Analysis of Thick Laminated Composite Plates on an Elastic Foundation with the Use of Various Plate Theories

In this study, various theories of composite laminated plates are extended to rectangular composite laminates resting on an elastic foundation. First, an analysis based on the classical theory of laminated plates is employed. Then the first-order Reissner-Mindlin theory is used for analyzing the laminates. At last, the Reddy shear deformation theory, which allows for the transverse shear strains, is applied to the bending analysis of the laminates. In the analysis, the two-parameter Pasternak and Winkler foundations are considered. The accuracy of the present analysis is demonstrated by solving problems numerical results for which are available in the literature. Some numerical examples are presented to compare the three methods and to illustrate the effects of parameters of the elastic foundations on the bending of shear-deformable laminated plates. __________ Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 663–682, September–October, 2005.