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(2011) 27(5):720729
DOI 10.1007/s10409-011-0455-7
RESEARCH PAPER
Abstract This paper proposes a higher-order shear deformation theory to predict the bending response of the laminated composite and sandwich plates with general lamination configurations. The proposed theory a priori satisfies
the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces. Moreover, the number of unknown variables is independent of the number of layers. The first derivatives of
transverse displacements have been taken out from the inplane displacement fields, so that the C0 shape functions are
only required during its finite element implementation. Due
to C0 continuity requirements, the proposed model can be
conveniently extended for implementation in commercial finite element codes. To verify the proposed theory, the fournode C0 quadrilateral element is employed for the interpolation of all the displacement parameters defined at each nodal
point on the composite plate. Numerical results show that
following the proposed theory, simple C0 finite elements
could accurately predict the interlaminar stresses of laminated composite and sandwich plates directly from a constitutive equation, which has caused diculty for the other
global higher order theories.
Keywords Laminated and sandwich composites Higherorder theory C0 continuity requirement Transverse shear
stress
The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10802052, 11072156), the Program for Liaoning
Excellent Talents in University (LR201033), and the Program for
Science and Technology of Shenyang (F10-205-1-16).
Z. Wu () H. Zhu W.-J. Chen
Key Laboratory of Liaoning Province for
Composite Structural Analysis of Aerocraft and Simulation,
Shenyang Aerospace University, 110136 Shenyang, China
e-mail: wuzhenhk@yahoo.com.cn
1 Introduction
Due to their specific strength and stiness, laminated
and sandwich composites have been increasingly used in
aerospace, naval, automobile and other industries. However,
the material mismatch at interfaces as well as the bendingstretching coupling leads to dicult analysis of such laminated structures. In view of this situation, it is desirable to
present advanced laminated plate theories that can predict
accurate global and local responses of laminated composite
structures.
Compared to the conventional material, the shear modulus of laminated composites is so low that the transverse
shear deformation should be taken into account at formulation level. To consider the eects of transverse shear deformation, a number of higher-order displacement models [1
5] have been developed for analysis of laminated composite plates. However, the displacement and its slope in the
higher-order models [15] are continuous across the thickness, so that continuity of transverse shear stresses at the
interfaces is unable to be satisfied. To overcome the drawbacks of these models, Di Sciuva [6] proposed a zig-zag theory which is able to a priori satisfy the continuity conditions
of transverse shear stresses at interfaces. Furthermore, the
zig-zag theory has been extended to predict the mechanical,
thermal and electric behaviors of the smart composite plates
and shells [7,8]. A merit of the zig-zag theory is that continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces
can be a priori satisfied. Nevertheless, the transverse shear
stresses can be reasonably predicted from the zig-zag theory only by integrating the three-dimensional equilibrium
equations for thin and moderately thick laminated composite plates. Moreover, the transverse shear stresses obtained
from the zig-zag theory become gradually inaccurate with
decreasing the length-to-thickness ratio.
The global-local higher order theory proposed by Li
and Liu [9] can predict accurate transverse shear stresses di-
An advanced higher-order theory for laminated composite plates with general lamination angles
rectly from constitutive equations without any postprocessing. Moreover, the number of unknown variables involved
in this model is independent of the number of layers. Numerical results show that the global-local higher order theory
has a good compromise between solution accuracy and eciency. Following this pioneering work, improvements on
the global-local higher order theory [10,11] have been made.
Compared to the zig-zag model, the global-local higher order
theory is able to provide a more accurate description of the
stress field without any postprocessing. However, their finite
element counterparts require C1 interpolation functions, as
the second order derivatives of the transverse displacement
are involved in the strain components. To satisfy C1 continuity conditions in the inter-element, the conforming thin plate
element is generally used however such examples available
in literature are very few and quite complex [12]. Therefore,
it is desired to present a model which can predict accurate
transverse shear stresses without any postprocessing. Moreover, its finite-element counterparts only require C0 interpolation functions. To this end, this paper aims at proposing an
advanced higher order theory for laminated composite structures with general lamination angle. For the proposed model,
the first derivatives of transverse displacements have been
taken out from the in-plane displacement fields, so that the
C0 shape functions are only required during its finite element
implementation.
