Upper- and lower-bounds for rectangular plates transversely loaded (Q1083261)

A new technique, the ''end-fixity coefficients method'', is developed for the prediction of upper- and lower-bound loads to cause the plastic collapse of thin, uniformly loaded rectangular plates of rigid-perfectly plastic material, which is assumed to flow according to the Johansen yield criterion, re-deriving some well-known results and extending the analysis to other cases of loaded plates. The proposed theory has unified application for the analysis of plate bending, under various boundary conditions, taking into consideration the clamping conditions of plate sides.