DYNAMIC FORMULATION FOR GEOMETRICALLY EXACT SANDWICH BEAMS AND ONE-DIMENSIONAL PLATES

A new theory of sandwich beams/one-dimensional plates is presented wit h finite rotations and shear allowed in each layer The layers, variabl e in number from one to three, need not have the same thickness and th e same length, thus allowing for ply drop-off Restricting to planar de formation, the cross section has a motion identical to that of a multi body system that consists of rigid links connected by hinges. Large de formation and large overall motion are accommodated, with the beam dyn amics referred directly to an inertial frame. An important approximate d theory is developed from the general nonlinear equations. The classi cal linear theory is recovered by consistent linearization.