Analysis of thickness locking in classical, refined and mixed multilayered plate theories

This paper discusses the thickness locking (TL) mechanism, also known as Poisson locking, which is caused by the use of simplified kinematic assumptions in the plate analysis. Bending and vibration problems have been analyzed for isotropic, orthotropic and multilayered, composite plates. TL has been investigated for a large variety of plate theories: thin plate theory (TPT), First order shear deformation theory (FSDT), higher order theories (HOT), mixed theories and layer-wise (LW) theories. Transverse normal stress σ_zz and strain _zz zero conditions are discussed. Penalty numbers have been introduced to force _zz = 0 condition in the three-dimensional solution and refined plate theories. The unified formulation has been used to implement the whole considered plate modelings.

Analytical closed form solutions have been considered. A comprehensive numerical investigation has been performed. The following main conclusions have been acquired. (1) TL is strongly due to the coupling between transverse normal strain and in-plane strain in the constitutive law (Poisson effect). (2) TL appears if and only if transverse normal strains _zz are assumed constant in the thickness directions (that happens for TPT, FSDT and HOT with constant and linear transverse displacement expansion in the thickness direction). (3) TL can lead to large error (about 25% for deflections and 15% for circular frequency) in thin, isotropic plate analysis. (4) TL reduces significantly in orthotropic and laminated plates. (5) The use of LW models introduces benefits vs TL. (6) Mixed methods do not make any improvements with respect TL. (7) Penalties technique on elastic coefficients can be efficiently used to enforce _zz = 0 conditions in 3D solutions as well as in HOT, mixed and layer-wise plate theories.     

Analytical solutions for vibrations of laminated and sandwich plates using mixed theory

A semi-analytical method has been presented in this paper to evaluate the natural frequencies as well as displacement and stress eigenvectors for simply supported, cross-ply laminated and sandwich plates by using higher order mixed theory. Models based on equivalent single layer as well as layerwise (LW) theories have been formulated. By assuming a non-linear variation of axial displacements through the plate thickness, the warping of the transverse cross-section has been considered. Hamilton’s principle has been employed to derive the equilibrium equations. The proposed LW model fulfills a priori the continuity of displacements as well as the transverse and the normal stress components at each interface between two adjacent layers. Results obtained by present higher order mixed theory have been found in good agreement with those obtained by three-dimensional elasticity solutions. After establishing the accuracy of present results for orthotropic plates, new results for thin and thick sandwich plates have been presented which can serve as benchmark solutions for future investigations.     

The development of laminated composite plate theories: a review

This study investigates and reviews approaches to modelling laminated composite plates. It explores theories that have been proposed and developed and assesses their suitability and functionality. The particular focus in this study has been on normal stresses and the through-thickness distributions of transverse shear. These are important for composite plates as stress-induced failures can occur in three different ways. Therefore, it is essential to understand and calculate transverse shear and normal stress through the thickness of the plate accurately. In this study, previous laminated composite plate theories are categorised and reviewed in a general sense, i.e. not problem specific, and the advantages and disadvantages of each model are discussed. This research mainly focuses on how accurate and efficient the models can predict the transverse shear. It starts with displacement-based theories from very basic models such as Classical laminate plate theory to more complicated and higher-order shear deformation theory. Models are furthermore categorised by how the models consider the overall laminate. In this article, the theories are divided into two parts: Single layer theory, where the whole plate is considered as one layer; and Layerwise theory, where each layer is treated separately. The models based on zig-zag and Discrete Theories are then reviewed, and finally the mixed (hybrid) plate theories are studied.     

