A homogeneous limit methodology and refinements of computationally efficient zigzag theory for homogeneous,laminated composite,and sandwich plates

The Refined Zigzag Theory (RZT) for homogeneous, laminated composite, and sandwich plates is revisited to offer a fresh insight into its fundamental assumptions and practical possibilities. The theory is introduced from a multiscale formalism starting with the inplane displacement field expressed as a superposition of coarse and fine contributions. The coarse displacement field is that of first‐order shear‐deformation theory, whereas the fine displacement field has a piecewise‐linear zigzag distribution through the thickness. The resulting kinematic field provides a more realistic representation of the deformation states of transverse‐shear‐flexible plates than other similar theories. The condition of limiting homogeneity of transverse‐shear properties is proposed and yields four distinct variants of zigzag functions. Analytic solutions for highly heterogeneous sandwich plates undergoing elastostatic deformations are used to identify the best‐performing zigzag functions. Unlike previously used methods, which often result in anomalous conditions and nonphysical solutions, the present theory does not rely on transverse‐shear‐stress equilibrium constraints. For all material systems, there are no requirements for use of transverse‐shear correction factors to yield accurate results. To model homogeneous plates with the full power of zigzag kinematics, infinitesimally small perturbations in the transverse shear properties are derived, thus enabling highly accurate predictions of homogeneous‐plate behavior without the use of shear correction factors. The RZT predictive capabilities to model highly heterogeneous sandwich plates are critically assessed, demonstrating its superior efficiency, accuracy, and a wide range of applicability. This theory, which is derived from the virtual work principle, is well‐suited for developing computationally efficient, C⁰ a continuous function of (x₁,x₂) coordinates whose first‐order derivatives are discontinuous along finite element interfaces and is thus appropriate for the analysis and design of high‐performance load‐bearing aerospace structures. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 2010     

Two new hyperbolic shear displacement models for orthotropic laminated composite plates

Two hyperbolic displacement models, HPSDT1 and HPSDT2, are developed for a bending analysis of orthotropic laminated composite plates. These models take into account the parabolic distribution of transverse shear stresses and satisfy the condition of zero shear stresses on the top and bottom surfaces of the plates. The accuracy of the analysis presented is demonstrated by comparing the results with solutions derived from other higher-order models and with data found in the literature. It is established that the HPSDT1 model is more accurate than some theories of laminates developed previously, and therefore the analysis can be expanded to laminated composite shells.     

A higher order finite element including transverse normal strain for linear elastic composite plates with general lamination configurations

This paper describes a higher-order global-local theory for thermal/mechanical response of moderately thick laminated composites with general lamination configurations. In-plane displacement fields are constructed by superimposing the third-order local displacement field to the global cubic displacement field. To eliminate layer-dependent variables, interlaminar shear stress compatibility conditions have been employed, so that the number of variables involved in the proposed model is independent of the number of layers of laminates. Imposing shear stress free condition at the top and the bottom surfaces, derivatives of transverse displacement are eliminated from the displacement field, so that C⁰ interpolation functions are only required for the finite element implementation. To assess the proposed model, the quadratic six-node C⁰ triangular element is employed for the interpolation of all the displacement parameters defined at each nodal point on the composite plate. Comparing to various existing laminated plate models, it is found that simple C⁰ finite elements with non-zero normal strain could produce more accurate displacement and stresses for thick multilayer composite plates subjected to thermal and mechanical loads. Finally, it is remarked that the proposed model is quite robust, such that the finite element results are not sensitive to the mesh configuration and can rapidly converge to 3-D elasticity solutions using regular or irregular meshes.     

Bending of thick functionally graded plates resting on Winkler–Pasternak elastic foundations

The static response of simply supported functionally graded plates (FGP) subjected to a transverse uniform load (UL) or a sinusoidally distributed load (SL) and resting on an elastic foundation is examined by using a new hyperbolic displacement model. The present theory exactly satisfies the stress boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate. No transverse shear correction factors are needed, because a correct representation of the transverse shear strain is given. The material properties of the plate are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power-law distribution in terms of volume fractions of material constituents. The foundation is modeled as a two-parameter Pasternak-type foundation, or as a Winkler-type one if the second parameter is zero. The equilibrium equations of a functionally graded plate are given based on the hyperbolic shear deformation theory of plates presented. The effects of stiffness and gradient index of the foundation on the mechanical responses of the plates are discussed. It is established that the elastic foundations significantly affect the mechanical behavior of thick functionally graded plates. The numerical results presented in the paper can serve as benchmarks for future analyses of thick functionally graded plates on elastic foundations.     

