Existence of solution in the bending of thin plates with Gurtin–Murdoch surface elasticity

Abstract

We consider the well-posedness of classical boundary value problems in a theory of bending of thin plates which incorporates the effects of surface elasticity via the Gurtin–Murdoch surface model. We employ the fundamental solution of the governing system of equations to develop integral-type solutions of the corresponding Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary value problems. Using the boundary integral equation method, we subsequently establish results for the existence of a solution in the appropriate function spaces.