LINEAR AND NONLINEAR 3-D ANALYSIS OF HYBRID COMPOSITE LAMINATES

In this paper, linear and non-linear 3-D solutions are presented for h ybrid composite laminates subjected to uniform transverse loadings. Th e perturbation method and a variational principle are used to obtain s olutions which satisfy the linear and non-linear 3-D differential equa tions of equilibrium, the strain/displacement relations, the stress/st rain relations, the boundary conditions and the continuity conditions at layer interfaces. The distributions of displacements and stresses i n the plates are shown. The effect of different non-linearities on lam inated plates is considered, and the importance of transverse shear st resses and transverse normal stress is analysed.