A higher-order theory for the analysis of laminated plates and shells with shear and normal deformation (Q2368258)

An improved higher-order theory is developed for the stress analysis of laminated transversely isotropic plates and shells subject to transverse shear deformation and normal compression. The theory is capable of analyzing the stress-strain behavior of layered plates and shells with an arbitrary number and sequence of layers which may differ significantly in their physical and mechanical properties. New variables which have a clear physical meaning are introduced. Various loading and boundary conditions are considered which enable transverse shear and normal reduction to be fully taken into account, and the complete set of boundary conditions is derived. The closed-form solution for some multilayered plates and shells are derived.