Analysis of thermo-elastic plates based on Reissner’s mixed variational theorem

Analysis of composite/sandwich plates under thermal loads has greater significance due to its extensive application in ocean and aerospace structures. This paper addresses the analysis of composite/sandwich plates under thermal load using layer-wise mixed finite element method. The Reissner mixed variational theorem (RMVT) has been used for the thermal analysis of plates. Transverse stress assumptions are made in the framework of RMVT and the resulting finite element describes a priori inter-laminar continuous transverse shear and normal stresses. This method is equally applicable to the analysis of plates under mechanical and thermal loads. Numerical examples are solved to validate the present formulation using a code developed in C-language and the results obtained with the present model are in good agreement with the analytical solutions available in literature.     

层板弯曲与振动的近似分析

横向剪切变形对复合材料层合板弯曲与振动的影响甚大。在本文的近似分析中,假定板在弯曲时横向位移沿整个板厚为常量。横向剪切应变沿各层厚度方向也分别为常量,但各层不同。文中以特殊正交各向异性层合板为例,采用两种不同的方法建立了各层剪切应变间的关系,推演了层合板横向弯曲与振动的微分方程组及边界条件。算例表明,即使层合板的跨——厚比很小,用本文两种分析方案计算位移、应力及固有频率,都仍具有较高的精度。      

Analysis of thick orthotropic laminated composite plates based on higher order shear deformation theory

A two-dimensional finite element model is presented to perform the linear static analysis of laminated orthotropic composite plates based on a refined higher order shear deformation theory. The theory accounts for parabolic distributions of transverse shear stresses and requires no shear correction factors. A finite element program is developed using serendipity element with seven degrees of freedom per node. The present solutions are compared with those obtained using three-dimensional elasticity theory and those obtained by other researchers. The theory accurately predicts displacements and transverse shear stresses compared to previously developed theories for thick plates and are very close to three-dimensional elasticity solutions. The effects of transverse shear deformation, material anisotropy, aspect ratio, fiber orientation and lamination sequence on transverse shear stresses are investigated. The error in values of transverse shear stresses decreases as the number of lamina increases, for a plate of same thickness. An increase in degree of anisotropy results in lower values of deflection in the plate. For cross-ply plate an increase in anisotropy results in an increase in effective stress whereas for angle-ply plate the effect is almost negligible. Through thickness variation of transverse shear stresses are independent of anisotropy. The maximum effective stress increases exponentially at lower values of anisotropy and reaches to an asymptotic value at higher values. The stacking sequence has a significant effect on the transverse deflections and shear stress. Rectangular plates experience less effective, in-plane and transverse shear stresses compared to square plates.     

Laminated composite rectangular and annular plates: A GDQ solution for static analysis with a posteriori shear and normal stress recovery

The Generalized Differential Quadrature (GDQ) Method is applied to study laminated composite degenerate shell panels such as rectangular and annular plates. The theoretical treatment is maintained general in order to expose in a unique way the procedure adopted to obtain the stress profiles through the thickness of plates without specifying the equations for rectangular and annular plates. By simply imposing some geometrical relations the equations governing the problem of plates under consideration, that are degenerate shells, are inferred from the theory of shells of revolution. The mechanical model is based on the so called First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT) deduced from the three-dimensional theory in order to analyse the above moderately thick structural elements. The solution is given in terms of generalized displacement components of points lying on the middle surface of the plate. After the solution of the fundamental system of equations in terms of displacements and rotations, the generalized strains and stress resultants are evaluated by applying the Differential Quadrature rule to the generalized displacements. The transverse shear and normal stress profiles through the laminate thickness are reconstructed a posteriori by using local three-dimensional elasticity equilibrium equations. No preliminary recovery or regularization procedure on the extensional and flexural strain fields is needed when the Differential Quadrature technique is used. By using GDQ procedure through the thickness, the reconstruction procedure needs only to be corrected to properly account for the boundary equilibrium conditions. In order to verify the accuracy of the present method, GDQ results are compared with the ones obtained with semi-analytical formulations and with 3D finite element methods. Stresses of several composite plates are evaluated. Very good agreement is observed without using mixed formulations and higher order kinematical models. Various examples of stress profiles for rectangular and annular plate elements are presented to illustrate the validity and the accuracy of GDQ method.     

