Buckling of soft-core sandwich plates with angle-ply face sheets by means of a C0 finite element formulation

In order to avoid using C¹ interpolation functions in finite element implementation of the previous zig–zag theories, artificial constraints, in which the first derivatives of transverse displacement will be replaced by the assumed variables, are usually employed. However, such assumption will violate continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces. Differing from previous work, this paper will propose a C⁰-type zig–zag theory for buckling analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates with general configurations. The first derivatives of transverse displacement have been taken out from a displacement field of the proposed zig–zag theory. Thus, the C⁰ interpolation functions are only required in finite element implementations of the proposed model. Without use of any artificial constraints, an eight-node quadrilateral element based on the proposed model is presented by incorporating the terms associated with the geometric stiffness matrix. In order to verify performance of the proposed model, several buckling problems of sandwich plates with soft core have been analyzed. Numerical results show that the proposed model is able to predict accurately buckling loads of the soft-core sandwich plates with varying fiber orientations of face sheets.     

A new zig-zag theory and C<Superscript>0</Superscript> plate bending element for composite and sandwich plates

A higher-order zig-zag theory for laminated composite and sandwich structures is proposed. The proposed theory satisfies the interlaminar continuity conditions and free surface conditions of transverse shear stresses. Moreover, the number of unknown variables involved in present model is independent of the number of layers. Compared to the zig-zag theory available in literature, the merit of present theory is that the first derivatives of transverse displacement 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 obtain accurately transverse shear stresses by integrating three-dimensional equilibrium equations within one element, a six-node triangular element is employed to model the present zig-zag theory. Numerical results show that the present zig-zag theory can predict more accurate in-plane displacements and stresses in comparison with other zig-zag theories. Moreover, it is convenient to obtain transverse shear stresses by integration of equilibrium equations, as the C⁰ shape functions is only used when implemented in a finite element.     

A C<Superscript>0</Superscript>-type zig–zag theory and finite element for laminated composite and sandwich plates with general configurations

In order to conveniently develop C⁰ continuous element for the accurate analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates with general configurations, this paper develops a C⁰-type zig–zag theory in which the interlaminar continuity of transverse shear stresses is a priori satisfied and the number of unknowns is independent of the number of layers. The present theory is applicable not only to the cross-ply but also to the angle-ply laminated composite and sandwich plates. On the premise of retaining the merit of previous zig–zag theories, the derivatives of transverse displacement have been taken out from the displacement fields. Therefore, based on the proposed zig–zag theory, it is very easy to construct the C⁰ continuous element. To assess the performance of the proposed model, the classical quadratic six-node triangular element with seven degrees of freedom at each node is presented for the static analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates. The typical examples are taken into account to assess the performance of finite element based on the proposed zig–zag theory by comparing the present results with the three-dimensional elasticity solutions. Numerical results show that the present model can produce the more accurate deformations and stresses compared with the previous zig–zag theories.     

考虑横法向热应变的C~0型Reddy板理论和三角形板单元

考虑横法向热变形,建议了C0型Reddy理论,并用于分析复合材料层合/夹层板热膨胀问题。虽然考虑了横法向热应变,但不增加额外的位移变量。此理论位移场不含有横向位移一阶导数,构造有限元时仅需C0插值函数。基于这一模型,运用虚位移原理推导了复合材料板平衡方程以及构造了6节点三角形板单元,并分析了简支复合材料层合/夹层板的热膨胀问题。数值结果表明,建立的模型能准确分析复合材料层合/夹层板热膨胀问题,而忽略横法向热应变的理论分析热膨胀问题误差较大。     

复合材料层合厚板锯齿理论及有限元分析

对于较厚复合材料弯曲问题,已有锯齿型厚板理论最大误差超过35%。为了合理地分析较厚复合材料弯曲问题,发展了准确高效的锯齿型厚板理论。此理论位移变量个数独立于层合板层数,其面内位移不含有横向位移一阶导数,构造有限元时仅需C0插值函数,故称此理论为C0型锯齿厚板理论。基于发展的锯齿理论,构造了六节点三角形单元并推导了复合材料层合/夹层板弯曲问题有限元列式。为验证C0型锯齿厚板理论性能,分析了复合材料层合/夹层厚板弯曲问题,并与已有C1型锯齿理论对比。结果表明,本文的C0型锯齿厚板理论最大误差15%,比已有锯齿型厚板理论准确高效。     

A layerwise C0-type higher order shear deformation theory for laminated composite and sandwich plates

