Large Inextensional Deflection of Thin Cantilevered Plates

The calculation of large bending deflections of thin plates by available techniques are either too difficult to use or are limited to deflections which are below 20 percent of the plate’s length and/or width. The present method predicts, and is substantiated by experiment, the maximum deflections of such thin plates within a few percent wherein the deflections are larger than half the length and/or width of the thin plate.