Thermal post buckling behavior of rectangular antisymmetric cross-ply composite plates

Summary The thermal post buckling behavior of simply-supported, antisymmetric cross-ply plates with immovable edges is investigated in this paper. For this purpose, a one term approximation for the inplane and transverse displacements is assumed and Rayleigh-Ritz method is used to obtain the equations of equilibrium. The question, whether the true thermal buckling (bifurcation buckling under thermal loads) exists for such plates is also addressed to. The conditions under which the thermal buckling in the classical sense occurs are derived. It is shown that nonlinear bending stiffness for such plates is direction dependent, because of an extra quadratic nonlinear term in addition to the usual cubic nonlinear term in the governing equilibrium equation. Results are presented for various plate configurations.     

Analytical solution for bending of cross-ply laminated plates under thermo-mechanical loading

The static thermo-elastic response of symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-ply laminated plates has been investigated by the use of a unified shear deformation plate theory. The present plate theory enables the trial and testing of different through-the-thickness transverse shear-deformation distributions and, among them, strain distributions that do not involve the undesirable implications of the transverse shear correction factors. The validity of the present theory is demonstrated by comparison with solutions available in the literature. A wide variety of results is presented for the static response of simply supported rectangular plates under non-uniform sinusoidal mechanical and/or thermal loadings. The influence of material anisotropy, aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, thermal expansion coefficients ratio and stacking sequence on the thermally induced response is studied.     

Non-linear bending analysis of laminated sector plates using Generalized Differential Quadrature

Non-linear static analysis of laminated sector plates with any combination of clamped, simply supported and free edges is presented using Generalized Differential Quadrature (GDQ) method. Particular interest of this study is large deformation of asymmetric sector plates with free edges. Based on the first-order shear deformation theory and von Kármán type non-linearity, the governing system of equations include a system of 13 partial differential equations (PDEs) in terms of unknown displacements, forces and moments. Successive application of the GDQ technique to the governing equations resulted in a system of non-linear algebraic equations. The Newton–Raphson iterative scheme is then employed to solve the system of non-linear equations. Illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate accuracy and rapid convergences of the method with small number of grid points. Predictions of the presented method show very good agreement with other numerical studies available in the literature. Further results for asymmetric laminated sector plates with free edges are also presented for future references.     

Hygrothermal analysis of antisymmetric cross-ply laminates using a refined plate theory

The effect of hygrothermal conditions on the antisymmetric cross-ply laminates has been investigated using a unified shear deformation plate theory. The present plate theory enables the trial and testing of different through-the-thickness transverse shear-deformation distributions and, among them, strain distributions do not involve the undesirable implications of the transverse shear correction factors. The differential equations of laminated plates whose deformations are governed by either the shear deformation theories or the classical one are derived. Displacement functions that identically satisfy boundary conditions are used to reduce the governing equations to a set of coupled ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients. A wide variety of results is presented for the static response of simply supported rectangular plates under non-uniform sinusoidal hygrothermal/thermal loadings. The influence of material anisotropy, aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, thermal expansion coefficients ratio and stacking sequence on the hygrothermally induced response is studied.     

Thermomechanical buckling of hybrid cross-ply laminated rectangular plates

A thermomechanical buckling analysis is presented for simply supported rectangular symmetric cross-ply laminated composite plates that are integrated with surface-mounted piezoelectric actuators and are subjected to the combined action of in-plane compressive edge loads, two types of thermal loads, and constant applied actuator voltage. The formulation of equations is based on the classical laminated plate theory and the von-Karman non-linear kinematic relations. The analysis uses an exact method to obtain closed-form solutions for the buckling load. The effects of applied actuator voltage, thermal and mechanical loads, plate geometry, and lay-up configuration of the laminated plates are investigated. The novelty of the present work is to obtain closed-form solutions for electro-thermomechanical buckling of hybrid composite plates, and to cover non-uniform temperature distribution loading. The results for various states are verified with known data in the literature.     

Boundary discontinuous Fourier analysis of thick cross-ply clamped plates

A new analytical solution to the problem of deformation of a finite-dimensional general cross-ply thick rectangular plate, modeled using a higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT), is presented. A solution methodology, based on a boundary-discontinuous generalized double Fourier series approach, is used to solve a system of five highly coupled linear partial differential equations, generated by the HSDT-based laminated plate analysis, with the C3-type clamped boundary condition prescribed at all four edges. The numerical accuracy of the solution is ascertained by studying the convergence characteristics of deflections and moments of a cross-ply plate. The primary focus of the present study is to investigate the effect of end clamping on the response of a thick laminated plate, while keeping the in-plane end constraints unaltered. Important numerical results presented include sensitivity of the predicted response quantities of interest to lamination, material property, thickness effects and end clamping as well as their interactions.     

