Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics (ZAMP)

Vol. 32, 1981

0044-2275/81/006764-04
$ 2.30/0
9 Birkh~iuserVerlag Basel, 1981

A note on bending of plates including the effects

of transveIse shearing and normal strains*)
By E. Reissner, Dept. o f A p p l i e d Mechanics and Engineering Sciences,
University o f California, San Diego, L a Jolla, California, U S A

A recent paper [2] has shown how the authors's earlier analysis of the effect of
transverse shear deformation [1] could be supplemented quite simply, in such a way
as to yield improved information in regard to the three-dimensional aspects of the
distribution of "primary" bending and twisting stresses. In obtaining these results,
account was taken of the effect of transverse shearing strains and, insofar as the effect
of transverse normal strains was concerned, a way to account for this systematically
was indicated, with the notation that this effect could be expected to be small,
numerically, in connection with most applications. An apparent revival of interest in
this question suggested the following complementation of our earlier analysis.
To bring out more clearly the essence of the procedure in [2] the analysis may be
arranged as follows.
We start out with approximative assumptions for the "secondary" transverse
stresses of the form
(r~.,~u.)

2h

~l-4/T

cr~=~-

3 h-~ '

(la, b)

with these satisfying the boundary conditions ~ = ru~ = 0, or. = _+p/2 for z = __ h/2,
and with Vx, V~ and p related so as to satisfy the equilibrium equation

vx,~+ v~,~+p=0.

(2)

We next consider the three stress strain relations involving transverse strains in
the form

w,z

_ o.

F~

o~ + oy
v~ F ~ '

(u,~,v,~)

(r~, ~u~)

(w,~ w,~)

'

(3 a, b)

with the "primary" stresses o~, au being here approximated, as suggested in [2], in the
form
M z
cry+ au= 12 h-7 -if,
M-M~+Mu.
(4a, b)
An introduction of (1) and (4) into (3) gives, after integration with respect to z

. 3ph(z ~
w= W(x,y)+~
~
*)

2 z 4)

3 h~

6v~M z ~
E~h h~'

Supported by the Office of Naval Research.

(5~

Vol. 32, 1981

A note on bending of plates

765
2v~ M,x z 3

--Tg7 V

+ -E z

(6 a)

ha '

with a corresponding equation (*5b) for v.

We finally consider the three stress strain relations involving face-parallel strains
in the semi-inverted form
(7x

U, x -[- Y V, y

1-v ~

Gy

l) y q- Y bt,z

1-v ~

Yz

(7z

1-v

E~

Vz

O"z

Txy

U,y "k t) x

1-v

E.'

2(1+v)"

(7)

Introduction of (lb), (2) and (6a, b) into these three relations then gives as
expressions for primary stresses
~r~
E

Wxx+vWuu'
'
1-v 2

z+ (

p,.z+vp,~u
4(1 - vz)

h 2 (z a
E. h-;

3
l+v

V~.,
2G

3v p +
1-v ~ G

3Vz
1-v

P)(h
2Ez

43 hza)
a

2 z__)) 2v~ M , ~ + v M , uu z a
5
-+ E.
1 - v2
-h7 '

(8a)

with a corresponding equation (8 b) for au, and

~c,v
E

~z-~W~'Y
'
3
l+v
4

V ~ , , + V y ,,( z ,
(1 +v) G
h

P,~v h2 ( za
4 ( l + v ) E z /-~

4 z a)
3 ha

2 zS)2v~M,.y
za
5 h 5 q- ( l + v ) Ez h a.

(8c)

We may in these equations neglect the terms with p ..... p, uy,p,~,, as being small of
higher order compared with the terms having p itself as a factor. Additionally, we
note that equations (8) reduce to equation (14) in [2] upon omission of the terms with
p and M and that, insofar as the three-dimensional aspects of the problem are
concerned, these additional terms apparently contribute corrections of the same order
of magnitude as the terms with V~ and Vy, if account is taken of equation (2) and of
the two additional plate equilibrium equations
M.,x+ H.u,u = 1f".,

H.u,.+ M~,y= V v.

