• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.725-739
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• 2007

In recent years there are many plate bending elements that emerged for solving both thin and thick plates. The main features of these elements are that they are based on mix formulation interpolation with discrete collocation constraints. These elements passed the patch test for mix formulation and performed well for linear analysis of thin and thick plates. In this paper a member of this family of elements, namely, the Discrete Reissner-Mindlin (DRM) is further extended and developed to analyze both thin and thick plates with geometric nonlinearity. The Von K$\acute{a}$rm$\acute{a}$n's large displacement plate theory based on Lagrangian coordinate system is used. The Hu-Washizu variational principle is employed to formulate the stiffness matrix of the geometrically Nonlinear Discrete Reissner-Mindlin (NDRM). An iterative-incremental procedure is implemented to solve the nonlinear equations. The element is then tested for plates with simply supported and clamped edges under uniformly distributed transverse loads. The results obtained using the geometrically NDRM element is then compared with the results of available analytical solutions. It has been observed that the NDRM results agreed well with the analytical solutions results. Therefore, it is concluded that the NDRM element is both reliable and efficient in analyzing thin and thick plates with geometric non-linearity.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.779-789
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• 2022

This work presents a non-linear cylindrical bending analysis of functionally graded plate reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in thermal environment using a simple integral higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT). This theory does not require shear correction factors and the transverse shear stresses vary parabolically through the thickness. The material properties of SWCNTs are assumed to be temperature-dependent and are obtained from molecular dynamics simulations. The material properties of functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composites (FG-CNTCRs) are considered to be graded in the thickness direction, and are estimated through a micromechanical model. The non-linear strain-displacement relations in the Von Karman sense are used to study the effect of geometric non-linearity and the solution is obtained by minimization of the total potential energy. The numerical illustrations concern the nonlinear bending response of FG-CNTRC plates under different sets of thermal environmental conditions, from which results for uniformly distributed CNTRC plates are obtained as benchmarks.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.677-691
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• 2013

A semi-analytical finite strip method is developed for analyzing the post-buckling behavior of rectangular composite laminated plates of arbitrary lay-up subjected to progressive end-shortening in their plane and to normal pressure loading. In this method, all the displacements are postulated by the appropriate harmonic shape functions in the longitudinal direction and polynomial interpolation functions in the transverse direction. Thin or thick plates are assumed and correspondingly the Classical Plate Theory (CPT) or Higher Order Plate Theory (HOPT) is applied. The in-plane transverse deflection is allowed at the loaded ends of the plate, whilst the same deflection at the unloaded edges is either allowed to occur or completely restrained. Geometric non-linearity is introduced in the strain-displacement equations in the manner of the von-Karman assumptions. The formulations of the finite strip methods are based on the concept of the principle of the minimum potential energy. The Newton-Raphson method is used to solve the non-linear equilibrium equations. A number of applications involving isotropic plates, symmetric and unsymmetric cross-ply laminates are described to investigate the through-thickness shearing effects as well as the effect of pressure loading, end-shortening and boundary conditions. The study of the results has revealed that the response of the composite laminated plates is particularly influenced by the application of the Higher Order Plate Theory (HOPT) and normal pressure loading. In the relatively thick plates, the HOPT results have more accuracy than CPT.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.68 no.5
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• pp.603-619
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• 2018