A global-local higher order theory including interlaminar stress continuity and C0 plate bending element for cross-ply laminated composite plates

A C⁰-type global-local higher order theory including interlaminar stress continuity is proposed for the cross-ply laminated composite and sandwich plates in this paper, which is able to a priori satisfy the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces. Moreover, total number of unknowns involved in the model is independent of number of layers. Compared to other higher-order theories satisfying the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces, merit of the proposed model is that the first derivatives of transverse displacement w have been taken out from the in-plane displacement fields, so that the C⁰ interpolation functions is only required during its finite element implementation. To verify the present model, a C⁰ three-node triangular element is used for bending analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates. It ought to be shown that all variables involved in present model are discretized by only using linear interpolation functions within an element. Numerical results show that the C⁰ plate element based on the present theory may accurately calculate transverse shear stresses without any postprocessing, and the present results agree well with those obtained from the C¹-type higher order theory. Compared with the C¹ plate bending element, the present finite element is simple, convenient to use and accurate enough.     

Thermal bending of composite plates

Exact solutions are presented for the thermal deflections and moments of thin rectangular orthotropic plates for a variety of boundary conditions. The results are applied to high modulus graphite/epoxy and glass/resin composite plates. Numerical results for maximum deflections and moments corresponding to various plate dimensions are given. The influence of fibre content on thermal behaviour is also studied, and it is observed that the fibre content has a significant effect.     

Non-linear bending analysis of plates and shells by using a mixed spline boundary element and finite element method

In this paper, a mixed spline boundary element and finite element method is suggested to analyse non-linear bending of plates and shells. Only the fundamental solutions for plates are required in order to establish the boundary integral equations. A quadratic rectangular spline element is adopted to deal with the membrane effects of plates and shells. Numerical examples show that the approach developed in this paper is very effective and especially promising for the non-linear analysis of plates and shells.     

Buckling of symmetric cross-ply square plates with various boundary conditions

The buckling analysis of cross-ply laminated square plates subjected to three types of in-plane forces and various edge boundary conditions is presented on the basis of a unified five-degree-of-freedom shear deformable plate theory. The employment of the appropriate “shear deformation shape functions” in the theory leads to certain shear deformable plate theories developed previously, also, fulfills the requirement of the continuity conditions among the layers. The governing equations of buckling behaviour of completely simply supported cross-ply laminated plates are solved analytically. For the plates with different combinations of free, clamped and simply supported boundary conditions at their edges, the Ritz method is applied by assuming the displacement components as the double series of simple algebraic polynomials. The numerical results obtained on the basis of various plate theories for uniaxial, biaxial compression and compression–tension types of loading and different length-to-thickness ratios are presented and compared with the ones available in the literature.     

Three-dimensional exact elasticity solutions for antisymmetric angle-ply laminated composite plates

International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design - This paper is concerned with the derivation of the benchmark three-dimensional exact solutions for the static analysis of rectangular...     

Flapwise bending vibration of rotating plates

Linear equations of motion for the flapwise bending vibration analysis of rotating plates are derived in the present work. The equations of motion are transformed into dimensionless forms in which three dimensionless parameters are identified. The effects of the dimensionless parameters on the characteristics of the flapwise bending vibration of rotating plates are investigated. The accuracy of the present modelling method is verified through comparing its numerical results to those obtained by an existing method in the related literature. Eigenvalue loci crossing and eigenvalue loci veering phenomena are observed and discussed. The variations of mode shapes associated with the phenomena are also exhibited. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermomechanical postbuckling analysis of symmetric and antisymmetric composite plates with imperfections

In the present paper the postbuckling response of symmetrically and antisymmetrically laminated composite plates subjected to a combination of uniform temperature distribution through the thickness and in-plane compressive edge loading is presented. The structural model is based on a higher-order shear deformation theory incorporating von Karman nonlinear strain displacement relations. Adopting the Galerkin procedure, the governing nonlinear partial differential equations are converted into a set of nonlinear algebraic equations, which are solved using the Newton–Raphson iterative procedure. The critical buckling temperature is obtained from the solution of the linear eigenvalue problem. Postbuckled equilibrium paths are obtained for symmetrically laminated cross-ply, quasi-isotropic and antisymmetric angle-ply composite plates with and without initial geometric imperfections. Modal participation of each mode in the postbuckling deflection is reported using a multi-term Galerkin procedure.     

