EA 430 Plate theory

Andrew Wisdom Zulu

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

School of Engineering,
The copperbelt University,
Kitwe Zambia.

SEPTEMBER 2021
 Introduction I

Plates and shells are a much more commonly used structural element in
practice than beams or columns.
Plate theory is in much an extension of beam theory, that is, from one-
dimensional to two-dimensional structures.
The theory of plates is thus not more difficult than that for beams, simply
more general and more extensive, resulting in more complex formulae.
A plate could have any shape, circular, elliptical, rectangular, but in this
text we will mainly consider the latter as that is the most common shape
in practical applications.
A membrane is a thin, flat sheet of material. Mathematically speaking, it
is so thin that it has no flexural rigidity or shear stiffness, and can thus
not carry any bending moments or transverse forces.

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 Introduction II
However, it has in another meaning enough thickness to make up a
cross-section area, which means that the membrane can carry in-plane
forces, Nx , Ny and Nxy .
A plate, on the other hand, has a thickness, thus a flexural rigidity and
shear stiffness and can hence support both bending moments and trans-
verse forces.
A plate is a two-dimensional structure that may deform in a third direction
(w). The plate can support transverse loads but the stresses perpendicu-
lar to the surface, i.e., σz , τxz , τyz are zero (plane stress), and only stress
components in the plane of the plate are considered.
A shell is a thin sheet of material (a plate) that has an initial curvature. It
can support bending moments, transverse forces and membrane loads.

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 Introduction III
Even though it is a three-dimensional structure, it is considered so thin
that a state of plane stress prevails, i.e., the stress components perpen-
dicular to the shell surface are zero, and only stress components in the
plane of the shell are considered.
The sign conventions for stresses, forces and bending moments used
in this text are as in Fig.1, and are defined so that a positive force or
bending moment creates a positive stress for a positive z −coordinate.
Since all forces and bending moments are defined for a finite area of
the plate and acting on a finite length they are all given as force per unit
length [N/m width] and bending moment per unit length [Nm/m width].
Forces and bending moments may also, of course, vary with x and y.
The somewhat peculiar sign convention for Mxy comes from the fact that
a positive shear stress τxy shall give a positive twisting moment Mxy .
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 Introduction IV

Figure: 1 Sign convention for loads, bending moments, and stresses. Bending
moments are both given in ordinary notation and as double arrowhead vectors
but with the same definition.

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 Assumptions

1 The deflection of the mid-surface is small compared with the thickness of

the plate-small deformations.
2 There is no in-plane deformation in the middle plane of the plate (neutral
plane or neutral axis), i.e. the mid-plane remains unstrained. Even when
in-plane loads act, the resulting strains in the middle plate remain small.
3 No transverse shear deformations
4 The plate is thin (σz = 0)
5 The material is homogeneous, linear elastic and isotropic (E , ν = constant)

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 Definitions and kinematic relations I
We first define the radius of curvature for a plate by making a cut in the
plate along the y −axis and study a differential element dx, as illustrated
in the Fig.2.
From Fig.2 it is seen that dx ≈ Rd φ (asumption (1) small deflections),
and that d φ = −(∂2 w /∂x 2 )dx
This means that the curvature of the middle surface in the x −direction
can be written as
1 ∂2 w 1 ∂2 w
= − 2 = κx and similarly = − 2 = κy (1a)
Rx ∂x Ry ∂y
where κ is called the curvature. Introducing the new quantity Rxy for the
twist of the plate
1 ∂2 w
= −2 = κxy (1b)
Rxy ∂x ∂y
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 Definitions and kinematic relations II

Figure: 2 Definition of curvature.

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 Definitions and kinematic relations III

This latest quantity may be a little difficult to see at first. If κx represents a

change in the slope ∂w /∂x over a length dx, then κxy represents a change
in ∂w /∂x over a length dy.
Study a cross-section as above but now more closely and recall the ba-
sic problem of a straight beam subjected to a constant bending moment
giving the beam a radius of curvature Rx .
The strain in a fibre situated a distance z from the neutral axis will then
be
(Rx + z )d φ − Rx d φ z ∂u z ∂v
x = = = y = = (2a)
Rx d φ Rx ∂x Ry ∂y
i.e., linearly varying with z. From Fig.3 we see that

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 Definitions and kinematic relations IV

Figure: 3 Definitions of kinematic and strain relations.