A novel layerwise C⁰-type higher order shear deformation theory (layerwise C⁰-type HSDT) for the analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates is proposed. A C⁰-type HSDT is used in each lamina layer and the continuity of in-plane displacements and transverse shear stresses at inner-laminar layer is consolidated. The present layerwise theory retains only seven variables without increasing the number of variables when the number of lamina layers are intensified. The shear stresses through the plate thickness derived from the constitutive equation of the present theory have the same shape as those calculated from the equilibrium equation. In addition, the artificial constraints are added in the principle of virtual displacements (PVD) and are certainly fulfilled through a penalty approach. In this paper, two C⁰-continuity numerical methods, such as the Finite Element Method (FEM) and Bézier isogeometric element (BIEM) are utilized to solve a discrete system of equations derived from the PVD. Several numerical examples with various geometries, aspect ratios, stiffness ratios, and boundary conditions are investigated and compared with the 3D elasticity solution, the analytical, as well as, numerical solutions based on various plate theories.     

Buckling and post-buckling of laminated composite plates

This paper addresses the buckling and post-buckling of laminated composite plates using higher order shear deformation theory associated with Green–Lagrange non-linear strain–displacement relationships. All higher order terms arising from nonlinear strain–displacement relations are included in the formulation. The present plate theory satisfies zero transverse shear strain conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate in von Karman sense. A C⁰ isoparametric finite element is developed for the present nonlinear model.     

Vibration and buckling of laminated sandwich plates having interfacial imperfections

The vibration and buckling characteristics of sandwich plates having laminated stiff layers are studied for different degrees of imperfections at the layer interfaces using a refined plate theory. With this plate theory, the through thickness variation of transverse shear stresses is represented by piece-wise parabolic functions where the continuity of these stresses is satisfied at the layer interfaces by taking jumps in the transverse shear strains at the interfaces. The transverse shear stresses free condition at the plate top and bottom surfaces is also satisfied. The inter-laminar imperfections are represented by in-plane displacement jumps at the layer interfaces and characterized by a linear spring layer model. It is quite interesting to note that this plate model having all these refined features requires unknowns only at the reference plane. To have generality in the analysis, finite element technique is adopted and it is carried out with a new triangular element developed for this purpose, as any existing element cannot model this plate model. As there is no published result on imperfect sandwich plates, the problems of perfect sandwich plates and imperfect ordinary laminates are used for validation.     

一种预测层合板层间剪应力的新后处理方法

层合板是航空航天领域典型的承力构件,过大的层间应力是导致其分层失效的主要原因.准确的层间应力预测往往依赖于三维平衡方程后处理方法(TPM).然而,该方法需要计算面内应力的一阶导,使得基于C0型板理论构造的线性单元无法使用TPM计算横向剪应力.本文在三维平衡方程后处理方法的基础上,提出了一种新后处理方法(NPM).新后处理方法通过虚功等效法消除了三维平衡方程后处理方法中产生的位移参数的高阶导.基于提出的新后处理方法和C0型板理论,仅需使用线性单元就可以预测层合板的横向剪应力.为了验证所提方法的有效性,本文基于修正锯齿理论(RZT)和所提方法构造了一种C0连续的三节点三角形线性板单元.数值算例表明,所提方法和三维平衡方程后处理方法具有相同的计算精度,提出的板单元能够准确高效地预测层合板的横向剪应力.此外,所提方法便于结合现有的有限元商用软件使用,基于商用软件中板壳单元获得的节点位移,使用新后处理方法极易获得准确的层间剪应力.     

C~0型高阶锯齿理论及复合材料厚梁热应力分析

基于已有锯齿理论构造单元时,需使用满足单元间C1连续的插值函数,难于构造多节点高阶单元,而且精度较低。针对已有锯齿理论存在的问题,本文首先发展了C0型锯齿理论。通过虚位移原理推导出在热载荷作用下复合材料梁的平衡方程,并给出了简支复合材料层合梁解析解。基于发展的锯齿理论分析了复合材料夹层梁和层合梁热膨胀问题,并与其他理论结果对比。数值结果表明,发展的C0型锯齿理论能克服已有锯齿理论的难题。     

A quadrilateral element based on refined global-local higher-order theory for coupling bending and extension thermo-elastic multilayered plates

