Nonlinear Transient Response of Laminated Composite Shells

This paper first compares the writers' results of static and dynamic analyses of plates, cylindrical and spherical shells employing four-, eight-, and nine-noded elements with different integration rules with those of earlier investigators and including some of the recent composite theories. Thereafter, the nonlinear transient responses of laminated composite cylindrical and spherical shell panels with cutouts are investigated taking up additional examples that are yet to appear in the published literature. For these, the finite-element model is employed using eight-noded C-0 continuity, an isoparametric quadrilateral element considering von Karman large deflection assumptions. In the time integration, the Newmark average acceleration method is used in conjunction with a modified Newton-Raphson iteration scheme. Important conclusions with respect to nonlinear transient responses are summarized for cylindrical and spherical shells with and without cutouts.