梯度功能材料板热弹性分析模型

建立了梯度功能材料板的热弹性分析模型。考虑到梯度功能材料的材料性能沿板厚变化,参照复合料层合板将其沿板厚分为若干层,当层数足够多时,各层材料性能可视为常值。通过引入温度沿板厚折线假设和在位移场中考虑截面翘曲,显著改善了这类问题解的精度。算例显示了文中模型的精度和已有分析方法的不足,讨论了分层数的选取。     

An efficient FE model and Least Square Error method for accurate calculation of transverse shear stresses in composites and sandwich laminates

Accurate evaluation of transverse stresses in laminated composites and sandwich plates using 2D FE models involves cumbersome post-processing techniques. In this paper a simple and efficient method has been proposed for accurate evaluation of through-the-thickness distribution of transverse stresses in composites and sandwich laminates by using a displacement based C⁰ FE model (2D) derived from Refined Higher Order Shear Deformation Theory (RHSDT) and a Least Square Error (LSE) method. The C⁰ FE model satisfies the inter-laminar shear stress continuity conditions at the layer interfaces and zero transverse shear stress conditions at the top and bottom of the plate. In this model the first derivatives of transverse displacement have been treated as independent variables to circumvent the problem of C¹ continuity associated with the above plate theory (RHSDT). The LSE method is applied to the 3D equilibrium equations of the plate problem at the post-processing stage, after in-plane stresses are calculated by using the above FE model based on RHSDT. Thus the proposed method is quite simple and elegant compared to the usual method of integrating the 3D equilibrium equations at the post-processing stage for calculation of transverse stresses in a composite laminate. In the proposed method, the first two equations of equilibrium are utilized to compute the transverse shear stress variation through the thickness of a laminated plate whereas the third equation of equilibrium gives the normal stress variation. Accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated in the numerical examples through comparison of the present results with those obtained from different models based on higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT) and 3D elasticity solutions.     

On Uniform Approximate Solutions in Bending of Symmetric Laminated Plates

A layer-wise theory with the analysis of face ply independent of lamination is used in the bending of symmetric laminates with anisotropic plies. More realistic and practical edge conditions as in Kirchhoff's theory are considered. An iterative procedure based on point-wise equilibrium equations is adapted. The necessity of a solution of an auxiliary problem in the interior plies is explained and used in the generation of proper sequence of two dimensional problems. Displacements are expanded in terms of polynomials in thickness coordinate such that continuity of transverse stresses across interfaces is assured. Solution of a fourth order system of a supplementary problem in the face ply is necessary to ensure the continuity of in-plane displacements across interfaces and to rectify inadequacies of these polynomial expansions in the interior distribution of approximate solutions. Vertical deflection does not play any role in obtaining all six stress components and two in-plane displacements. In overcoming lacuna in Kirchhoff's theory, widely used first order shear deformation theory and other sixth and higher order theories based on energy principles at laminate level in smeared laminate theories and at ply level in layer-wise theories are not useful in the generation of a proper sequence of 2-D problems converging to 3-D problems. Relevance of present analysis is demonstrated through solutions in a simple text book problem of simply supported square plate under doubly sinusoidal load.     

A state of stress and displacement of elastic plates using simple and mixed shear deformation theories

This paper presents accurate two-dimensional solutions for bending response of four types of single-layer orthotropic rectangular plates. The plates considered are of the type having two opposite sides simply-supported, and two other sides having combinations of simply-supported, clamped, and free-boundary conditions. Analytical solutions for deflections and stresses of rectangular plates are developed by means of the simple (SFPT) and mixed (MFPT) first-order shear deformable plate theories. The present MFPT not only shows improvement on predicting frequencies, critical buckling loads, deflections and in-plane stresses, but also accounts for variable transverse shear stress distributions through the thickness. This puts into evidence the important role played by MFPT in the modeling of homogeneous plate theories, which in contrast to SFPT does not require the incorporation of a shear-correction factor. For illustrative purposes, sample free vibration, stability, and bending problems for simply supported orthotropic plates are considered and comparisons of the obtained results are made with the exact and higher-order shear deformation theory results given in the literature.     

