system of equations is equivalent to the Mindlin’s first-order equations, and the dispersion relation of straight-crested waves of the present theory is identical to that of the Mindlin’s without introducing any corrections. Reduction of present equations and boundary conditions to those of classical plate theories of flexural motions is also presented.