Quasi-three-dimensional theory for solution of dynamic thermoelastic problem of laminated composite plates

An uncoupled dynamic thermoelastic problem for laminated composite plates has been considered. The hypotheses used take into account the nonlinear distribution of temperature and displacements over the thickness of a laminated plate. On the basis of these hypotheses a quasi-three-dimensional (layerwise) theory is constructed that makes it possible to investigate the internal thermal and stress-strain states, as well as the edge effects of the boundary layer type for laminated plates. Systems of the heat conduction and motion equations are derived using the variational method. The order of the equations depends on the number of layers and terms in expansions of temperature and displacements of each layer. An analytical solution of the dynamic thermoelastic problem is presented for a cross-ply laminated rectangular plate with simply supported edges. The reliability of the results is confirmed by a comparison with the known exact solutions. The results based on the proposed theory can be used for verifying various two-dimensional plate theories when solving the dynamic thermoelastic problems for laminated composite plates.