A midsurface elasticity model for a thin, nonlinear, gradient elastic plate

In this paper, we derive a dynamic surface elasticity model for the two-dimensional midsurface of a thin, three-dimensional, homogeneous, isotropic, nonlinear gradient elastic plate of thickness $h$. The resulting model is parameterized by five, conceivably measurable, physical properties of the plate, and the stored surface energy reduces to Koiter’s plate energy in a singular limiting case. The model corrects a theoretical issue found in wave propagation in thin sheets and, when combined with the author’s theory of Green elastic bodies possessing gradient elastic material boundary surfaces, removes the singularities present in fracture within traditional/classical models. Our approach diverges from previous research on thin shells and plates, which primarily concentrated on deriving elasticity theories for material surfaces from classical three-dimensional Green elasticity. This work is the first in rigorously developing a surface elasticity model based on a parent nonlinear gradient elasticity theory.