POSTBUCKLING ANALYSIS OF THIN RECTANGULAR LAMINATED PLATES BY SPLINE FSM

Description is given of a versatile spline finite strip method for ana lysing the geometrically non-linear response of rectangular, composite laminated plates of arbitrary lay-up to progressive end shortening in their plane. The plates are assumed to be thin, thus allowing the ana lysis to be based on the use of classical plate theory, and the non-li nearity is introduced in the strain-displacement equations in the mann er of the von Karman assumption. A number of finite strip models have been developed but attention is concentrated on a particular model who se displacement field uses cubic B-splines longitudinally and quadrati c crosswise interpolation of the in-plane displacements. Description i s given of the use of this model in applications involving plates whic h have simply supported ends and which either are made of homogeneous, isotropic material or of anistropic material or are laminates with un balanced cross-ply or angle-ply lamination. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.