Geometrically nonlinear bending analysis of laminated composite plate

In this work, a transverse bending of shear deformable laminated composite plates in Green–Lagrange sense accounting for the transverse shear and large rotations are presented. Governing equations are developed in the framework of higher order shear deformation theory. All higher order terms arising from nonlinear strain–displacement relations are included in the formulation. The present plate theory satisfies zero transverse shear strains 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. Numerical results for the laminated composite plates of orthotropic materials with different system parameters and boundary conditions are found out. The results are also compared with those available in the literature. Some new results with different parameters are also presented.     

Deformation of sandwich panels in cylindrical bending by point forces. 1. Analytical construction

A refined model for bending of a three-layered panel with a soft filler is proposed. The modified model permits us to consider the asymmetry of elastic properties and thickness of the outer layer relative to the middle plane of the panel in a composite sandwich structure. In constructing the deformation mechanism, a heterogeneous kinematic model was adopted, which, in contrast to the assumptions for the deformation of the whole stack of layers, features four degrees of displacement freedom permitting consideration of the separate nature of the deformation of the outer layers in bending and of the intermediate layer in transverse compression combined with shear. This approach is postulated according to an energetic evaluation of the deformation of the layers [2]. The specific features of the stress from point forces in cylindrical bending are considered using the operational Laplace method, which avoids the additional difficulties in analyzing the solution convergence arising when it is represented by a series of eigenfunctions of the boundary value problem. The fundamental functions of a twelfth-order set of equations are used to construct the boundary problem reduced to a Cauchy problem. Various boundary effects of the point stress are described using a generalized Dirac function. Variants are examined for the limiting transformation of the model parameters leading to a qualitative change in its kinematics and the corresponding simplified bending models. Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Latvian Academy of Sciences, LV-1006 Riga, Latvia. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 5, pp. 588–611, September–October, 1996.     

Development of a single-layer finite element and a simplified finite element modeling approach for constrained layer damped structures

A new finite element (FE) is formulated based on an extension of previous FE models for studying constrained layer damping (CLD) in beams. Most existing CLD FE models are based on the assumption that the shear deformation in the core layer is the only source of damping in the structure. However, previous research has shown that other types of deformation in the core layer, such as deformations from longitudinal extension, and transverse compression, can also be important. In the finite element formulated here, shear, extension, and compression deformations are all included. As presented, there are 14 degrees of freedom in this element. However, this new element can be extended to cases in which the CLD structure has more than three layers. The numerical study shows that this finite element can be used to predict the dynamic characteristics accurately. However, there is a limitation when the core layer has a high stiffness, as the new element tends to predict loss factors and natural frequencies that are too high. As a result, this element can be accepted as a general computation model to study the CLD mechanism when the core layer is soft. Because the element includes all three types of damping, the computational cost can be very high for large scale models. Based on this consideration, a simplified finite modeling approach is presented. This approach is based on an existing experimental approach for extracting equivalent properties for a CLD structure. Numerical examples show that the use of these extracted properties with commercially available FE models can lead to sufficiently accurate results with a lower computational expense.     

