A new non-linear higher-order shear deformation theory for large-amplitude vibrations of laminated doubly curved shells

A consistent higher-order shear deformation non-linear theory is developed for shells of generic shape, taking geometric imperfections into account. The geometrically non-linear strain-displacement relationships are derived retaining full non-linear terms in the in-plane displacements; they are presented in curvilinear coordinates in a formulation ready to be implemented. Then, large-amplitude forced vibrations of a simply supported, laminated circular cylindrical shell are studied (i) by using the developed theory, and (ii) keeping only non-linear terms of the von Kármán type. Results show that inaccurate results are obtained by keeping only non-linear terms of the von Kármán type for vibration amplitudes of about two times the shell thickness for the studied case.     

Non-linear dynamic thermo-mechanical buckling analysis of the imperfect laminated and sandwich cylindrical shells based on a global-local theory inherently suitable for non-linear analyses

The available accurate shell theories satisfy the interlaminar transverse stress continuity conditions based on linear strain-displacement relations. Furthermore, in majority of these theories, either influence of the transverse normal stress and strain or the transverse flexibility of the shell has been ignored. These effects remarkably influence the non-linear behavior of the shells especially in the postbuckling region. Furthermore, majority of the buckling analyses performed so far for the laminated composite and sandwich shells have been restricted to linear, static analysis of the perfect shells. Moreover, almost all the available shell theories have employed the Love-Timoshenko assumption, which may lead to remarkable errors for thick and relatively thick shells. In the present paper, a novel three-dimensional high-order global-local theory that satisfies all the kinematic and the interlaminar stress continuity conditions at the layer interfaces is developed for imperfect cylindrical shells subjected to thermo-mechanical loads.In comparison with the layerwise, mixed, and available global-local theories, the present theory has the advantages of: (1) suitability for non-linear analyses, (2) higher accuracy due to satisfying the complete interlaminar kinematic and transverse stress continuity conditions, considering the transverse flexibility, and releasing the Love-Timoshenko assumption, (3) less required computational time due to using the global-local technique and matrix formulations, and (4) capability of investigating the local phenomena. To enhance the accuracy of the results, compatible Hermitian quadrilateral elements are employed. The buckling loads are determined based on a criterion previously published by the author.     

Large rotations in first-order shear deformation FE analysis of laminated shells

The paper deals with the geometrically non-linear analysis of laminated composite beams, plates and shells in the framework of the first-order transverse shear deformation (FOSD) theory. A central point of the present paper is the discussion of the relevance of five- and six-parameter variants, respectively, of the FOSD hypothesis for large rotation plate and shell problems. In particular, it is shown that the assumption of constant through-thickness distribution of the transverse normal displacements is acceptable only for small and moderate rotation problems. Implications inherent in this assumption that are incompatible with large rotations are discussed from the point of view of the transverse normal strain-displacement relations as well as in the light of an enhanced, accurate large rotation formulation based on the use of Euler angles. The latter one is implemented as an updating process within a Total Lagrangian formulation of the six-parameter FOSD large rotation plate and shell theory. Numerical solutions are obtained by using isoparametric eight-node Serendipity-type shell finite elements with reduced integration. The Riks-Wempner-Ramm arc-length control method is used to trace primary and secondary equilibrium paths in the pre- and post-buckling range of deformation. A number of sample problems of non-linear, large rotation response of composite laminated plate and shell structures are presented including symmetric and asymmetric snap-through and snap-back problems.     

Drilling couples and refined constitutive equations in the resultant geometrically non-linear theory of elastic shells

It is well known that distribution of displacements through the shell thickness is non-linear, in general. We introduce a modified polar decomposition of shell deformation gradient and a vector of deviation from the linear displacement distribution. When strains are assumed to be small, this allows one to propose an explicit definition of the drilling couples which is proportional to tangential components of the deviation vector. The consistent second approximation to the complementary energy density of the geometrically non-linear theory of isotropic elastic shells is constructed. From differentiation of the density we obtain the consistently refined constitutive equations for 2D surface stretch and bending measures. These equations are then inverted for 2D stress resultants and stress couples. The second-order terms in these constitutive equations take consistent account of influence of undeformed midsurface curvatures. The drilling couples are explicitly expressed by the stress couples, undeformed midsurface curvatures, and amplitudes of quadratic part of displacement distribution through the thickness. The drilling couples are shown to be much smaller than the stress couples, and their influence on the stress and strain state of the shell is negligible. However, such very small drilling couples have to be admitted in non-linear analyses of irregular multi-shell structures, e.g. shells with branches, intersections, or technological junctions. In such shell problems six 2D couple resultants are required to preserve the structure of the resultant shell theory at the junctions during entire deformation process.     

