Analytical solution of the bending problem of free orthotropic rectangular thin plate on two‐parameter elastic foundation

Abstract

AbstractThe bending problem of free orthotropic rectangular thin plate (RTP) on two‐parameter elastic foundation under a concentrated load is studied by the symplectic superposition method. Firstly, the original bending problem is decomposed into three subproblems by analyzing load effects and boundary conditions, each of which is the bending problem of the plate with two opposite edges slidingly supported. In order to solve the three sub‐problems based on the separation of variables method in Hamiltonian system, the Hamiltonian system for the orthotropic RTP with two opposite edges slidingly supported is studied, and then the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian operator are obtained by combining the separation of variables and symbolic computation. Secondly, according to the symplectic orthogonality and the completeness of the eigenfunctions, the general solution of the Hamiltonian system with the two opposite edges slidingly supported is obtained. Furthermore, the solutions in the form of series of the three subproblems are obtained respectively. Finally, the symplectic superposition solution of the original bending problem is obtained by superposing the solutions of the three subproblems and the correctness of the symplectic superposition solution is verified by two numerical examples.