• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.291-306
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• 2021

Based on Reissner's mixed variational theorem (RMVT), the authors develop a semi-analytical finite element (FE) method for a three-dimensional (3D) bending analysis of nonhomogeneous orthotropic, complete and incomplete toroidal shells subjected to uniformly-distributed loads. In this formulation, the toroidal shell is divided into several finite annular prisms (FAPs) with quadrilateral cross-sections, where trigonometric functions and serendipity polynomials are used to interpolate the circumferential direction and meridian-radial surface variations in the primary field variables of each individual prism, respectively. The material properties of the toroidal shell are considered to be nonhomogeneous orthotropic over the meridianradial surface, such that homogeneous isotropic toroidal shells, laminated cross-ply toroidal shells, and single- and bi-directional functionally graded toroidal shells can be included as special cases in this work. Implementation of the current FAP methods shows that their solutions converge rapidly, and the convergent FAP solutions closely agree with the 3D elasticity solutions available in the literature.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.789-801
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• 2018

A weak-form formulation of finite annular prism methods (FAPM) based on Reissner's mixed variational theorem (RMVT), is developed for the quasi three-dimensional (3D) static analysis of two-directional functionally graded (FG) circular plates with various boundary conditions and under mechanical loads. The material properties of the circular plate are assumed to obey either a two-directional power-law distribution of the volume fractions of the constituents through the radial-thickness surface or an exponential function distribution varying doubly exponentially through it. These FAPM solutions of the loaded FG circular plates with both simply-supported and clamped edges are in excellent agreement with the solutions obtained using the 3D analytical approach and two-dimensional advanced plate theories available in the literature.