Assessment of improved zigzag and smeared theories for smart cross-ply composite cylindrical shells including transverse normal extensibility under thermoelectric loading

The improved zigzag theory recently developed by the authors for smart, piezoelectric, and laminated cylindrical shells is assessed for the response of finite-length cross-ply shells and shell panels under mechanical, potential, and thermal loading, in direct comparison with the exact three-dimensional (3D) piezothermoelasticity solution. This theory has the unique features of including the transverse normal strain due to thermoelectric loading without introducing additional deflection variables, capturing the nonlinear potential field and actual temperature profile across laminate thickness, accounting for the layerwise (zigzag) variation of inplane displacements, and satisfying the conditions on transverse shear stresses at the layer interfaces and at the inner and outer surfaces. For the assessment, new results are obtained for the 3D exact solution for smart cylindrical shells having a test laminate with widely different material properties across layers, a piezo-composite laminate and a piezo-sandwich laminate. To ascertain the contribution of the layerwise terms in the inplane displacements, the theory is compared with its smeared counterpart with the same number of primary variables. The effect of inclusion of transverse normal extensibility in these theories is established by comparing with their conventional counterparts that assume constant deflection across the thickness. The effect of span angle (for shell panels), length, and thickness parameters on the error of the 2D theories is illustrated.     

Higher order zig-zag theory for smart composite shells under mechanical-thermo-electric loading

A higher order zig-zag shell theory based on general tensor formulation is developed to refine the predictions of the mechanical, thermal, and electric behaviors. All the complicated curvatures of surface including twisting curvatures can be described in a geometrically exact manner in the present shell theory because the present theory is based on the geometrically exact surface representation. The in-surface displacement fields are constructed by superimposing the linear zig-zag field to the smooth globally cubic varying field through the thickness. Smooth parabolic distribution through the thickness is assumed in the out-of-plane displacement in order to consider transverse normal deformation and stress. The layer-dependent degrees of freedom of displacement fields are expressed in terms of reference primary degrees of freedom by applying interface continuity conditions as well as bounding surface free conditions of transverse shear stresses. Thus the proposed theory has only seven primary displacement unknowns and they do not depend upon the number of layers. To assess the validity of present theory, the developed theory is evaluated under the thermal and electric load as well as under the mechanical load of composite cylindrical shells. Through the numerical examples, it is demonstrated that the proposed smart shell theory is efficient because it has the minimal degrees of freedom. The present theory is suitable in the predictions of deformation and stresses of thick smart composite shells under the mechanical, thermal, and electric loads combined.     

Geometrically non-linear free and forced vibrations of simply supported circular cylindrical shells: A semi-analytical approach

The non-linear free and forced vibrations of simply supported thin circular cylindrical shells are investigated using Lagrange's equations and an improved transverse displacement expansion. The purpose of this approach was to provide engineers and designers with an easy method for determining the shell non-linear mode shapes, with their corresponding amplitude dependent non-linear frequencies. The Donnell non-linear shell theory has been used and the flexural deformations at large vibration amplitudes have been taken into account. The transverse displacement expansion has been made using two terms including both the driven and the axisymmetric modes, and satisfying the simply supported boundary conditions. The non-linear dynamic variational problem obtained by applying Lagrange's equations was then transformed into a static case by adopting the harmonic balance method. Minimisation of the energy functional with respect to the basic function contribution coefficients has led to a simple non-linear multi-modal equation, the solution of which gives in the case of a single mode assumption an expression for the non-linear frequencies which is much simpler than that derived from the non-linear partial differential equation obtained previously by several authors. Quantitative results based on the present approach have been computed and compared with experimental data. The good agreement found was very satisfactory, in comparison with previous old and recent theoretical approaches, based on sophisticated numerical methods, such as the finite element method (FEM), the method of normal forms (MNF), and analytical methods, such as the perturbation method.     

