A C0-type higher-order theory for bending analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates

In this paper, a C0-type higher-order theory is developed for bending analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates subjected to thermal/mechanical loads. The total number of unknowns in the present theory is independent of number of layers. The continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces are a priori enforced. Moreover, the conditions of zero transverse shear stresses on the upper and lower surfaces are also considered. Based on the developed higher order theory, the typical solutions are presented for comparison. It is very important that the first derivatives of transverse displacement w have been taken out from the in-plane displacement fields of the proposed model, so that its finite element counterparts may avoid using the C1 interpolation functions. To assess the developed theory, the C1-type higher-order theory is chosen for comparison. Numerical results show that the present model can accurately predict the thermal/mechanical response of laminated composite and sandwich plates. Moreover, the present model is able to accurately calculated transverse shear stresses directly from constitutive equations without any postprocessing methods.