(9 a, b)

Having equations (8) we obtain as expressions for M~, Mr, Hxv, with
o = E h3/12 (I -v~),

M,=-D IW,**+uWy~
l

1-v V
3(
l+v
G)7- ~,~--~- v~ 2E~
- 3Vz

v)p
G
20Ezh

]'

(lOa)

with an analogous equation (10 b) for My, and

V

Hx = _ ( l _ v )

D l W , zu

35 V~'u+VY'~Gh

Mxu ]

(lOc)

766

E. Reissner

ZAMP

The three constitutive equations (10a, b,c) in conjunction with the three
equilibrium equations (2) and (9a, b) evidently are a system of six equations for the
determination of the six unknown M~, Mu, H~ u, V~, Vu and W. In what follows we
will consider the homogeneous version of this system, with a view towards ascertaining
the influence of the transverse lateral contraction effect in these equations on results which have previously been deduced without consideration of this effect [3, 4].
As a first step in the analysis of the influence of a non-vanishing Vz we deduce
from the defining relation (4b), in conjunction with equations (10a, b) for the case
p = 0, one equation involving W and M only, of the form

M=-D(I+v)

( V2W - 203 Ez~

Vz V2M)
"

(11)

The second step in this analysis consists in introducing equations (10a, b, c) into
equations (19 a, b) in conjunction with the stress function representation

Vx= J,y,

Vu= - J,x ,

(lZa, b)

which is implied by (2) for the case p = 0. The result of these substitutions may be
written in the Cauchy-Riemann form
1-v DV2j_j),
G~,u

(
3
v~ V ~ M ) , f f ( 3
D V 2 W - 20 E , ~
5

D ~V2W -

3 Vz V2M )

20 Ezh

/,~

=-

31-v
-5

Gh

D V2j - J

(13a)

)
,x'

(13b)

from which it follows that

D ( V2W

20
3 Ev~
zhV~M ) =4,

J=)~-T,

(14a, b)

with 9 and T being the real and imaginary parts of a complex function F(x + iy) and
with Z being the general solution of
3 1-v
D V 2 Z - Z = 0.
(15)
5 Gh
-

Combining (14 a) and (11) we have further

M = - (1 + v) q~,

(16)

and therewith V2M = 0 and VW2W = 0. This in turn means that equation (14a) is in
effect identical with the same equation for the special case Vz = 0 as considered in
[3, 4] and therewith equations (10a, b, c) and (12a, b) may again be written in the
form
(
6 i-v
)
M x = - D V,x~+Vv, uu 5 -~h- X,~ ,
(17a)
(
6
M y = - D v ~ + vv,~ + 5

H ~ u = - ( 1 - v ) D v'~u
V~ = - D ( V 2 v ) , x + L u ,

1-v
)
G-h- Z,~ ,

5 Gh )~,u~ -)~,
V~=-D(V2v),~-Z,x,

(17b)

(17c)
(18a, b)

Vol. 32, 1981

A note on bending of plates

767

with the difference between the results in [3, 4], as specialized for a transversely
homogeneous medium, and the present results consisting solely in the occurrence of
the term with v, in the expression
6

3(_1 + v)__v~./

v= W+ ~4:

20Ezh

] DV2W"

(19)

The form of equations (8) and (16) to (19) makes it apparent that a nonvanishing value of vz, while contributing second order effects, comes out to be of no
influence on first-order effects in the sense of the discussion in [3, 4].

References
[ 1] E. Reissner, The effect of transverse shear deformation on the bending of elastic plates, J. Appl.
Mech. 12, A 6 9 - A 77 (1945).
[2] E. Reissner, On transverse bending of plates, including the effect of transverse shear
deJbl~ation, Intern. J. Solids Structures 11, 569-573 (1975).
[3] E. Reissner, On the theory of transverse bending of plates, Intern. J. Solids Structures 12, 545554 (1976).
[4] E. Reissner, On the analysis of first and second-order shear deformation effects for isotropic
elastic plates, J. Appl. Mech. 47, 959-961 (1980).

Summary
Earlier results on the effect of transverse shearing strain on the three-dimensional aspects of
the distribution of bending stress in plates are complemented by results for the influence of
transverse normal strain, due to surface pressure as well as due to a non-vanishing transverse.
Poisson's ratio.

Zusammenfassung
Ein friiheres Resultat (Ink J. Solids Structures 11, 569-573 (1975)) in bezug auf den
Einflul3 der Querschubverformungen auf die dreidimensionalen Eigenschaften des Biegespannungszustandes werden erg~inzt durch Resultate fiir den EinfluB der Querdehnungen.
(Received: May 19, 1981.)