Analytical method for the construction of solutions to the Föppl–von Kármán equations governing deflections of a thin flat plate

We discuss the method of linearization and construction of perturbation solutions for the Föppl–von Kármán equations, a set of non-linear partial differential equations describing the large deflections of thin flat plates. In particular, we present a linearization method for the Föppl–von Kármán equations which preserves much of the structure of the original equations, which in turn enables us to construct qualitatively meaningful perturbation solutions in relatively few terms. Interestingly, the perturbation solutions do not rely on any small parameters, as an auxiliary parameter is introduced and later taken to unity. The obtained solutions are given recursively, and a method of error analysis is provided to ensure convergence of the solutions. Hence, with appropriate general boundary data, we show that one may construct solutions to a desired accuracy over the finite bounded domain. We show that our solutions agree with the exact solutions in the limit as the thickness of the plate is made arbitrarily small.

► Analytical solutions to the non-linear Föppl–von Kármán equations given. ► Recursive solutions obtained via homotopy analysis for clamped edge conditions. ► Solutions do not rely on any small parameters. ► A method of residual error analysis and control is provided.