C0 Fe model for the analysis of laminated soft core sandwich plates

Abstract

A new C0 finite element (FE) model has been proposed in this paper for the static analysis of laminated soft core sandwich plates based on higher order zigzag theory (HOZT). The variation of the in-plane displacements are considered to be cubic for both the face sheets and the core, while the transverse displacement is assumed to vary quadratically within the core and remains constant in the faces beyond the core. It satisfies the conditions of transverse shear stress continuity at the layer interfaces as well as satisfies the zero transverse shear stress condition at the top and bottom of the plate. As very few elements based on this plate theory (HOZT) exist and they possess certain disadvantages, an attempt has been made to develop this new element. The nodal field variables are chosen in an efficient manner to overcome the well-known problem of continuity requirement of the derivatives of transverse displacements in the present refined plate theories. A nine node C0 quadratic plate finite element is implemented to model the HOZT for the present analysis. Numerical examples covering different features of laminated composite and sandwich plates are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the present model.