In this paper a refined higher-order global-local theory is presented to analyze the laminated plates coupled bending and extension under thermo-mechanical loading. The in-plane displacement fields are composed of a third-order polynomial of global coordinate z in the thickness direction and 1,2–3 order power series of local coordinate ζ_k in the thickness direction of each layer, which is identical to the 1,2–3 global-local higher-order theory by Li and Liu [Li, X.Y., Liu, D., 1997. Generalized laminate theories based on double superposition hypothesis. Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 40, 1197–1212] Moreover, a second-order polynomial of global coordinate z in the thickness direction is chosen as transverse displacement field. The transverse shear stresses can satisfy continuity at interfaces, and the number of unknowns does not depend on the layer numbers of the laminate.Based on this theory, a quadrilateral laminated plate element satisfying the requirement of C¹ continuity is presented. By solving both bending and thermal expansion problems of laminates, it can be found that the present refined theory is very accurate and obviously superior to the existing 1,2–3 global-local higher-order theory. The most attractive feature of this theory is that the transverse shear stresses can be accurately predicted from direct use of constitutive equations without any post-processing method. It is also shown that the present quadrilateral element possesses higher accuracy.     

Dynamic analysis of composite plate with multiple delaminations based on higher-order zigzag theory

In a recent paper, Cho and Kim [Journal of Applied Mechanics] proposed a higher-order cubic zigzag theory of laminated composites with multiple delaminations. The proposed theory is not only accurate but also efficient because it work with a minimal number of degrees of freedom with the application of interface continuity conditions as well as bounding surface conditions of transverse shear stresses including delaminated interfaces. In this work, we investigate the dynamic behavior of laminated composite plates with multiple delaminations. A four-node finite element based on the efficient higher-order zigzag plate theory of laminated composite plates with multiple delaminations is developed to refine the prediction of frequencies, mode shape, and time response. Through the dynamic version of the variational approach, the dynamic equilibrium equations and variationally consistent boundary conditions are obtained. Natural frequency prediction and time response analysis of a composite plate with multiple delaminations demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the present finite element method. To prevent penetration violation at the delamination interfaces, unilateral contact constraints by Lagrange multiplier method are applied in the time response analysis. The present finite element is suitable for the prediction of dynamic response of thick composite plates with multiple and arbitrary shaped delaminations.     

Stochastic nonlinear bending response of laminated composite plates with system randomness under lateral pressure and thermal loading

In this paper, the effect of sensitivity of randomness in system parameters on the nonlinear transverse central deflection response of laminated composite plates subjected to transverse uniform lateral pressure and thermal loading is examined. System parameters such as the lamina material properties, expansion of thermal coefficients, lamina plate thickness and lateral load are modelled as basic random variables. A higher order shear deformation theory in the von-Karman sense is used to model the system behavior of the laminated plate. A direct iterative-based C ⁰ nonlinear finite element method in conjunction with the first-order perturbation technique developed by the authors is extended for thermal problem to obtain the second-order response statistics, i.e., mean and variance of the nonlinear transverse deflection of the plate. Typical numerical results of composite plates with temperature independent and dependent material properties subjected to uniform temperature and combination of uniform and transverse temperature are obtained for various combinations of geometric parameters, uniform lateral pressures, staking sequences and boundary conditions. The results have been compared with those available in the literature and an independent Monte Carlo simulation.     

Novel shear deformation model for moderately thick and deep laminated composite conoidal shell

This article presents a novel mathematical model for moderately thick and deep laminated composite conoidal shell. The zero transverse shear stress at top and bottom of conoidal shell conditions is applied. Novelty in the present formulation is the inclusion of curvature effect in displacement field and cross curvature effect in strain field. This present model is suitable for deep and moderately thick conoidal shell. The peculiarity in the conoidal shell is that due to its complex geometry, its peak value of transverse deflection is not at its center like other shells. The C¹ continuity requirement associated with the present model has been suitably circumvented. A nine-node curved quadratic isoparametric element with seven nodal unknowns per node is used in finite element formulation of the proposed mathematical model. The present model results are compared with experimental, elasticity, and numerical results available in the literature. This is the first effort to solve the problem of moderately thick and deep laminated composite conoidal shell using parabolic transverse shear strain deformation across the thickness of conoidal shell. Many new numerical problems are solved for the static study of moderately thick and deep laminated composite conoidal shell considering 10 different practical boundary conditions, four types of loadings, six different hl/hh (minimum rise/maximum rise) ratios, and four different laminations.     

Interlaminar stresses and energy release rates in delaminated orthotropic composite plates

The classical laminated plate theory is applied to calculate the stresses and energy release rate function in symmetrically delaminated orthotropic plates. First, the equilibrium of classical plate forces, moments and interfacial shear stresses is formulated. Second, the displacement continuity between the interface plane of a double-plate model was considered. The governing equation system of the double-plate model consists of ten equations. As an example a delaminated, orthotropic, simply-supported plate subjected to a point force is analyzed. The distribution of the plate forces as well as the interlaminar shear stresses over the uncracked part were determined. Moreover, the mode-II and mode-III energy release rate distributions along the crack front were calculated by the J-integral. The 3D finite element model of the delaminated composite plate was also created. The results indicate a reasonably good agreement between analysis and numerical calculation.     

