Abstract: The efficiency of a long-span structure relies on how material is locally distributed within a fixed structural shape. In this paper a design procedure for thin plates made of three layers of a depleted material subject to a distributed vertical load is proposed. The investigation is driven by the idea of the optimal material organization and has the objective of maximizing the overall stiffness/weight ratio of the structure. Two microstructural architectures of the media are considered: a porous solid structure and a truss arrangement. For each type of microstructure the flexural stiffness has been correlated to the level of depletion by the use of a power law function by setting very few parameters. Finally, invoking the principles of structural homogenization theory, the global flexural response of the plate has also been calculated. The validity of the method is demonstrated by comparing the analytical results with those obtained by a numerical finite element simulation of the structure based on a detailed model of the media.

Key words: Thin plates, Multilayered plates, Depleted materials, Homogenization method, Stiffness design

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