Comparative study of finite element based response evaluation methods for laminated plates

In this paper, four methods for the through the thickness response evaluation of laminated composite and sandwich plates are comparatively evaluated in terms of their characteristics and numerical accuracy. The laminated composite and sandwich plates are subjected to thermo-mechanical loading. The four methods include two post-processor-type methods and two re-analysis-type methods. The post-processor-type methods based on the three-dimensional stress equilibrium equations and the three-dimensional thermo-elasticity equations. And the re-analysis methods are based on the incorporation of the nonlinear through the thickness displacements recovered using post-processing technique in the re-analysis phase. The accuracy of the proposed methods for the evaluation of the through the thickness responses of the laminated plates are assessed via numerical examples of various configurations of laminated plates. Also, applicability and computational efficiencies of the methods are discussed. This research was supported in part by a grant from the BK-21 program for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Research at Seoul National University. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology through the National Laboratory Programs.