2 Advanced higher order theory for laminate composites
with general lamination angle
An advanced higher-order theory is proposed to predict
the bending response of laminated composite and sandwich
structures with general lamination configurations. For the
k-th layer in-plane displacements u and v are assumed as a
combination of the third-order global displacement components and the local displacement components, whereas the
transverse displacement is assumed to be constant in the
thickness direction. Thus, the initial displacement fields for
the present model can be given by
uk (x, y, z) = uG (x, y, z) + ukL (x, y, z),
721
(3)
2
zk+1 + zk
, bk =
. The rezk+1 zk
zk+1 zk
lationship between global coordinates and local coordinates
can be seen in Fig. 1.
where k = ak z bk , ak =
uk3 = uk1
3 ,
(4)
vk3 = vk1
3 ,
where k = 2, 3, , n; n is the total number of layers.
(1)
in which, uG and vG are of the global displacement components; ukL and vkL are local displacement components. The
expressions of the global displacement components can be
given by
uG (x, y, z) = u0 (x, y) +
3
i=1
vG (x, y, z) = v0 (x, y) +
3
zi ui (x, y),
(2)
zi vi (x, y).
i=1
(5)
722
Z. Wu, et al.
kxz (z) =
w0
+ u1 + 2zu2 + 3z2 u3 + ak uk1
x
+2ak k uk2 + 3ak k2 uk3 ,
k
k
+N11
v3 + N12
w0
,
y
w0
= A1 u11 + B1 u12 + C1 u1 + D1 u2 + E1 u3
x
+F1 v11 + G1 v12 + H1 v1 + I1 v2 + J1 v3 ,
w0
= A2 u11 + B2 u12 + C2 u1 + D2 u2 + E2 u3
y
w0
+ v1 + 2zv2 + 3z2 v3 + ak vk1
y
kyz (z) =
(6)
w0
k
+ F7k v11 + F8k v12 + F9k v1 + F10
v2
x
k
k w0
+F11
v3 + F12
,
y
+F6k
w0
+ Gk7 v11 + Gk8 v12 + Gk9 v1 + Gk10 v2
+Gk6
x
w0
,
+Gk11 v3 + Gk12
y
uk3
H1k u11
H2k u12
H3k u1
H4k u2
H5k u3
w0
k
+ H7k v11 + H8k v12 + H9k v1 + H10
v2
x
k
k w0
,
+H11
v3 + H12
y
+5k (z)u3
w0
+ Lk7 v11 + Lk8 v12 + Lk9 v1 + Lk10 v2
x
w0
,
+Lk11 v3 + Lk12
y
+Lk6
vk2
M1k u11
M2k u12
M3k u1
M4k u2
M5k u3
w0
k
+ M7k v11 + M8k v12 + M9k v1 + M10
v2
x
k
k w0
,
+M11
v3 + M12
y
+M6k
N7k v11
N8k v12
N9k v1
k
N10
v2
7k (z)v12
(10)
8k (z)v1
wk = w0 ,
(8)
4
Ni u0i ,
u11 =
i=1
6k (z)v11
k
+9k (z)v2 + 10
(z)v3 ,
+H6k
(9)
uj =
4
i=1
4
Ni u11i ,
u12 =
i=1
Ni u ji ,
v0 =
4
i=1
4
Ni u12i ,
i=1
Ni v0i ,
v11 =
4
i=1
Ni v11i ,
(11)
An advanced higher-order theory for laminated composite plates with general lamination angles
v12 =
4
Ni v12i ,
vj =
i=1
4
Ni v ji ,
w0 =
i=1
4
ei = [u0i v0i w0i u11i u12i u1i u2i u3i v11i v12i v1i v2i v3i ],
(i = 1, 2, 3, 4).
Ni w0i ,
i=1
1
where j = 1, 2, 3, Ni = (1 + i )(1 + i ), (i = 1, 2, 3, 4).
