Further investigation on the exact elasticity solution for anisotropic thick rectangular plates

The state equation governing the anisotropic response of monoclinic linear elastic material is deduced. An exact three-dimensional (3-D) elasticity solution is performed for simply-supported thick orthotropic rectangular plates subjected to arbitrary loading. For the first time, a sixth-order differential equation governing the transverse displacement is obtained and various expressions of the solution are provided. The results can be used to the plate of any kind of reduced material properties for example transversely isotropic or isotropic plates. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd