Some aspects in the calculation of transverse shear stresses in Mindlin plates

Calculation of transverse shear stresses in Mindlin plates by the use of the equilibrium equations and the displacement solutions from either finite‐strip or finite‐element analyses is considered. It is shown that at least quadratic interpolation of displacements should be used for this purpose. Also, a difference in the shear stress distributions obtainable across the plate thickness under linear and geometrically nonlinear analyses is explained.