Analysis of Orthotropic Laminated Shells Using Axisymmetric with Fourier Capability

This paper on "Analysis of Orthotropic Laminated Shells Using Axisymmetric with Fourier Capability" was presented at the 5th International Conference on Reliability of Finite Element Methods for Engineering Applications - 10-12 May 1995, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Summary

This paper describes some aspects of the testing of a laminated thin shell finite element applicable to composite structures such as those manufactured by filament winding. Its formulation is based upon Flügge thin shell theory and is modified from an existing isotropic element capable of modelling axisymmetric shells under axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric loading. The derivation of the modified element formulation involves considerable algebraic manipulation and computerised symbolic algebra was used to render the task manageable. Two verification tests are described. One relates to the vibration of a freely-supported laminated orthotropic cylinder. The other test considers two variations on a polar orthotropic circular plate subjected to an edge moment, and illustrates the pitfalls caused by singularities which sometimes occur in structures of this kind. Agreement of all theoretical and finite element results is excellent except in the case where the accuracy of the results is affected by the singularity.