HIGHER-ORDER FINITE-ELEMENT MODELING OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE PLATES

P-version finite elements based on higher-order theory are developed f or the two-dimensional modelling of general bending and cylindrical be nding of thin-to-thick laminated composite plates. In the case of gene ral laminated plate elements, three displacement fields are used. In t he special case of cylindrically bent laminated plate elements, two di splacement fields are needed. In each case the displacement is express ed as the product of two functions-one in terms of out-of-plane co-ord inates alone and the other in terms of in-plane co-ordinates. The shap e functions used to build the displacement fields are based on integra l of Legendre' polynomials. The quality and performance of the element s are evaluated in terms of convergence characteristics of displacemen ts and stresses. The predicted response quantities are compared with t hose available in the published literature based on analytical as well as conventional finite element models.