Elastic impact response of a nonlocal rectangular plate

This paper concerns with the problem in which a spherical nano-particle impacts a rectangular orthotropic nano-plate. The plate is assumed thin, so that can be addressed by the Kirchhoffs classical plate theory assumptions. The governing equations are derived using nonlocal theory of elasticity. The nano-particle is considered to collide with the plate transversely while the interactions are non-bonding van-der Waals forces. The contact force in terms of indenter-plate distance, i.e. contact law, is derived using a conceptual continuum model. Afterwards, the coupled equations of motion for both the plate and indenter together with the utilized contact law are solved and results are developed for the case of impact between a gold nano-particle and a single-layered graphene sheet with simply supported boundaries. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.