4
After using linear strain-displacement relationships, the
strain for the k-th layer can be given by
k = u k = B 1 B 2 B 3 B 4 e,
(12)
where
e = [ e1
B i =
e2
e3
e4 ]T ,
Ni
y
Ni
y
Ni
x
Ni
x
Ni
y
k1
Ni
x
1k
Ni
y
k1
Ni
Ni
+ 1k
y
x
k1
Ni
z
1k
Ni
z
k2
Ni
x
2k
Ni
y
k2
Ni
Ni
+ 2k
y
x
k2
Ni
z
2k
Ni
z
k3
Ni
x
3k
Ni
y
k3
Ni
Ni
+ 3k
y
x
k3
Ni
z
3k
Ni
z
k4
Ni
x
4k
Ni
y
k4
Ni
Ni
+ 4k
y
x
k4
Ni
z
4k
Ni
z
Ni
Ni
k5
+ 5k
y
x
k5
Ni
z
5k
Ni
z
Ni
5k
y
k6
Ni
x
6k
Ni
y
k6
Ni
Ni
+ 6k
y
x
k6
Ni
z
6k
Ni
z
k7
Ni
x
7k
Ni
y
k7
Ni
Ni
+ 7k
y
x
k7
Ni
z
7k
Ni
z
k8
Ni
x
8k
Ni
y
k8
Ni
Ni
+ 8k
y
x
k8
Ni
z
8k
Ni
z
k9
Ni
x
9k
Ni
y
k9
Ni
Ni
+ 9k
y
x
k9
Ni
z
9k
Ni
z
Ni
x
k
10
Ni
y
k10
Ni
k Ni
+ 10
y
x
k10
Ni
z
k
10
Ni
z
k10
After the formation of strain matrix B of the quadrilateral element is established, the element stiness matrix K e
can be given by
n
i
B T Q i B dxdy dz.
(14)
Ke=
i=1
z
0
T
0
.
z
Ni
x
Ni
k5
x
723
i1
(13)
(15)
724
Z. Wu, et al.
4 Numerical examples
In this section, the performance of the proposed higher order
theory is assessed by the following numerical examples. The
entire plate is used to analyze the static response of angle-ply
laminated composite and sandwich plates. Mesh configuration can be found in Fig. 2, and the material constants are
given as follows.
E2 = E3 = 6.89 GPa,
(
x , xy ) = ( x , xy )h2 /q0 a2 ,
(
xz , yz ) = ( xz , yz )h/q0 a,
(
x , xz ) = ( x , xz )/q0 ,
E2 = E3 = 6.89 GPa,
An advanced higher-order theory for laminated composite plates with general lamination angles
725
726
Z. Wu, et al.
Example 2 Square laminated composite plate simply supported on all edges and subjected to a sinusoidal transverse
loading q = q0 sin(x/a) sin(y/b), is analyzed.
Stresses for laminated plates are normalized as follows
(
xz , yz ) = ( xz , yz )h/q0 a.
To further evaluate the range of applicability of the
present theory, a laminated composite plate simply supported
on all edges with lay-up [45 /45 / 45 /45 ] and material 1 is to be taken into account. The distributions of
transverse shear stresses obtained from the present theory are
compared with the three-dimensional elasticity solutions as
well as other published results in Figs. 11 and 12. It can be
found that the present results obtained directly from the constitutive equations agree well with the exact solutions. The
results computed by Cho and Choi [15], however, are less
accurate in comparison with the exact solutions.