A geometrically nonlinear (3,2) reduced degree-of-freedom unified zigzag laminated beam element for large deformation analysis

A geometrically nonlinear (3,2) unified zigzag beam element is developed with a reduced number of degree-of-freedom for the large deformation analysis. The main merit of the beam element model is the Kirchhoff and Cauchy shear stress solution for large deformation and large strain analysis is more accurate. The geometrically nonlinearity is considered in the calculation of the zigzag coefficients. Thus, the results of shear Cauchy stress are matching well with solid element analysis in case of the beam with aspect ratio greater than 20 under large deformation. The zigzag coefficients are derived explicitly. The Green strain and the second Piola Kirchhoff stress are used. The second Piola Kirchhoff shear stress is continuous at the interface between adjacent layers priori. The bottom surface second Piola Kirchhoff shear stress condition is used to determine the zigzag coefficient and the top surface second Piola Kirchhoff shear stress condition is used to reduce one degree-of-freedom. The nonlinear finite element equations are derived. In the numerical tests, several benchmark problems with large deformation are solved to verify the accuracy. It is observed that the proposed beam has accurate solution for beam with aspect ratio greater than 20. The second Piola Kirchhoff and Cauchy shear stress accuracy is also good. A convergence study is also presented.     

新型空间薄壁梁单元

基于Timoshenko梁理论和Vlasov薄壁杆件约束扭转理论,建立了具有内部结点的新型空间薄壁截面梁单元．通过对弯曲转角和翘曲角采取独立插值的方法,考虑了横向剪切变形,扭转剪切变形及其耦合作用,弯曲变形和扭转变形的耦合以及二次剪应力等因素影响,由Hellinger-Reissner广义变分原理,推得单元刚度矩阵．算例表明所建模型具有良好的精度,可用于空间薄壁杆系结构的有限元分析．     

Free Vibration Analysis of Laminated Composite Plates Resting on Elastic Foundations by Using a Refined Hyperbolic Shear Deformation Theory

The free vibration of laminated composite plates on elastic foundations is examined by using a refined hyperbolic shear deformation theory. This theory is based on the assumption that the transverse displacements consist of bending and shear components where the bending components do not contribute to shear forces, and likewise, the shear components do not contribute to bending moments. The most interesting feature of this theory is that it allows for parabolic distributions of transverse shear stresses across the plate thickness and satisfies the conditions of zero shear stresses at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. The number of independent unknowns in the present theory is four, as against five in other shear deformation theories. In the analysis, the foundation is modeled as a two-parameter Pasternak-type foundation, or as a Winkler-type one if the second foundation parameter is zero. The equation of motion for simply supported thick laminated rectangular plates resting on an elastic foundation is obtained through the use of Hamilton’s principle. The numerical results found in the present analysis for free the vibration of cross-ply laminated plates on elastic foundations are presented and compared with those available in the literature. The theory proposed is not only accurate, but also efficient in predicting the natural frequencies of laminated composite plates.     

Bending analysis of a functionally graded rotating disk based on the first order shear deformation theory

The theoretical formulation for bending analysis of functionally graded (FG) rotating disks based on first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is presented. The material properties of the disk are assumed to be graded in the radial direction by a power law distribution of volume fractions of the constituents. New set of equilibrium equations with small deflections are developed. A semi-analytical solution for displacement field is given under three types of boundary conditions applied for solid and annular disks. Results are verified with known results reported in the literature. Also, mechanical responses are compared between homogeneous and FG disks. It is found that the stress couple resultants in a FG solid disk are less than the stress resultants in full-ceramic and full-metal disk. It is observed that the vertical displacements for FG mounted disk with free condition at the outer surface do not occur between the vertical displacements of the full-metal and full-ceramic disk. More specifically, the vertical displacement in a FG mounted disk with free condition at the outer surface can even be greater than vertical displacement in a full-metal disk. It can be concluded from this work that the gradation of the constitutive components is a significant parameter that can influence the mechanical responses of FG disks.     

Buckling and free vibration analyses of laminated composite plates by using two new hyperbolic shear-deformation theories

Two new hyperbolic displacement models, HPSDT1 and HPSDT2, are used for the buckling and free vibration analyses of simply supported orthotropic laminated composite plates. The models contain hyperbolic expressions to account for the parabolic distributions of transverse shear stresses and to satisfy the zero shear-stress conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of the plates. The equation of motion for thick laminated rectangular plates subjected to in-plane loads is deduced through the use of Hamilton’s principle. Closed-form solutions are obtained by using the Navier technique, and then the buckling loads and the fundamental frequencies are found by solving eigenvalue problems. The accuracy of the models presented is demonstrated by comparing the results obtained with solutions of other higher-order models given in the literature. It is found that the theories proposed can predict the fundamental frequencies and buckling loads of cross-ply laminated composite plates rather accurately. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 217–230, March–April, 2008.     

