Statics and dynamics of simply supported polygonal Reissner-Mindlin plates by analogy (Q1574194)

This paper is concerned with free and forced vibrations of moderately thick, transversely isotropic plates loaded by lateral forces and hydrostatic (isotropic) in-plane forces. The vibrations are analyzed in the frequency domain. The authors consider first-order shear-deformation theories of Reissner-Mindlin type. In the case of a general polygonal shape of the plate and hard-hinged support conditions, the Reissner-Mindlin deflections are shown to coincide with the results of classical Kirchhoff theory of thin plates, where the background Kirchhoff plate, which has effective stiffness and mass, is loaded by effective lateral and in-plane forces and by imposed fictitious ''thermal'' curvatures.