5 Conclusions
This paper proposes an advanced higher-order theory a priori satisfying the continuity conditions of transverse shear
stresses at the interfaces of the general laminated composite plates. The merit of the proposed model is that its finiteelement counterparts only require C0 interpolation functions,
as the first derivatives of the transverse displacement are
only involved in the strain expression. Thus, the four-node
isoparametric element is employed for the interpolation of
all the displacement parameters defined at each nodal point
on the composite plate. Numerical results showed that the
present C0 finite element model is quite capable of analyzing angle-ply laminated composite and sandwich plates under dierent support and loading conditions. In fact, the
C0 finite element model, which can accurately predict trans-
Appendix
By using the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at
interfaces, the coecients Fik , Gki , Hik , Lki , Mik and Nik can be determined. For k = 1, the coecients can be written as
F11 = 1,
1
F21 = F31 = F41 = = F12
= 0,
G12 = 1,
L17 = 1,
M81 = 1,
1
M11 = M21 = = M71 = M91 = = M12
= 0,
An advanced higher-order theory for laminated composite plates with general lamination angles
1
H11 = ,
3
H41 =
2z1
,
3a1
H21 =
2
,
3
H51 =
z21
,
a1
1
= 0,
H71 = H81 = = H12
1
N71 = ,
3
1
,
N91 =
3a1
1
N11
=
z21
,
a1
H31 =
1
,
3a1
H61 =
1
,
3a1
2
,
3
1
N10
=
2z1
,
3a1
1
N12
=
1
.
3a1
Hik = Hik1 ,
+ Mik1 ,
Mik = Lki + Lk1
i
Nik = Nik1 ,
where
S 3 = S 6 = k ,
S5 =
3z2k k ,
S 4 = 2zk k ,
S 9 = S 12 = k ,
S 10 = 2zk k ,
S 11 = 3z2k k ,
S 1 = S 2 = S 7 = S 8 = 0,
S3 = S6 = k ,
S4 = 2zk k ,
S5 = 3z2k k ,
S9 = S12 = k ,
S10 = 2zk k ,
S11 = 3z2k k ,
S1 = S2 = S7 = S8 = 0,
i = 1, 2, , 12,
k = 2, 3, , n.
Q
44k1 Q55k Q45k1 Q45k ak1
,
k =
2
ak
Q44k Q55k Q45k
Q45k1 Q45k Q44k1 Q55k 1
,
k = 1 +
ak
Q44k Q55k Q245k
Q
55k1 Q45k Q45k1 Q55k ak1
,
k =
ak
Q44k Q55k Q245k
Q
55k1 Q45k Q45k1 Q55k 1
k =
,
ak
Q44k Q55k Q245k
Q
55k1 Q44k Q45k1 Q45k ak1
,
k =
ak
Q44k Q55k Q245k
Q45k1 Q45k Q55k1 Q44k 1
k = 1 +
,
ak
Q44k Q55k Q245k
Q
44k1 Q45k Q45k1 Q44k ak1
,
k =
ak
Q44k Q55k Q245k
Q
44k1 Q45k Q45k1 Q44k 1
.
k =
ak
Q44k Q55k Q245k
By applying the free conditions of transverse shear stresses at
the upper surface, the following coecients can be obtained
727
A1 =
E1 =
J1 =
E2 =
ki = Rki k + S ik k2 + T ik k3 + Zi ,
ik = Oki k + Pki k2 + Qki k3 + Zi ,
728
Z. Wu, et al.
k
Pk3 = M3k + M6k C1 + M12
C2 ,
where
Z3 = z,
Z4 = z2 ,
Z5 = z3 ,
Zi = 0,
(i 3, 4, 5),
Z8 = z,
Z9 = z2 ,
Z10 = z3 ,
Zi = 0,
(i 8, 9, 10),
Rk1
S 1k
T 1k
F1k
Gk1
+ Gk6 A1
+ Gk12 A2 ,
H1k
H6k A1
k
H12
A2 ,
F6k A1
k
F12
A2 ,
k
Rk2 = F2k + F6k B1 + F12
B2 ,
S 2k
T 2k
Rk3
Gk2
+ Gk6 B1
+ Gk12 B2 ,
H2k
H6k B1
k
H12
B2 ,
F3k
F6k C1
k
+ F12
C2 ,
H3k
F4k
H6k C1
k
H12
C2 ,
F6k D1
k
+ F12
D2 ,
k
Qk3 = N3k + N6k C1 + N12
C2 ,
k
k
+ M6k J1 + M12
J2 ,
Pk10 = M11
k
T 7k = H8k + H6k G1 + H12
G2 ,
k
k
Qk10 = N11
+ N6k J1 + N12
J2 .
k
Rk8 = F9k + F6k H1 + F12
H2 ,
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