An Intrinsic Formulation of the Von Kármán Equations

Abstract

To begin with, we identify the intrinsic equations of a von Kármán nonlinearly elastic plate, which allow to directly compute the stresses inside the plate without having to first compute the displacement field, by contrast with the classical displacement approach. Then we establish that these intrinsic equations possess weak solutions, which are the bending moments and stress resultants of the middle surface of the plate.