Abstract. We present a virtual element method for the Reissner-Mindlin plate bending problem which uses shear strain and deflection as discrete variables without the need of any reduction operator. The proposed method is conforming in [H 1 (Ω)] 2 × H 2 (Ω) and has the advantages of using general polygonal meshes and yielding a direct approximation of the shear strains. The rotations are then obtained by a simple postprocess from the shear strain and deflection. We prove convergence estimates with involved constants that are uniform in the thickness t of the plate. Finally, we report numerical experiments which allow us to assess the performance of the method.
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