An isogeometric method for the Reissner-Mindlin plate bending problem

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel isogeometric discretization method for Reissner-Mindlin plates that ensures exact Kirchhoff constraint satisfaction and is free of locking, combining theoretical rigor with practical advantages.

Contribution

The paper develops a new isogeometric approach that constructs smooth discrete spaces satisfying Kirchhoff constraints exactly, improving accuracy and avoiding locking.

Findings

Locking-free discretization achieved

Exact Kirchhoff constraint satisfaction

Smooth discrete spaces for deflections and rotations

Abstract

We present a new isogeometric method for the discretization of the Reissner-Mindlin plate bending problem. The proposed scheme follows a recent theoretical framework that makes possible to construct a space of smooth discrete deflections $W_h$ and a space of smooth discrete rotations $\Rots_h$ such that the Kirchhoff contstraint is exactly satisfied at the limit. Therefore we obtain a formulation which is natural from the theoretical/mechanical viewpoint and locking free by construction.