A CURVED LAMINATED ORTHOTROPIC AXISYMMETRICAL ELEMENT BASED UPON FLUGGE THIN SHELL THEORY

An existing isotropic thin shell axisymmetric element capable of model ling non-axisymmetric deformation modes is extended to include the cap ability of modelling shells with a laminated orthotropic structure. Th e element formulation is based upon Flugge thin shell theory. Generall y orthotropic Structures (i.e. those with principal material direction s not coincident with the meridional and circumferential directions) c an be modelled provided the load case is axisymmetric, but for non-axi symmetric (harmonic) load cases, the material properties of each layer must coincide with the principal directions of the shell. Computerize d symbolic algebra was used in the derivation of the element formulati on. A number of static examples have been used to test the element, an d results from this element agree very closely with alternative FE and analytical solutions, with differences being one percent or less. Cop yright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.