Interlaminar shear stresses around an internal part-through hole in a laminated composite plate

The equilibrium/compatibility method, which is a semi-analytical post-processing method, is employed for computation of hitherto unavailable through-thickness variation of interlaminar (transverse) shear stresses in the vicinity of the bi-layer interface circumferential re-entrant corner line of an internal part-through circular cylindrical hole weakening an edge-loaded laminated composite plate. A C^o${\text{C}}^{\text{o}}$-type triangular composite plate element, based on the assumptions of transverse inextensibility and layer-wise constant shear-angle theory (LCST), is utilized to first compute the in-plane stresses and layer-wise through-thickness average interlaminar shear stresses, which serve as the starting point for computation of through-thickness distribution of interlaminar shear stresses in the vicinity of the bi-layer interface circumferential re-entrant corner line of the part-through hole. The same stresses computed by the conventional equilibrium method (EM) are, in contrast, in serious error in the presence of the bi-layer interface circumferential re-entrant corner line singularity arising out of the internal part-through hole, and are found to violate the interfacial compatibility condition. The computed interlaminar shear stress can vary from negative to positive through the thickness of a cross-ply plate in the neighborhood of this kind of stress singularity.     

Transient response of composite sandwich plates

The transient response of orthotropic, layered composite sandwich plates is investigated by using two new C⁰ four and nine node finite element formulations of a refined form of Reddy's higher-order theory. This refined third order theory accounts for parabolic variation of the transverse shear stresses, and requires no shear correction factors. The assumed strain approach is employed to model both thin and thick plates without any major defects like shear locking and parasitic spurious zero energy modes. A consistent mass matrix formulation is adopted. The Newmark direct integration scheme is used to solve the governing equilibrium equations. The parametric effects of plate aspect ratio, length to thickness ratio, boundary conditions and lamination scheme on the transient response are investigated. The present results are in very close agreement with earlier published results in the literature and can serve as a benchmark for future investigators.     

Buckling Analysis of Composite Sandwich Plates with Flexible Core Using Improved High-Order Theory

A new improved high-order theory is presented for global and local buckling analysis of sandwich plates with soft orthotropic core. Continuity conditions for transverse shear stresses at the interfaces as well as the conditions of zero transverse shear stresses on the upper and lower surfaces of plate are satisfied. Overall buckling loads, as well as wrinkling loads, are obtained for various sandwich plates. Effect of geometrical parameters and material properties of face sheets and core are studied on the overall buckling and face wrinkling of sandwich plates.     

On the simple and mixed first-order theories for plates resting on elastic foundations

This article investigates the bending response of an orthotropic rectangular plate resting on two-parameter elastic foundations. Analytical solutions for deflection and stresses are developed by means of the simple and mixed first-order shear deformation plate theories. The present mixed plate theory accounts for variable transverse shear stress distributions through the thickness and does not require a shear correction factor. The governing equations that include the interaction between the plate and the foundations are obtained. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the behavior of the system. The results are compared with those obtained in the literature using three-dimensional elasticity theory or higher-order shear deformation plate theory to check the accuracy of the simple and mixed first-order shear deformation theories.     