Non-linear vibrations of doubly curved shallow shells

Large amplitude (geometrically non-linear) vibrations of doubly curved shallow shells with rectangular base, simply supported at the four edges and subjected to harmonic excitation normal to the surface in the spectral neighbourhood of the fundamental mode are investigated. Two different non-linear strain-displacement relationships, from the Donnell's and Novozhilov's shell theories, are used to calculate the elastic strain energy. In-plane inertia and geometric imperfections are taken into account. The solution is obtained by Lagrangian approach. The non-linear equations of motion are studied by using (i) a code based on arclength continuation method that allows bifurcation analysis and (ii) direct time integration. Numerical results are compared to those available in the literature and convergence of the solution is shown. Interaction of modes having integer ratio among their natural frequencies, giving rise to internal resonances, is discussed. Shell stability under static and dynamic load is also investigated by using continuation method, bifurcation diagram from direct time integration and calculation of the Lyapunov exponents and Lyapunov dimension. Interesting phenomena such as (i) snap-through instability, (ii) subharmonic response, (iii) period doubling bifurcations and (iv) chaotic behaviour have been observed.     

Relationships of the Timoshenko-type theory of thin shells with arbitrary displacements and strains

A new modified version of the Timoshenko theory of thin shells is proposed to describe the process of deformation of thin shells with arbitrary displacements and strains. The new version is based on introducing an unknown function in the form of a rotation vector whose components in the basis fitted to the deformed mid-surface of the shell are the components of the transverse shear vector and the extensibility in the transverse direction according to Chernykh. For the case with the shell mid-surface fitted to an arbitrary non-orthogonal system of curvilinear coordinates, relationships based on the use of true stresses and true strains in accordance with Novozhilov are obtained for internal forces and moments. Based on these relationships, a problem of static instability of an isotropic spherical shell experiencing internal pressure is solved. The shell is considered to be made either of a linear elastic material or of an elastomer (rubber), which is described by Chernykh’s relationships.     

Nonlinear buckling and postbuckling of heated functionally graded cylindrical shells under combined axial compression and radial pressure

The nonlinear large deflection theory of cylindrical shells is extended to discuss nonlinear buckling and postbuckling behaviors of functionally graded (FG) cylindrical shells which are synchronously subjected to axial compression and lateral loads. In this analysis, the non-linear strain-displacement relations of large deformation and the Ritz energy method are used. The material properties of the shells vary smoothly through the shell thickness according to a power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituent materials. Meanwhile, by taking the temperature-dependent material properties into account, various effects of external thermal environment are also investigated. The non-linear critical condition is found by defining the possible lowest point of external force. Numerical results show various effects of the inhomogeneous parameter, dimensional parameters and external thermal environments on non-linear buckling behaviors of combine-loaded FG cylindrical shells. In addition, the postbuckling equilibrium paths are also plotted for axially loaded pre-pressured FG cylindrical shells and there is an interesting mode jump exhibited.     

Geometrically non-linear analysis of laminated composite structures using a 4-node co-rotational shell element with enhanced strains

To demonstrate the solutions of linear and geometrically non-linear analysis of laminated composite plates and shells, the co-rotational non-linear formulation of the shell element is presented. The combinations of an enhanced assumed strain (EAS) in the membrane strains and assumed natural strains (ANS) in the shear strains improve the behavior of 4-node shell element. To secure computational efficiency in the incremental non-linear analysis, the present element uses the form of the resultant forces pre-integrated through the thickness. The transverse shear stiffness of the laminates is defined by an equilibrium approach instead of the shear correction factor. Numerical examples of this study show very good agreement with the references.     

Non-linear static-dynamic finite element formulation for composite shells

Three non-linear finite element formulations for a composite shell are discussed. They are the simplified large rotation (SLR), the large displacement large rotation (LDLR), and the Jaumann analysis of general shells (JAGS). The SLR and the LDLR theories are based on total Lagrangian approach, and the JAGS is based on a co-rotational approach. Both the SLR and LDLR theories represent the in-plane strains exactly the same as Green's strain-displacement relations, whereas, only linear displacement terms are used to represent the transverse shear strain. However, a higher order kinematic through the thickness assumption is used in the SLR theory, which leads to parabolic transverse shear stress distribution compared to a first order kinematic through the thickness relationship used in the LDLR theory that leads to linear transverse shear stress distribution. Furthermore, the LDLR theory uses an Euler-like angle in the kinematics to account for the large displacement and rotation. The JAGS theory decomposes the deformation into stretches and rigid body rotations, where an orthogonal coordinate system translates and rotates with the deformed infinitesimal volume element. The Jaumann stresses and strains are used. Layer-wise stretching and shear warping through the thickness functions are used to model the three-dimensional behavior of the shell, where displacement and stress continuities are enforced along the ply interfaces. The kinematic behavior is related to the original undeformed coordinate system using the global displacements and their derivatives. Numerical analyses of composite shells are performed to compare the three theories. The commercial code ABAQUS is also used in this investigation as a comparison.     