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 Definitions and kinematic relations V
∂w ∂w
u = u0 + z θx = u0 − z and similarly v0 + z θy = v0 − z (2b)
∂x ∂y
where u0 and v0 are the mid-plane (neutral plane) in-plane deformations.
Here we have used assumption (3), i.e. that the rotation θx equals the
negative slope of the deflection −∂w /∂x and that θy = −∂w /∂y .
The strains are then

∂u ∂u0 ∂θx ∂u0 ∂2 w

x = = +z = − z 2 = x0 + z κx
∂x ∂x ∂x ∂x ∂x
∂v ∂v0 ∂θy ∂v0 ∂2 w
y = = +z = − z 2 = y0 + z κy
∂y ∂y ∂y ∂y ∂y
∂u ∂y ∂u0 ∂v0 ∂2 w
γxy = + = + − 2z = γxy0 + z κxy
∂y ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂x ∂y
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 Definitions and kinematic relations VI
In matrix form this becomes

 x   x0   κx 

     
 y  =  y0  + z  κy 
γxy γxy0 κxy
     

Or in another way  = E −1 σ and in matrix form this is

 x    σx 

    
 1 −ν 0
1 
 y  = −ν 1 0   σy  (3)
     
E
γxy 0 0 2(1 + ν) γxy
 σx  1 ν 0   x 
    
E 
 σy  =  ν 1 0   y  (4)
 
1−ν  2
γxy 0 0 1−ν γxy
 
2

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 Definitions and kinematic relations VII
We can now express the membrane force in the x −direction as
Z h /2 Z h /2
E
Nx = σx dz = [(x0 + z κx ) + ν(y0 + z κy )]dz
−h / 2 1 − ν2 −h / 2
Eh
= (x0 + νy0 )
1 − ν2
The applied bending moments needed to cause these radii of curvature
are
Z h /2 Z h /2
E
Mx = σx zdz = [(x0 + z κx ) + ν(y0 + z κy )]zdz
−h / 2 1 − ν2 −h / 2
Z h /2
Ez 2 ∂ w ∂2 w
" 2 #
= (κx + νκy )dz = D [κx + νκy ] = −D + 2
−h / 2 1 − ν2 ∂x 2 ∂y
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 Definitions and kinematic relations VIII
The property D is usually called the flexural rigidity or the bending stiff-
ness Z h /2
Ez 2 EI Eh 3
D= dz = = (5)
−h / 2 1 − ν 1 − ν2 12(1 − ν2 )
2

By virtue of the fact that Mxy = Myx we can now write the above relations
in matrix form simply as
Z h /2 Z h /2 Z h /2 Z h /2
M= σzdz = E zdz = Ez ( + z κ)dz = Ez 2 · κ (6)
−h /2 −h / 2 −h / 2 −h / 2

∂2 w ∂2 w
" #
My = − D +ν 2
∂y 2 ∂x
∂2 w
Mxy = −D (1 − ν)
∂x ∂y
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 Definitions and kinematic relations IX

The curvatures as function of the bending moments, can be written as

follows

∂2 w Mx − ν My
= − = −κx
∂x 2 D (1 − ν 2 )
∂2 w My − ν Mx
=− = −κy
∂y 2 D (1 − ν 2 )
∂2 w Mxy 1
=− = − κxy
∂x ∂y D (1 − ν) 2

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 Definitions and kinematic relations X

The in-plane stresses and curvatures in the plate can then, using eq.(4),
be written as
Ez Mx zE 12Mx z 6Mx
σx = (κx + νκy ) = = , σx ,max = 2 (7a)
1− ν2 D (1 − ν )
2 h 3 h

Ez My zE 12My z 6My
σy = (κy + νκx ) = = , σy ,max = 2 (7b)
1− ν2 D (1 − ν2 ) h 3 h
12Mxy z 6Mxy
τxy = 3
, τxy ,max = 2 (7c)
h h