Bending theory of laminated plate

An exact solution is presented for the problem of an infinite cantilever anisotropic plate with only a single plane of elastic symmetry parallel to the xy-plane and with elastic coefficients changing through the thickness, and the bending theory of anisotropic laminate plates is established. The solution is obtained in an inverse form and is then used to obtain an exact solution for the infinite cantilever anisotropic laminated plate. On the basis of this solution, an assumption about the in-plane displacements is made for a laminated plate of N layers, each of which possesses only a single plane of elastic symmetry parallel to the xy-plane. Under this assumption the in-plane displacements and transverse shear stresses are continuous between layers. Using the principle of minimum potential energy, the equilibrium equations and boundary conditions are obtained which are similar to the classical theory of laminated plate. The closed form solutions are compared with the exact solutions. The results show that the bending theory is in excellent agreement with the exact solution.     

Analytical solutions of heterogeneous rectangular plates with transverse small periodicity

We consider the cylindrical bending of a simply-supported orthotropic rectangular plate, which is small-periodically heterogeneous in the thickness direction. A homogenized plate model is first established by using the two-scale asymptotic expansion method. The state-space method is then adopted to analyze the homogenized plate exactly. Analytical expressions for two sets of approximate stresses, i.e. the homogenized model stresses and the zeroth-order two-scale model stresses, are presented. To check the accuracy of the approximate stresses, the state-space method is also applied to the original laminate plate or the approximate laminate model of the original heterogeneous plate with continuously varying material properties to obtain an analytical solution. In the latter case, the analytical solution is approximate but approaches the exact solution gradually when the number of layers increases. In order to avoid numerical instability, the joint coupling matrix is utilized. Numerical results illustrate that the two-scale model can predict accurately the realistic stress field in the original plate if it contains enough repeated units along the thickness.     

Efficient three-node triangular element based on a new mixed global-local higher-order theory for multilayered composite plates

Abstract

An accurate and computationally attractive global-local higher-order theory (GLHT) is developed for the linearly elastic analysis of cross-ply multilayered composite plates. The theory is derived using the kinematic assumptions of GLHT in conjunction with the Reissner mixed variational principle. For a low-order linear element, it is difficult to accurately compute the transverse shear stresses even applying the three-dimensional equilibrium equation post-processing technique. The reason for this difficulty is that the higher-order derivatives of displacement variables are included in the transverse shear stress fields after using the post-processing technique. Thus, by employing the Reissner mixed variational principle, the higher-order derivatives of displacement variables have been removed from the transverse shear stress components before the finite element procedure is implemented. Based on the mixed GLHT, a computationally efficient C⁰-type three-node triangular plate element with linear interpolation function is proposed for the analysis of multilayered composite plates. The advantage of the present formulation is that no post-processing approach is needed to calculate the transverse shear stresses while maintaining the computational accuracy of a linear plate element. Performance of the proposed element is assessed by comparing with several benchmark solutions. Numerical results show that the present elements can robustly and accurately predict the displacements and stresses of multilayered composite plates.     

Advanced variable kinematics Ritz and Galerkin formulations for accurate buckling and vibration analysis of anisotropic laminated composite plates

Accurate free-vibrations and linearized buckling analysis of anisotropic laminated plates with different lamination schemes and simply supported boundary condition are addressed in this paper. Approximation methods, such as Rayleigh-Ritz, Galerkin and Generalized Galerkin, based on Principle of Virtual Displacement are derived in the framework of Carrera’s Unified Formulation (CUF). CUF widely used in the analysis of composite laminate beams, plates and shells, have been here formulated both for the same and different expansion orders, for the displacement components, in the thickness layer-plate direction. An extensive assessment of advanced and refined plate theories, which include Equivalent single Layer (ESL), Zig-Zag (ZZ) and Layer-wise (LW) models, with increasing number of displacement variables is provided. Accuracy of the results is shown to increase by refining the theories. Convergence studies are made in order to demonstrate that accurate results are obtained examining thin and thick plates using trigonometric approximation functions. The effects of boundary terms, upon frequency parameters and critical loads are evaluated. The effects of the various parameters (material, number of layers, fiber orientation, thickness ratio, orthotropic ratio) upon the frequencies and critical loads are discussed as well. Numerical results are compared with 3D exact solution when available from the open literature.