Global structural behaviour of thin and moderately thick monoclinic spherical shells using a mixed shear deformation model

Summary The static and dynamic responses of anisotropic spherical shells under a uniformly distributed transverse load are investigated. Analytical solutions using the mixed variational formulation are presented for spherical shells subjected to various boundary conditions. Numerical results of a refined mixed first-order shear deformation theory for natural frequencies, critical buckling, center deflections and stresses are compared with those obtained using the classical shell theory. A variety of simply-supported and clamped boundary conditions are considered and comparisons with the existing literature are made. The sample numerical results presented herein for global structural behaviour of monoclinic spherical shells should serve as references for future comparisons.     

Nonlinear static and dynamic analysis for laminated,annular, spherical caps of moderate thickness

Based on Timoshenko-Mindlin kinematic hypothesis, the shallow shell theory is extended to include the transverse shear deformation for the nonlinear axisymmetric dynamic analysis of the symmetric cross-ply shallow spherical shell. Using the orthogonal point collocation method and the Newmark scheme, an iterative solution is formulated. The numerical results for the nonlinear static and dynamic responses and dynamic buckling of these shallow spherical shells with circular holes under uniformly distributed static or dynamic normal impact loads are presented and compared with available data.     

Non-linear buckling behavior of FGM truncated conical shells subjected to axial load

In this study, the non-linear buckling behavior of truncated conical shells made of functionally graded materials (FGMs), subject to a uniform axial compressive load, has been investigated using the large deformation theory with von the Karman-Donnell-type of kinematic non-linearity. The material properties of functionally graded shells are assumed to vary continuously through the thickness of the shell. The variation of properties followed an arbitrary distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The fundamental relations, the modified Donnell type non-linear stability and compatibility equations of functionally graded truncated conical shells are obtained and are solved by superposition and Galerkin methods and the upper and lower critical axial loads have been found analytically. Finally, the influences of the compositional profile variations and the variation of the shell geometry on the upper and lower critical axial loads are investigated. Comparing the results of this study with those in the literature validates the present analysis.     

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.     

Influences of large deformation and rotary inertia on wave propagation in piezoelectric cylindrically laminated shells in thermal environment

Influences of large deformation (geometrical non-linear) and rotary inertia on wave propagation in a long, piezoelectric cylindrically laminated shell in thermal environment is presented in this paper. Nonlinear dynamic governing equations of piezoelectric cylindrically laminated shells are derived by means of Hamilton’s principle. The wave propagation modes are obtained by solving an eigenvalue problem. Numerical examples show that the characteristics of wave propagation in piezoelectric cylindrically laminated shells are relates to the large deformation, rotary inertia and thermal environment of the piezoelectric cylindrically laminated shells. The effect of large deformation, rotary inertia and thermal load on wave propagation in the piezoelectric cylindrically laminated shells is discussed by comparing with the result from the small deformation (geometrical linear shell theory). This method may be used to investigate wave propagation in various laminated material, layers numbers and thickness of piezoelectric cylindrically laminated shells under large deformation. The results carried out can be used in the ultrasonic inspection techniques and structural health monitoring.     

Nonlinear deformation and buckling of elastic inhomogeneous shells under thermomechanical loads

The paper outlines the fundamentals of the method of solving static problems of geometrically nonlinear deformation, buckling, and postbuckling behavior of thin thermoelastic inhomogeneous shells with complex-shaped midsurface, geometrical features throughout the thickness, or multilayer structure under complex thermomechanical loading. The method is based on the geometrically nonlinear equations of three-dimensional thermoelasticity and the moment finite-element scheme. The method is justified numerically. Results of practical importance are obtained in analyzing poorely studied classes of inhomogeneous shells. These results provide an insight into the nonlinear deformation and buckling of shells under various combinations of thermomechanical loads