Static, stability and dynamic analysis of gradient elastic flexural Kirchhoff plates

The governing equation of motion of gradient elastic flexural Kirchhoff plates, including the effect of in-plane constant forces on bending, is explicitly derived. This is accomplished by appropriately combining the equations of flexural motion in terms of moments, shear and in-plane forces, the moment–stress relations and the stress–strain equations of a simple strain gradient elastic theory with just one constant (the internal length squared), in addition to the two classical elastic moduli. The resulting partial differential equation in terms of the lateral deflection of the plate is of the sixth order instead of the fourth, which is the case for the classical elastic case. Three boundary value problems dealing with static, stability and dynamic analysis of a rectangular simply supported all-around gradient elastic flexural plate are solved analytically. Non-classical boundary conditions, in additional to the classical ones, have to be utilized. An assessment of the effect of the gradient coefficient on the static or dynamic response of the plate, its buckling load and natural frequencies is also made by comparing the gradient type of solutions against the classical ones.