A plate structure is a structural system consisting of plates, which are planar, two-dimensional structural components.
A plate structure can only absorb forces that act perpendicular to the slab plane, as well as bending moments about the surface axes within the slab plane. Axial forces are not taken into account.
An example of a plate structure is a structure consisting of floor slabs. Vertical shear forces from distributed loads and concentrated loads, as well as the resulting bending moments, are transferred.