Bending Solutions of Axisymmetric Levinson Plates in Terms of Corresponding Kirchhoff Solutions

This paper presents exact axisymmetric bending solutions of circular and annular plates based on the higher-order plate theory of Levinson. The solutions are displayed in terms of the corresponding Kirchhoff (or classical thin) plate solutions. These Kirchhoff-Levinson bending relationships are derived using the mathematical similarity of the governing equations of the two plate theories and the basis of load equivalence. The relationships allow one to readily deduce the more accurate Levinson plate solutions that account for the effect of transverse shear deformation, without having to solve the more complicated Levinson plate equations.