Non-linear analysis of moderately thick laminated plates and shell panels under thermo-mechanical loadings

Non-linear bending analysis of moderately thick laminated plates and cylindrical panels with various thermo-mechanical loadings and boundary conditions is presented using generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method together with the Newton-Raphson iterative scheme. Different symmetric and asymmetric lamination sequences together with various combinations of clamped, simply supported and free boundary conditions are considered. Assuming the effects of shear deformation and initial curvature, based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and von Karman-type of geometric non-linearity, the governing system of equations is obtained. This system includes thirteen non-linear partial differential equations (PDEs) in terms of unknown displacements, rotations, forces and moments. The solution domain, governing equations and related boundary conditions are then discretized based on the GDQ technique. It is observed that the method provides reasonably accurate results with relatively small number of grid points. Comparisons of the predictions with results of finite element analyses show very good agreement. More results for panels with particular boundary conditions are presented for future references.