GROUP 1
Caleb M Gurajena NO236473Y
Delight Murepa N0232983Q
Nokwanda N0238218L
Tanyaradzwa N Kanda N0231843A
Chidochashe P Chokupfekedza N0233357M
Blessing T Bare N02221791W
Lenon T Kadyauta N0236473Y
1 ANALYSIS OF PLATES
A plate is a flat structural member whose thickness is no larger than one-
tenth of the length of the smallest lateral dimension. Thin plates are
initially flat structural members bounded by two parallel planes, called
faces. The distance between the plane faces is called the thickness (h) of
the plate. It is assumed that the plate thickness is small compared with
other characteristic dimensions of the faces (length, width). The static or
dynamic loads carried by plates are predominantly perpendicular to the
plate faces.
Plates are used in architectural structures, bridges, hydraulic structures,
pavements, containers, airplanes, missiles, ships, instruments, machine
parts, etc.
We consider a plate, for which it is common to divide the thickness h into
equal halves by a plane parallel to its faces. This plane is called the middle
plane (or simply, the midplane) of the plate. Being subjected to transverse
loads, an initially flat plate deforms and the midplane passes into some
curvilinear surface, which is referred to as the middle surface.
A plate resists transverse loads by means of bending, exclusively. The
flexural properties of a plate depend greatly upon its thickness in
comparison with other dimensions.
Classification
Plates may be classified into three groups according to the ratio a/h, where
a is a typical dimension of a plate in a plane and h is a plate thickness.
These groups are
1. The first group is presented by thick plates having ratios a/h ≤ 8 . . .
10. The analysis of such bodies includes all the components of stresses,
strains, and displacements as for solid bodies using the general equations
of three-dimensional elasticity.
2. The second group refers to plates with ratios a/h ≥ 80 . . . 100. These
plates are referred to as membranes and they are devoid of flexural
rigidity. Membranes carry the lateral loads by axial tensile forces N (and
shear forces) acting in the plate middle surface. These forces are called
membrane forces; they produce projection on a vertical axis and thus
balance a lateral load applied to the plate-membrane.
3. The most extensive group represents an intermediate type of plate, so-
called thin plate with 8 . . . 10 ≤ a/h 80 . . . 100. Depending on the value
of the ratio w/h, the ratio of the maximum deflection of the plate to its
thickness, the part of flexural and membrane forces here may be different.
Therefore, this group, in turn, may also be subdivided into two different
classes.
a. Stiff plates. A plate can be classified as a stiff plate if w/h ≤ 0.2. Stiff
plates are flexurally rigid thin plates. They carry loads two dimensionally,
mostly by internal bending and twisting moments and by transverse shear
forces. The middle plane deformations and the membrane forces are
negligible. In engineering practice, the term plate is understood to mean
a stiff plate, unless otherwise specified.
b. Flexible plates. If the plate deflections are beyond a certain level, w/h≥
0.3, then, the lateral deflections will be accompanied by stretching of the
middle surface. Such plates are referred to as flexible plates.
Assumptions
The fundamental assumptions of the linear, elastic, small-deflection
theory of bending for thin plates are as follows:
1. The material of the plate is elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic.
2. The plate is initially flat.
3. The deflection (the normal component of the displacement vector) of
the midplane is small compared with the thickness of the plate. The slope
of the deflected surface is therefore very small and the square of the slope
is a negligible quantity in comparison with unity.
4. The straight lines, initially normal to the middle plane before bending,
remain straight and normal to the middle surface during the deformation,
shear strains 𝛾𝑥𝑧 and 𝛾𝑦𝑧 are negligible and the normal strain 𝜀𝑧 may also
and the length of such elements is not altered. This means that the vertical
be omitted. This assumption is referred to as the ‘‘hypothesis of straight
normals.’’
5. The stress normal to the middle plane, z, is small compared with the
other stress components and may be neglected in the stress–strain
relations.
6. Since the displacements of a plate are small, it is assumed that the
middle surface remains unstrained after bending.
Many of these assumptions, known as Kirchhoff’s hypotheses. The plate
bending theory based on the above assumptions is referred to as the
classical or Kirchhoff’s plate theory.
Assumptions associated with plate analysis
●Thickness t is much smaller compared to other dimensions of the plate
●Deflection (vertical displacement) is small compared to thickness thus the plate does not stretch much
●Material is elastic, isotropic and homogeneous
●Stress normal to the middle plane of the plate is small compared to other stresses and is negligible
●Plane sections remain plane thus the plate bends smoothly and uniformly, no distortion
●Normals remain Perpendicular, the same line that was normal to the plate's middle plane before bending remains normal even after bending because there's no
tilting due to shear
●The plate is initially flat
Thin Plates in Structural Engineering
Thin plates are flat, two-dimensional structural elements characterized by having a thickness
significantly smaller than their other planar dimensions (a thickness-to-width ratio typically less
than 0.1). In civil engineering, their analysis and design are crucial for structures where load is
resisted primarily through bending and twisting moments in two dimensions, as opposed to
beams which primarily bend in one direction.
Applications of Thin Plates in Civil Engineering
Thin plates have widespread applications across various types of civil infrastructure:
· Buildings and Architecture:
o Reinforced Concrete Slabs: These are the most common application, forming
floors, roofs, and walls in multi-story buildings. They are designed as plate
structures to distribute vertical and lateral loads.
o Waffle Slabs: Reinforced concrete slabs with a grid of ribs on the underside,
often analyzed using plate theory.
o Composite Panels: Used for cladding and internal partitions.
· Transportation Infrastructure:
o Bridge Decks: The road surface of bridges often acts as a plate structure to
effectively distribute traffic loads to the supporting beams and girders.
o Slab Bridges: Entire bridges designed as thick slabs.
· Hydraulic and Other Structures:
o Tanks and Containers: Thin plates form the sides and bases of many types of
storage containers and pressure vessels.
o Pavements: Although complex, aspects of road and airfield pavement layers can
be modeled using plate theories.
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