Dynamic geometrically nonlinear analysis of transversely compressible sandwich plates

In order to construct a plate theory for a thick transversely compressible sandwich plate with composite laminated face sheets, the authors make simplifying assumptions regarding distribution of transverse strain components in the thickness direction. The in-plane stresses and σ_yy (Fig. 1) are computed from the constitutive equations, and the improved values of transverse stress components and σ_zz need to be computed by integration of pointwise equations of motion in a post-process stage of the finite element analysis. The improved values of the transverse strains can also be computed in the post-process stage by substituting the improved transverse stresses into the constitutive relations. A problem of cylindrical bending of a simply supported plate under a uniform load on the upper surface is considered, and comparison is made between the displacements, the in-plane stress and the improved transverse stresses (obtained by integration of the pointwise equations of motion), computed from the plate theory, with the corresponding values of exact elasticity solutions. In this comparison, a good agreement of both solutions is achieved. In the finite element analysis of sandwich plates in cylindrical bending with small thickness-to-length ratios, the shear locking phenomenon does not occur. The model of a sandwich plate in cylindrical bending, presented in this paper, has a wider range of applicability than the models presented in literature so far: it can be applied to the sandwich plates with a wide range of ratios of thickness to the in-plane dimensions, with both thin and thick face sheets (as compared to the thickness of the core) and to the sandwich plates with both transversely rigid and transversely compressible face sheets and cores.     

Accurate transverse stress evaluation in composite/sandwich thick laminates using a C0 HSDT and a novel post-processing technique

An efficient method for accurate evaluation of through-the-thickness distribution of transverse stresses in thick composite and sandwich laminates, using a displacement-based C⁰ higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT), is presented. The technique involves a least square of error (LSE) method applied to the 3D equilibrium equations at the post-processing phase, after a primary finite element analysis is performed using the HSDT. This is distinctly different from the conventional method of integrating the 3D equilibrium equations, for transverse stress recovery in composite laminates during post-processing. Competence of the technique is demonstrated in the numerical examples through comparison with results from first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), another HSDT and those from analytical and 3D elasticity solutions available in literature.     

A new trigonometric shear deformation theory for isotropic,laminated composite and sandwich plates

A new trigonometric shear deformation theory for isotropic and composite laminated and sandwich plates, is developed. The new displacement field depends on a parameter “m”, whose value is determined so as to give results closest to the 3D elasticity bending solutions. The theory accounts for adequate distribution of the transverse shear strains through the plate thickness and tangential stress-free boundary conditions on the plate boundary surface, thus a shear correction factor is not required. Plate governing equations and boundary conditions are derived by employing the principle of virtual work. The Navier-type exact solutions for static bending analysis are presented for sinusoidally and uniformly distributed loads. The accuracy of the present theory is ascertained by comparing it with various available results in the literature. The results show that the present model performs as good as the Reddy’s and Touratier’s shear deformation theories for analyzing the static behavior of isotropic and composite laminated and sandwich plates.     

考虑横法向热应变的C~0型整体-局部高阶层合梁理论

通过考虑横法向热变形,本文建立了预先满足层间应力连续的C0型整体-局部高阶层合梁理论,并用于分析复合材料层合梁热膨胀和热弯曲问题。虽然考虑了横法向应变,不增加额外的位移变量。此理论位移场不含有横向位移一阶导数,便于构造多节点高阶单元。基于虚功原理推导了复合材料层合梁平衡方程,并分析了简支多层复合材料梁热膨胀和热弯曲问题。数值结果表明,建立的模型能准确分析复合材料层合梁热膨胀和热弯曲问题,忽略横法向应变的理论分析热膨胀问题误差较大。     

复合材料厚梁精化锯齿理论及有限元分析

由于具有预先满足层间应力连续的优点,锯齿理论被广泛研究和应用。然而,至今锯齿理论仍然存在如下难题：基于锯齿理论构造单元时,需使用满足单元间C1连续的插值函数,难于构造多节点高阶单元,而且精度较低。如果这些问题不被重视和解决,应用此类理论分析复合材料力学问题可能得出不恰当的结论。通过发展高精度的考虑横法向应变的C0型锯齿理论,本文将克服已有锯齿理论遇到的上述难题。基于发展的锯齿理论,构造三节点梁单元验证发展理论模型的性能。