  The Hadamard and SJT product of matrices are two types of special matrix
product. The latter was first defined by Chen. In this study, they are applied
to the differential quadrature (DQ) solution of geometrically nonlinear bending
of isotropic and orthotropic rectangular plates. By using the Hadamard product,
the nonlinear formulations are greatly simplified, while the SJT product
approach minimizes the effort to evaluate the Jacobian derivative matrix in the
Newton-Raphson method for solving the resultant nonlinear formulations. In
addition, the coupled nonlinear formulations for the present problems can
easily be decoupled by means of the Hadamard and SJT product. Therefore, the
size of the simultaneous nonlinear algebraic equations is reduced by two-thirds
and the computing effort and storage requirements are alleviated greatly. Two
recent approaches applying the multiple boundary conditions are employed in the
present DQ nonlinear computations. The solution accuracies are improved
obviously in comparison to the previously given by Bert et al. The numerical
results and detailed solution procedures are provided to demonstrate the superb
efficiency, accuracy and simplicity of the new approaches in applying DQ method
for nonlinear computations.
