MINDLIN FINITE STRIPS WITH SUPPORT DISPLACEMENTS

This paper presents a Mindlin finite strip formulation which considers support displacements in all degrees of freedom at clamped and pinned boundaries. The support movements are introduced by adding special lo ngitudinal functions to the Timoshenko beam functions used in standard finite strips. These special functions are derived from the deflectio n patterns of a Timoshenko beam under support displacements. The formu lation also considers cross-ply composite plates. The material is line arly elastic and orthotropic. Geometric non-linearities are also consi dered. The proposed finite strip formulation makes it possible to anal yse problems that hitherto could not be handled by the standard finite strips. Three examples are used to demonstrate the applicability of t he new finite strips.