IMPACT RESPONSE OF LAMINATED SHELLS WITH ORTHOGONAL CURVATURES

A set of analytic solutions is presented to predict the dynamic respon se of simply-supported, doubly curved, cross-ply laminated shells impa cted by a solid striker. The solutions are based on a higher-order she ar deformation theory (HSDT) which accounts for the parabolic distribu tion of transverse shear strain through the thickness of a shell and t angential stress-free boundary conditions on the surface of the shell. An analytic impact force function recently proposed by the authors is used to predict the contact force between the striker and the shell a nd this is incorporated into the solutions. Fundamental frequencies of cross-ply laminated spherical and cylindrical shells are calculated u sing the present solutions and the results are compared with those pub lished by others. In terms of the characterising coefficients, the sol utions can be reduced to versions of the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and the classical shell theory (CST). A comparison of t he solutions based on the various theories (HSDT, FSDT and CST) is als o made.