Nonlinear finite element analysis of laminated composite shells with actuating layers

Nonlinear finite element analysis of laminated composite shell structures with smart material laminae is presented in the study. Third-order shear deformation theory based on Sanders nonlinear shell kinematics is chosen for the shell formulation and it is used to study deflection suppression characteristics of laminated composite shells. The smart material used in this study to achieve damping of transverse deflection is a magnetostrictive material, Terfenol-D, with a linear constitutive model. A negative velocity feedback control is used with a constant control gain. Newmark's time integration scheme and Newton–Raphson iteration method are used to solve the resulting nonlinear equations. A number of parametric studies are carried out to understand the damping characteristics of laminated composite shells with embedded smart material layers.