Plate theory

Summary

Plate theory models a flat elastic body whose thickness is small compared with its other dimensions. Examples are a floor slab, a ship deck and a sheet of metal. It replaces the three-dimensional equations of linear elasticity by equations on the two-dimensional mid-plane. An assumption on how lines across the thickness deform reduces the unknowns to the deflection of the mid-plane and a few other fields. The main theories are Kirchhoff–Love plate theory for thin plates and Mindlin–Reissner plate theory for thicker ones.