A new sinusoidal shear deformation theory for bending,buckling, and vibration of functionally graded plates

A new sinusoidal shear deformation theory is developed for bending, buckling, and vibration of functionally graded plates. The theory accounts for sinusoidal distribution of transverse shear stress, and satisfies the free transverse shear stress conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factor. Unlike the conventional sinusoidal shear deformation theory, the proposed sinusoidal shear deformation theory contains only four unknowns and has strong similarities with classical plate theory in many aspects such as equations of motion, boundary conditions, and stress resultant expressions. The material properties of plate are assumed to vary according to power law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. Equations of motion are derived from the Hamilton’s principle. The closed-form solutions of simply supported plates are obtained and the results are compared with those of first-order shear deformation theory and higher-order shear deformation theory. It can be concluded that the proposed theory is accurate and efficient in predicting the bending, buckling, and vibration responses of functionally graded plates.     

C0 FE model based on HOZT for the analysis of laminated soft core skew sandwich plates: Bending and vibration

Bending and free vibration behaviour of laminated soft core skew sandwich plate with stiff laminate face sheets is investigated using a recently developed C₀ finite element (FE) model based on higher order zigzag theory (HOZT) in this paper. The in-plane displacement fields are assumed as a combination of a linear zigzag function with different slopes at each layer and a cubically varying function over the entire thickness. The out of plane displacement is considered to be quadratic within the core and constant in the face sheets. The plate theory ensures a shear stress-free condition at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate. Thus, the plate theory has all of the features required for accurate modelling of laminated skew sandwich plates. As very few element model based on this plate theory (HOZT) exist and they possess certain disadvantages, an attempt has been made to check the applicability of the refined element model. The nodal field variables are chosen in such a manner that there is no need to impose any penalty stiffness in the formulation. Refined C₀ finite element model has been utilized to study some interesting problems on static and free vibration analysis of laminated skew sandwich plates.     

The role of transverse stretching in the delamination fracture of softcore sandwich plates

This paper presents the semi-layerwise analysis of structural sandwich plates with through-width delamination. The mechanical model of rectangular plates is based on the method of four equivalent single layers and the system of exact kinematic conditions. An important improvement compared to a previous formulation is the consideration of linear and quadratic stretching term in the transverse displacement component. Three different delamination scenarios are investigated: core-core failure, face-core delamination and the face-face failure. By applying the first- and second-order laminated plate theories and the principle of virtual work the governing equations are derived. The equilibrium equations are solved under Lévy type boundary conditions using the state-space approach. Solutions for the mechanical fields are provided and compared to 3D finite element results. The energy release rate distributions along the delamination front are also determined using the J-integral. Although the stress resultants by transverse stretching do not influence directly the J-integral, the results indicate that this effect improves the accuracy of the model in general, and substantially influences the results of the first-order plate theory in the case of the face-face delamination.     

Application of nonclassical models of shell theory to study mechanical parameters of multilayer nanotubes

Stress-strain state of multilayer anisotropic cylindrical shells under a local pressure is studied. Such a problem may model the bending of an asbestos nanotube under the action of a research probe. In earlier works, these authors showed that the application of classical shell theories yields results far from experimental data. More accurate results are obtained by taking into account additional factors, such as the change of the transverse displacement magnitude (according to the Timoshenko-Reissner theory) or the layered structure of asbestos and cylindrical anisotropy (according to the Rodinova-Titaev-Chernykh theory). In the present paper, yet another shell theory, the Palii-Spiro theory, is applied to solve the problem; this theory was developed for shall of average thickness and is based on the following assumptions: (a) the rectilinear fibers of the shell perpendicular to its middle surface before deformation remain rectilinear after deformation; (b) the cosine of the angle between the shell of such fibers and the middle surface of the deformed shell equals the averaged angle of the transverse displacement. Deformation field are studied with the use of nonclassical (the Rodinova-Titaev-Chernykh and Palii-Spiro) shell theories; a comparison with results obtained for three-dimensional models with the use of the Ansys 11 package is performed.     