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 Equilibrium equations I
Lets Now study the equilibrium of a differential element dx − dy of the
plate shown in figure 4
Horizontal equilibrium of forces in x and y −directions gives (excluding
inertia forces, which may be disregarded for transversely loaded plates)

∂Nx ∂Nyx ∂Ny ∂Nxy

+ = 0 and + =0 (8)
∂x ∂y ∂y ∂x
Vertical equilibrium is found by projecting all forces onto the z −axis as
seen in figure 5. The final expression for the force equilibrium in z −direction
is then
∂Tx ∂Ty ∂2 w ∂2 w ∂2 w ∂2 w ∂2 w
+ + q + Nx 2 + Ny 2 + Nxy + Nyx −ρh 2 = 0 (9)
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y ∂t

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 Equilibrium equations II

Figure: 4 A differential element dx − dy of a plate

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 Equilibrium equations III

Figure: 5 Force projections.

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 Equilibrium equations IV
Next we consider equilibrium of bending moments about the y , x, and
z −axes
∂Mx ∂Myx ∂Mxy ∂My
+ − Tx = 0, + − T y = 0, Nxy − Nyx = 0 (10)
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y

By inserting eq.(10) into eq.(9) one arrives at (using that Myx = Mxy )

∂2 Mx ∂2 Mxy ∂2 My ∂2 w
!
+ 2 + = q ∗
− ρ h (11)
∂x 2 ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂t 2

Here
∂2 w ∂2 w ∂2 w
q∗ = q + Nx + Ny + 2Nxy
∂x 2 ∂y 2 ∂x ∂y

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 Equilibrium equations V

The expressions for the bending moments Mx , My and Mxy are written
below or the sake of completeness

∂2 w ∂2 w
!
Mx = − D +ν 2
∂x 2 ∂y
∂w
2
∂2 w
!
My = − D +ν 2
∂y 2 ∂x
∂w
2
Eh 3
Mxy = −D (1 − ν) ; D=
∂x ∂y 12(1 − ν2 )

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 Equilibrium equations VI

Substituting these above equations into equation 11 gives

∂4 w ∂4 w ∂4 w ∂2 w
!
D + 2 + = q ∗
− ρh (12)
∂x 4 ∂x 2 ∂y 2 ∂y 4 ∂t 2

or shorter
∂2 w
D ∆2 w + ρh = q∗
∂t 2

where ∆ is the Laplace operator.

This is the governing equation of motion for an isotropic plate subjected
to lateral loads.

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 Equilibrium equations VII

If we consider pure bending, no membrane forces and no motion, this

equation reduces to the well known formula

D ∆2 w = q (13)

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 Boundary conditions I

Let’s have a look at the boundary conditions for a rectangular plate with
edges a and b parallel to the x and y −axis, respectively. Now, take a look
at figure below and consider two adjacent elements dx1 and dx2 along the
edge of the plate with the y −axis as normal.
The support loads in the x and y coordinates are

∂Mxy
Vy = Ty +
∂x
∂Mxy
Vx = Tx +
∂x
The corner load is
Fc = 2Mxy

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 Boundary conditions II

The boundary conditions for the most common types of edge supports in
practice are: complete freedom, simple support and clamped. There are
others, like elastic boundary support.

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 Boundary conditions III

Study for example an edge with x = 0 and one with y = 0 and formulate
the boundary conditions for these edges.
Free edge: The boundary condition for a free unloaded edge can be
expressed as

x = 0, a Mx = Mxy = Tx = 0
y = 0, b My = Mxy = Ty = 0

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 Boundary conditions IV

Simply supported edge: The principal boundary conditions for a simply

supported edge are that deflections and bending moments Mx or My are
zero. These are then written as

∂2 w ∂2 w
" #
x = 0, a w = 0 and Mx = − +ν 2 =0
∂x 2 ∂y
∂w ∂2 w
" 2 #
y = 0, b w = 0 and My = − +ν 2 =0
∂y 2 ∂x