Bending analysis of antisymmetric angle-ply laminated plates including transverse shear effects

In this paper an approximate analysis is presented for the bending of rectangular, simply supported, antisymmetric angle-ply laminated plates subjected to sinusoidal transverse loads. A published refined shear deformation theory is used to obtain a closed-form solution. Numerical results are compared with those given by three-dimensional elasticity solutions, first-order shear deformation theory solutions and classical lamination theory solutions. The present theory gives a better estimate of the stresses and deflections.     

A generalized Navier's approach for solution of clamped moderately-thick cross-ply plates

A novel generalization of Navier's approach to obtain a unique boundary-continuous analytical or strong (differential) form of solution to the hitherto unsolved problem of bending of a moderately-thick rectangular cross-ply clamped plate is presented. The five highly coupled linear second-order partial differential equations with constant coef-ficients, that arise out of the utilization of first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) into the formulation, are solved using boundary-continuous double Fourier series, that satisfy the prescribed C4-type clamped boundary conditions a priori. Convergence characteristics of transverse displacement (deflection) and bending moment have been numerically established. Other numerical results presented include: (i) comparison with the available boundary-discontinuous analytical solutions based on classical lamination theory (CLT), (ii) variation of displacements and moments with the length-to-thickness and length-to-width ratios, and (iii) spatial variation of these response quantities.     

粘弹性复合材料层合板壳的动力稳定性分析

分析面内周期激励下粘弹性层合平板以及轴向周期荷载作用下粘弹性层合圆柱壳的动力稳定性。设粘弹性复合材料服从Boltzmann积分型本构关系，其松弛模量由Prony—Dirichlet级数表示，基于薄板与薄壳理论，分别得到对称正交铺设层合板与层合圆柱壳的微分-积分型动力学方程，并应用谐波平衡法直接求解，忽略积分运算所产生的衰减项，导出确定动力不稳定区域边界的特征方程。分析结果表明，主要动力不稳定区域的缩小与材料的粘性参数以及结构横向振动的基频密切相关。     

On transverse matrix cracking in cross-ply laminates loaded in simple bending

A one-dimensional analysis of a cross-ply laminate, containing cracked transverse plies, loaded in flexure is presented. Simple bending theory is used in conjunction with a shear-lag analysis, to calculate the degraded longitudinal modulus of a cracked transverse ply, enabling the flexural modulus of the laminate to be determined. The solution is shown to agree well with a more sophisticated stress transfer model in the literature. The analysis is then extended to calculate the applied bending moment at transverse crack onset under flexural loading using a fracture mechanics approach. The results suggest that the in situ transverse ply stress at which matrix cracking commences for the beam loaded in flexure is very close to the stress level at which the same ply would crack if the laminate were loaded in tension.     

Non-homogeneous response of cross-ply laminated elastic plates using a higher-order theory

A consistent formulation for the bending of cross-ply laminated composite plates that possess non-homogeneous elastic properties is presented. Based on a third-order shear deformation plate theory, the governing equations are obtained using the principle of virtual work. With the help of the small parameter method, a wide variety of results are presented for the symmetric and antisymmetric analysis of non-homogeneous rectangular laminated plates. The influence of non-homogeneity, lamination schemes, aspect ratio and material anisotropy on the deflections and stresses is investigated. The new results for non-homogeneous response of composite plates should serve as bench marks for future comparisons.     

Study of critical buckling loads and modes of cross-ply laminated annular plates

Buckling of composite annular plates under uniform internal and external radial edge loads have been investigated using energy method. Trefftez rule is used in the stability equations. The symmetric buckling of symmetric cross-ply laminates is considered. In this paper, buckling behavior for the three laminates (90/0)_2s, (90/0₂/90)_s and (90₂/0₂)_s are studied. Influence of some parameters such as thickness, stacking sequence, type of supports and the ratio of hole to sheet radius on buckling loads and modes are investigated. The results of the energy method are compared with the results of numerical method. Based on the results, in the plates with clamped boundary conditions the symmetric buckling assumption is not accurate, contrary to other boundary conditions.     

Influence of transverse shear on stochastic instability of symmetric cross-ply laminated plates

The dynamic instability problem of symmetrically laminated cross-ply plates, compressed by time-dependent stochastic membrane forces, is investigated. The effect of shear deformation is included in the formulation. By using the direct Liapunov method, bounds of the almost sure instability of cross-ply plates are obtained. Furthermore, it is shown how the viscous damping coefficient, variances of the stochastic forces, ratio of the principal lamina stiffnesses, number of layers, plate aspect ratio, and cross-ply ratio influence the instability regions. A special attention is given to the proper choice of two shear correction factors of the laminated plate. Numerical calculations are performed for the Gaussian process with a zero mean and variance σ² as well as for the harmonic process with an amplitude A.