title: Theoretical elastic deformations of a thick horizontal circular mirror on a double-ring support.
abstract: This paper gives exact, closed-form expressions for the deflection, under its own weight, moments, and shears, in a thick, horizontally oriented, circular mirror on a double-ring support. A theory developed by Reissner for thick plates that includes shear deformations is used, and the results are reduced to those of classical plate theory. It is found that for mirrors having thickness-to-diameter ratios greater than approximately one-tenth, shearing deformations can contribute significantly to the total deflection, and hence should not be neglected. Numerical results are presented and interpreted in detail.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Selke