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 Boundary conditions V

Clamped edge: The principal boundary conditions characterising a clamped

edge are zero displacements of the middle surface and zero rotation of
the cross-section at the boundary. Thus,

∂w
x = 0, a w=0 and =0
∂x
∂w
y = 0, b w=0 and =0
∂y

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate I

Consider a rectangular simply supported plate with sides a and b as

shown in the figure 6.
The governing differential equation for free, undamped vibration of a plate
is given by
∂2 w
D ∆2 w + ρh 2 = 0 (14)
∂t
The solution to this equation may be written in separable for by assuming

w (x , y , t ) = Φ(x , y )Ψ(t ) (15)

By inserting this into eq.(14) one obtains

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate II

Figure: 6 Rectangular simply supported panel

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate III

d 4Φ d 4Φ d 4Φ d 2Ψ
" #
D Ψ + 2 Ψ + Ψ + ρ h Φ =0
dx 4 dx 2 dy 2 dy 4 dt 2
By dividing each side with Φ and Ψ and rearranging

1 d 4Φ d 4Φ d 4Φ ρh 1 d 2 Ψ
" #
+2 2 2 + =− =λ
Φ dx 4 dx dy dy 4 D Ψ dt 2

The left-hand side of this relation is clearly independent of t, and hence

the right hand side must also be independent of t.

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate IV
Similarly, the right hand side is independent of x and y. Thus, since both
side must be independent of x , y and t, both sides must be constant.
Now, this implies that

d 4Φ d 4Φ d 4Φ
" #
+ 2 + − λΦ = 0 or ∆2 Φ − λΦ = 0 (16)
dx 4 dx 2 dy 2 dy 4

and
d 2Ψ D λ
+ Ψ=0 (17)
dt 2 ρh
The latter of these equations has the solution

Dλ ρh ω2
Ψ(t ) = A1 sin ωt +A2 cos ωt = A3 e i ωt +A4 e −i ωt with ω2 = or λ =
ρh D
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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate V
The introduced quantity ω is usually called the natural frequency or eigen-
frequency. The former equation (eq.(16)) can then be written

ρh ω2
∆2 Φ − Φ=0
D
A feasible solution for the spatial deflection field has already been ob-
tained in the bending case. Thus, the entire solution may be written in
the form
∞ X
∞
X m πx nπx
w (x , y , t ) = (A1 sin ωt + A2 cos ωt ) × wmn sin sin
n=1 m=1
a b
∞ X
X ∞
= Ψ(t ) Φmn (x , y ) (18)
n=1 m=1

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate VI

to the governing equation given in eq.(14).

Inserting eq.(18) into eq.(14) yields
∞ X
∞ ( "
mπ 4
X   mπ 2  nπ 2  nπ 4 # )
D +2 + − ρh ω
2
Ψ(t )Φmn (x , y ) = 0
n=1 m=1
a a b b

This must be valid for any x and y and hence assumes non-zero values
for Φ and Ψ.
Assuming Φ and Ψ equal to zero corresponds to the trivial solution. The
non-trivial solution is found by taking the term within the bracket to be
zero for all combinations of m and n,

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate VII

For a non trivial solution the eigen frequency may be written as

s
"
mπ 2
  nπ 2 #2 D
"
mπ
2  nπ 2 #
ρh ω2mn =D + → ωmn = + (19)
a b ρh a b

Note that ω have been given indices mn, since m and n now refer to
different modes of vibration. They are very similar to the buckling modes
thus representing various shapes of w.
The lowest value eigen-frequency is often called ω1 but it does not nec-
essarily have to coincide with m = n = 1, but rather the combination of
m and n giving the lowest value for ω.

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate VIII

The different sets of m and n give different nodal lines and an example
of the first such modal shapes are shown in figure 7. First, let
s
mπ 2
"   n π 2 # D
ωmn = k + where k = π2
a b ρh

For a square plate (a /b = 1) we then get that ω11 = 2k , ω12 = ω21 = 5k

and ω22 = 8k which is schematically illustrated in figure 7.