A (3,2) reduced degree-of-freedom unified zigzag laminated beam theory

A (3,2) unified zigzag beam theory is developed with a reduced number of degree-of-freedom. Comparing to previous methods in the field of zigzag beam theory, the main novelty in this paper's method is that a more general non-vanishing top/bottom surface's shear stress boundary conditions are satisfied automatically in strong form. The bottom surface shear stress condition and the interface shear stress continuity conditions are used to uniquely determine the coefficients of zigzag functions. For the top surface shear stress condition, it is used to eliminate one degree-of-freedom, changing the 7°-of-freedom (3,2) zigzag beam to a 6°-of-freedom (3,2) zigzag beam. The zigzag coefficients are derived with an explicit formulation. Since the proposed method's formula is based on the unified beam theory, the formulation can be applied to any specific beam theory. The corresponding zigzag coefficients are also dependent on the specific beam theory's thickness basis function.In the numerical test section, several benchmark problems are solved to verify the accuracy. It is observed that the proposed beam has accurate solution for both thick and thin beams. The shear stress accuracy is also good for both vanishing and non-vanishing shear stress boundary conditions on top/bottom surfaces.     

应用4变量精确平板理论分析FG复合板的自由振动

应用4变量的精确平板理论,对矩形功能梯度材料(FGM)复合板进行自由振动分析.与其它的理论不同,该理论的未知函数数量只有4个,而别的剪变形理论的未知函数为5个.提出的4变量精确平板理论,协调条件有了改变,与经典的薄板理论相比,许多方面有着惊人的相似,无需引入剪切修正因数——当横向剪应力越过板厚后,为了满足剪应力自由表面条件,出现抛物线状的改变,导致横向剪应力的变化.考虑了两种常见类型的FGM复合板,即,FGM表面层和各向同性夹芯层的复合板,以及各向同性表面层和FGM夹芯层的复合板.通过Hamilton原理,得到了FGM复合板的运动方程.得到闭式的Navier解,然后求解特征值问题,得到自由振动的基本频率.将该理论得到的结果,与经典理论,一阶的及其它更高阶的理论所得到的结果进行比较,检验了该理论的有效性.研究发现,该理论在求解FGM复合板自由振动性能方面,既精确又简单.     

A general method for constructing Timoshenko-type theories

The equations of the plane theory of for the elasticity bending of a long strip are reduced by the method of simple iterations to the solution of a system of two equations for the displacement of the axis of the strip and the shear stress. If the transverse load varies slowly along the strip, the resolvent equations reduce to a single equation that is identical to the classical equation for the bend of a beam. When a local load is applied, the resolvent equation acquires an additional singular term that is the solution of the equation for the shear stresses under the assumption that the displacement (deflection) is a function of small variability. The convergence of the solution in an asymptotic sense is demonstrated. The application of the method of simple iterations to the dynamic equations for the bending of a strip also leads to a system of two resolvent equations in the displacement of the axis of the strip and the shear stress. These equations reduce to a single equation that is identical with the well-known Timoshenko equation. Hence, the procedure for using the method of simple iterations that has been developed can be classified as a general method for obtaining Timoshenko-type theories. An equation is derived for the bending of a strip on an elastic base with an isolated functional singular part with two bed coefficients, corresponding to the transverse and longitudinal springiness of the base.     

Nonlinear vibration of moderately thick laminated beams using finite element method

A finite element model is developed to study the large-amplitude free vibrations of generally-layered laminated composite beams. The Poisson effect, which is often neglected, is included in the laminated beam constitutive equation. The large deformation is accounted for by using von Karman strains and the transverse shear deformation is incorporated using a higher order theory. The beam element has eight degrees of freedom with the inplane displacement, transverse displacement, bending slope and bending rotation as the variables at each node. The direct iteration method is used to solve the nonlinear equations which are evaluated at the point of reversal of motion. The influence of boundary conditions, beam geometries, Poisson effect, and ply orientations on the nonlinear frequencies and mode shapes are demonstrated.