Large deflections of rectangular plates

Approximate solutions for the non-linear bending of thin rectangular plates are presented considering large deflections for various boundary conditions. In the case of stress-free edges, solutions are given for von Kármán's equations in terms of the stress function and the deflection of the plate. In the case of immovable edges, equations are constructed in terms of the three displacements and these are solved. The solution is given by using double series consisting of the appropriate Beam Functions which satisfy the boundary conditions. The differential equations are satisfied by using the orthogonality properties of the series. Numerical results for square plates with uniform lateral load indicate good convergence of the series solution presented here.