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Free vibration of a simply supported rectangular plate IX

Figure: 7 Vibration mode shapes for plates.

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 Energy Methods I

The strain energy is given by

1
dUse = (σx x + σy y + τxy γxy )
2
= σt 

 = 0 + z κ

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 Energy Methods II
The second approach is to derive the bending strain energy from the
internal stresses and strains. This is done as (assuming 0 = 0 and
linear elastic material)
Z a Z b Z h /2 Z a Z b Z h /2
1 1
Use = σ  dxdydz =
t
z κt Ez κdxdydz
2 0 0 −h /2 2 0 0 −h / 2
 ∂2 w 2 ∂2 w 2
 !2 2 !2 !2 
∂ ∂ ∂
Z aZ b ! ! 2 2
D w w w 
= + + 2ν + 2(1 − ν)  dxdy
∂x 2 ∂y 2 ∂x 2 ∂y 2 ∂x ∂y 

2 0 0

The potential energy of applied loads is

Z aZ b
UP ,N = (Nx y + Ny y + Nxy γxy )dydx (20)
0 0

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 Energy Methods III

Figure: 8 Deformation of a plate element with in-plane load

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 Energy Methods IV
The strain in the element now becomes
!2 !2
da 0 − dx 1 ∂w 1 ∂w
x = = and similarly y == (21)
dx 2 ∂x 2 ∂y

substituting equation 21 into equation 20 yields

Z aZ b
 !2 !2 ! !
 dw dw dw dw 
UP ,N = Nx + Ny + 2Nxy  dxdy (22)
0 0 dx dy dx dy

In transverse bending, the pressure applied to the top (and/or bottom)

surface of the plate have the potential energy
Z aZ b
UP ,q = − qwdxdy
0 0
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 Energy Methods V
Thus, the total potential energy of all the applied loads are
Z aZ b
 !2 !2 ! !
1  dw dw dw dw 
UP = −2qw + Nx + Ny + 2Nxy  dxdy
2 0 0 dx dy dx dy
(23)
The kinetic energy is basically the mass of the element times the accel-
eration and is given by
Z aZ b !2
1 dw
Uk = ρh dxdy
2 0 0 dt

The total potential energy of the entire system is then,

Π = Use + UP + Uk (24)
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 Energy Methods VI

To illustrate this study the bending case discussed above, a simply sup-
ported rectangular plate subjected to a uniform pressure. Assume the
simple but approximate panel shape
πx πy
w (x , y , t ) = W sin sin
a b
To find approximate solutions to many bending, buckling and vibrations
problems we assume an approximate spatial and time field w (x , y , t )

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 Energy Methods VII

which satisfies at least the kinematic boundary conditions, differentiat-

ing and inserting in the energy equation gives

π  π 2  π 2  π 4 # πx πy
Z aZ b "  4
D
Π= + 2ν + W 2 sin2 sin2 dxdy
2 0 0 a a b b a b
D
Z aZ b  π 2  π 2 πx πy
+ 2(1 − ν) W 2 cos2 cos2 dxdy
2 0 0 a b a b
πx πy
Z aZ b
− qW sin sin dxdy
0 0 a b
W 2 abD π  π 2  π 2  π 4 #
" 4
4qabW
= +2 + −
8 a a b b π2

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 Energy Methods VIII

We minimize this function by taking the derivative with respect to W

dΠ 16q 16q
=0⇒W =  2  2  2  =  2 2
dW
 2
π6 D 1
a
+2 1
ab
+ 1
b π6 D 1
+ 1
a b
(25)
This solution gives fairly good results as long as the panel aspect ratio
a /b is close to unity.

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 Example I
Study a rectangular plate with simply supported edges with dimension
3a × a, and the bending stiffness D. Calculate the first four eigen-
frequencies. Show how the eigen-modes look by drawings.

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 Example II

The differential equation for the plate is given by

∂4 w ∂4 w ∂4 w ρh ∂2 w
+ 2 + + =0
∂x 4 ∂x 2 ∂y 2 ∂y 4 D ∂t 2

(h is the plate thickness and ρ the material density)

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