Vibration and buckling analysis of composite plates and shells.
The magnitude of the previously observed effect associated with laminated composites - i.e., that a coupling exists between extension and bending if the plies are not balanced in number and fiber orientation - is investigated for buckling and vibration of doubly curved monocoque plates and shells of positive and negative Gaussian curvature. In addition, the effect of stacking sequence is examined. Solutions are presented which provide a means of simply and economically assessing the magnitude of the coupling and stacking effects for various composite materials and geometric configurations.