Determination of the Stress-Strain State in Thin Orthotropic Plates on Winkler’s Elastic Foundations

We develop a new approach to the numerical analysis of thin orthotropic plates called a “macroelement method.” It gives more exact solutions as compared with the well-known finite-element method. We determine the stress-strain state of a composite orthotropic plate lying on Winkler’s elastic foundation. The results obtained by different methods are in good agreement in the central part of the plate and in the regions where the kinematic boundary conditions are imposed. At the same time, the results obtained under static boundary conditions are noticeably different.