Mechanical behaviors of variable stiffness composite laminated sandwich plates using layer-wise model

摘要

This paper deals with the mechanical behavior of variable stiffness composite laminated (VSCL) sandwich plates, for both static and dynamic analyses. The composite face sheets are made by curvilinear fibers. For static analysis, the VSCL sandwich plate is subjected to sinusoidal transversal load. The layer-wise (LW) theory and the p-version of the finite element method (FEM) are used to solve such problems. For the layer-wise model, each layer is modeled individually, while the displacement fields continuity is made by a linear zigzag variation in displacements through the thickness of the sandwich laminate. The principal of virtual work and the Lagrange's method were applied to solve the static and dynamic problems of the VSCL sandwich plates. The efficiency and accuracy of the LW model coupled with the hierarchical FEM are demonstrated through convergence and comparison studies with the existing solutions for both static and dynamic analyses. A parametric study is performed to examine the effect of fiber orientation angles, plate thicknesses, core to face sheet thickness ratios, stacking sequences, and boundary conditions on the deflection and stresses values as well as the fundamental frequencies. New results concerning the static and dynamic analyses of VSCL sandwich plates are presented using layer-wise solutions, where they can be used to establish benchmarks for future comparisons.