TITLE:
A New Rectangular Finite Element Formulation Based on Higher Order Displacement Theory for Thick and Thin Composite and Sandwich Plates
AUTHORS:
Sanjib Goswami, Wilfried Becker
KEYWORDS:
Finite Element; Displacement Approach; Plate Bending; Composite; Shear Deformation; Higher Order Theory; Lock-Free
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Mechanics,
Vol.3 No.3,
June
11,
2013
ABSTRACT:
A new displacement based higher order element has been formulated
that is ideally suitable for shear deformable composite and
sandwich plates. Suitable functions for displacements and rotations for each
node have been selected so that the element shows rapid convergence, an
excellent response against transverse shear loading and requires no shear correction
factors. It is completely lock-free and behaves extremely well for thin to
thick plates. To make the element rapidly convergent and to capture warping effects
for composites, higher order displacement terms in the displacement kinematics
have been considered for each node. The element has eleven degrees of freedom
per node. Shear deformation has also been considered in the
formulation by taking into account shear strains ( rxz and ryz) as nodal unknowns. The element is very simple to
formulate and could be coded up in research software. A small Fortran code has
been developed to implement the element and various examples of isotropic and
composite plates have been analyzed to show the effectiveness of the element.