Modeling nonlinear bending of axisymmetric circular nano-plates in framework of Ru's surface stress elasticity theory (Q2074239)

A model for circular Kirchhoff nano-plates taking into account the von Kármàn geometric nonlinearity is developed. The Ru's surface stress elasticity theory is used in this model of plates subjected to axisymmetric loading. The Ru's model is a simplified Gurtin-Murdoch (GM) model without the gradient terms. On this basis, a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations describing the deflection and the in-plane component of the displacement vector is proposed. This system of differential equations arises from the equilibrium equations. A relatively simple method of computation of deflections, moments, and membrane forces is provided. The semi-analytical solution for proposed model is presented. It is shown, that the deflections of plates are sensitive to the aspect ratio. The numerical results show, that for silicon and aluminum materials there is no significant difference between predictions of the present and GM model. It is also shown that for appropriate aspect ratio and applied pressure, the nonlinear deflection arising from the present modeling is consistent with the results of FE simulations. For high aspect ratios and/or thick nano-plates, the present modeling needs to be improved in order to take into account the shear deformation across the thickness.