NOTES ON THE BEHAVIOR OF TRANSVERSELY LOADED INEXTENSIBLE PLATES

The governing equations for incompressible plates exhibiting a directi on of inextensibility are developed in this paper. The motivation for the analysis of such materials is the rise in popularity of fiber-rein forced thermoplastic composites, though the conclusions reached apply equally well to incompressible materials exhibiting very large degrees of anisotropy. In the course of the development, the importance of tr ansverse shear response is demonstrated, indicating that lower order p late theories cannot be used to realistically model incompressible/ine xtensible materials. As is the case with other plate theories, the in- plane and transverse responses uncouple. A sample analysis, involving only the transverse response, is performed and the results are compare d to a simplified solution that is likewise derived herein.