Theory of thin elastic plate: history and current state of the problem

The article is an analytical review and is devoted to the theory of thin, isotropic elastic plates. There are basic relations of the theory based on the kinematic hypothesis confirming that the tangential displacements are distributed linearly along the thickness of the plate and its deflection does not depend on the normal coordinate. As a result, a system of equations of the sixth order with respect to two potential functions – the penetrating potential, which determines the plate deflection, and the boundary potential which makes it possible to set three boundary conditions on the plate edge and eliminate the known contradiction of Kirchhoff's plate theory was obtained. Problems that have no correct solution in the framework of Kirchhoff's theory – cylindrical bending of a plate with a free edge, bending of a rectangular plate with non-classical hinge fixing, torsion of a square plate by moments distributed along the contour, and bending of a plate by a rigid die – are considered. In conclusion, a brief historical review of the papers devoted to the theory of plate bending was presented.