4 Plates of Various Shapes and Properties

Many structures (Fig. 4-1) consist of plates with shapes other than rectangular or circular. In this chapter a brief discussion of elliptic and triangular plates is given. The solution of other shapes is obtained by approximate solutions similar to those discussed in Chapter 5.

Many structural components such as bridge decks, reinforced concrete slabs, corrugated sheet plates, and composite materials (Fig. 4-1) have physical properties that are different in the x- and y-axes. Accordingly, the equations derived in Chapter 1 cannot be used directly to analyze these components. Rather, a modified theory is needed and is referred to as the orthotropic plate theory. A brief discussion of this theory is given at the end of this chapter.