Analysis of the structure of the boundary layer in the problem of the torsion of a laminated spherical shell

The structures of the boundary layer in the problem of the torsion of a radially stratified spherical segment (shell) with an arbitrary number of alternating hard and soft layers are investigated. It is shown that weakly attenuating boundary-layer solutions exist. Despite the fact that a stress state, self-balanced in the section, corresponds to these elementary solutions, they may penetrate fairly deeply and considerably change the stress–strain state pattern far from the ends. Using an asymptotic analysis of the problem, an applied theory of torsion is proposed which takes into account weakly attenuating boundary-layer solutions.