Nonlinear equations of elastic deformation of plates

A method for constructing nonlinear equations of elastic deformation of plates with boundary conditions for stresses and displacements at the face surfaces in an arbitrary coordinate system is proposed. The initial three–dimensional problem of the nonlinear theory of elasticity is reduced to a one–parameter sequence of two–dimensional problems by approximating the unknown functions by truncated series in Legendre polynomials. The same unknowns are approximated by different truncated series. In each approximation, a linearized system of equations whose differential order does not depend on the boundary conditions at the face surfaces which can be formulated in terms of stresses or displacements is obtained.