Bending of Plates on an Elastic Foundation

This paper discusses a two-dimensional elastostatic plate theory in which effects of both transverse shearing strain and normal strain are retained. The governing system of equations is deduced as a limiting case of results obtained for thin shells by Naghdi. As an example of a class of problems for which such effects are significant, axisymmetric bending of an infinite plate resting on an elastic half space is discussed. Illustrative numerical results are included.