In this research, an effective computational technique is carried out for nonlinear and post-buckling analyses of cracked imperfect composite plates. The laminated plates are assumed to be moderately thick so that the analysis can be carried out based on the first-order shear deformation theory. Geometric non-linearity is introduced in the way of von-Karman assumptions for the strain-displacement equations. The Ritz technique is applied using Legendre polynomials for the primary variable approximations. The crack is modeled by partitioning the entire domain of the plates into several sub-plates and therefore the plate decomposition technique is implemented in this research. The penalty technique is used for imposing the interface continuity between the sub-plates. Different out-of-plane essential boundary conditions such as clamp, simply support or free conditions will be assumed in this research by defining the relevant displacement functions. For in-plane boundary conditions, lateral expansions of the unloaded edges are completely free while the loaded edges are assumed to move straight but restricted to move laterally. With the formulation presented here, the plates can be subjected to biaxial compressive loads, therefore a sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to the applied load direction, along the parallel or perpendicular to the crack axis. The integrals of potential energy are numerically computed using Gauss-Lobatto quadrature formulas to get adequate accuracy. Then, the obtained non-linear system of equations is solved by the Newton-Raphson method. Finally, the results are presented to show the influence of crack length, various locations of crack, load direction, boundary conditions and different values of initial imperfection on nonlinear and post-buckling behavior of laminates.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.439-457
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• 2019

In this paper, a new application of a four variable refined plate theory to analyze the nonlinear bending of functionally graded plates exposed to thermo-mechanical loadings, is presented. This recent theory is based on the assumption that the transverse displacements consist of bending and shear components in which the bending components do not contribute toward shear forces, and similarly, the shear components do not contribute toward bending moments. The derived transverse shear strains has a quadratic variation across the thickness that satisfies the zero traction boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factors. The material properties are assumed to vary continuously through the thickness of the plate according to a power-law distribution of the volume fraction of the constituents. The solutions are achieved by minimizing the total potential energy. The non-linear strain-displacement relations in the von Karman sense are used to derive the effect of geometric non-linearity. It is concluded that the proposed theory is accurate and simple in solving the nonlinear bending behavior of functionally graded plates.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.143-159
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• 1998

The objective of this present work is to estimate the failure loads, associated maximum transverse displacements, locations and the modes of failure, including the onset of delamination, of thin, square symmetric laminates under the action in-plane positive (+ve) shear load. Two progressive failure analyses, one using the Hashin criterion and the other using a Tensor polynomial criterion, are used in conjunction with finite element method. First order shear deformation theory along with geometric non-linearity in the von Karman sense have been employed. Variation of failure loads and failure characteristics with five type of lay-ups and three types of boundary conditions has been investigated in detail. It is observed that the maximum difference between failure loads predieted by various criteria depends strongly on the laminate lay-up and the flexural boundary restraint. Laminates with clamped edges are found to be more susceptible to failure due to transverse shear (ensuing from the out of plane bending) and delamination, while those with simply supported edges undergo total collapse at a load slightly higher than the fiber failure load. The investigation on negative (-ve) in-plane shear load is in progress and will be communicated as part-II of the present work.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.5
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• pp.693-707
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• 2022

Bonded joints have proven their performance against conventional joining processes such as welding, riveting and bolting. The single-lap joint is the most widely used to characterize adhesive joints in tensile-shear loadings. However, the high stress concentrations in the adhesive joint due to the non-linearity of the applied loads generate a bending moment in the joint, resulting in high stresses at the adhesive edges. Geometric optimization of the bonded joint to reduce this high stress concentration prompted various researchers to perform geometric modifications of the adhesive and adherends at their free edges. Modifying both edges of the adhesive (spew) and the adherends (bevel) has proven to be an effective solution to reduce stresses at both edges and improve stress transfer at the inner part of the adhesive layer. The majority of research aimed at improving the geometry of the plate and adhesive edges has not considered the effect of temperature and water absorption in evaluating the strength of the joint. The objective of this work is to analyze, by the finite element method, the stress distribution in an adhesive joint between two 2024-T3 aluminum plates. The effects of the adhesive fillet and adherend bevel on the bonded joint stresses were taken into account. On the other hand, degradation of the mechanical properties of the adhesive following its exposure to moisture and temperature was found. The results clearly showed that the modification of the edges of the adhesive and of the bonding agent have an important role in the durability of the bond. Although the modification of the adhesive and bonding edges significantly improves the joint strength, the simultaneous exposure of the joint to temperature and moisture generates high stress concentrations in the adhesive joint that, in most cases, can easily reach the failure point of the material even at low applied stresses.