Nonlinear theory for laminated and thick plates and shells including the effects of transverse shearing
Nonlinear strain displacement relations for three-dimensional elasticity are determined in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. To develop a two-dimensional theory, the displacements are expressed by trigonometric series representation through-the-thickness. The nonlinear strain-displacement relations are expanded into series which contain all first and second degree terms. In the series for the displacements only the first few terms are retained. Insertion of the expansions into the three-dimensional virtual work expression leads to nonlinear equations of equilibrium for laminated and thick plates and shells that include the effects of transverse shearing. Equations of equilibrium and buckling equations are derived for flat plates and cylindrical shells. The shell equations reduce to conventional transverse shearing shell equations when the effects of the trigonometric terms are omitted and to classical shell equations when the trigonometric terms are omitted and the shell is assumed to be thin.