A Predictor-Corrector Layerwise Model for Thick Laminated Composite Plates and Shells: Bending and Vibration Free

This paper describes a predictor-corrector theory based on a general higher-order layerwise model for the accurate prediction of the linear static and dynamic response of thick laminated composite plates and shells. The general polynomials introduced in the model account for the arbitrary variation of the transverse shear stresses across the thickness of each layer. The main purpose of the approach is to reduce the differences between the assumed variation of the transverse shear stresses provided by the constitutive equations and the computed variation of the same stresses from the equilibrium equations of elasticity. The present predictor-corrector layerwise model satisfies the continuity of the in-plane displacements and the transverse shear stresses at the interfaces. The numerical results for the bending and vibration of thick laminated composite plates and shells show that a high level of accuracy can be achieved with the same number of variables as that in Mindlin’s theory.