New analytical solution for bending problem of uniformly loaded rectangular plate supported on corner points

Abstract

Presented herein is a new analytical solution for the bending problem of a uniformly loaded, thin rectangular elastic plate supported on corner points. The solution is given in the form of a trigonometric series where the coefficients of the series form a fully regular infinite system of linear equations. Accurate numerical values for deflection, moments and shear forces for various aspect ratios of the plate are given. The results are compared with those obtained by other researchers. © 2010 The Institution of Engineers, Singapore.