Bending of Shear Deformable Plates Resting on Winkler Foundations According to Trigonometric Plate Theory

A trigonometric plate theory is assessed for the static bending analysis of plates resting on Winkler elastic foundation. The theory considers the effects of transverse shear and normal strains. The theory accounts for realistic variation of the transverse shear stress through the thickness and satisfies the traction free conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. The governing equations of equilibrium and the associated boundary conditions of the theory are obtained using the principle of virtual work. A closed-form solution is obtained using double trigonometric series. The numerical results are obtained for flexure of simply supported plates subjected to various static loadings. The displacements and stresses are obtained for three different values of foundation modulus. The numerical results are also generated using higher order shear deformation theory of Reddy, first order shear deformation theory of Mindlin, and classical plate theory for the comparison of the present results.