Abstract
A derivation is given for the strain energy of an isotropic elastic shell whose radii of curvature are sufficiently large that strains may be assumed to vary linearly throughout the thickness. The work of Love (1) has been the only previous general investigation which expresses the strain energy in terms of the displacements of the middle surface. The effects of the tangential displacements upon the energy due to bending are found to differ appreciably from Love’s results in the first-order terms. As in the classical large-deflection theory of flat plates, quadratic terms in the derivatives of the normal deflection are retained in the strain tensor, but quadratic terms which involve the tangential displacements are neglected. Special forms of the general energy expression derived in this paper are given for shells in the shapes of flat plates, circular cylinders, elliptical cylinders, ellipsoids of revolution, and spheres. These applications, as well as certain intuitive observations, provide checks on the theory.
