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FINITE ELEMENT
ANALYSIS OF SANDWICH
AN OVERVIEW
PLATES:
K. H. I-IA
Centre for Building Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G lM8
(Receiued 17 October 1989)
Abstract-Many finite element models have been proposed for the analysis of sandwich plates. In general,
these elements can be classified into two broad streams. The first is based on the assumed filament
approach, and the second on the assumed-stress hybrid approach. Within each stream, the characteristics
of the elements vary greatly in terms of the formulation complexity, accuracy and applicability. An
overview is given of the state-of-the-art finite element analysis applied to sandwich plate structures.
INTRODUCTION
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OF FINITE
ELEMENTS
elements
References [6] and [7j and their subsequent extension by Medwadowski [13], Yang et al. [14], and
many others, provide the basis for the development
of finite element models of both homogeneous and
Ui
Fig. 3. Piece-wise linear displacement with full continuity.
(2)
w,++
U,= w,+ex
~~~=w~+~,~=w,~+e~, (3)
where the comma denotes partial differentiation with
respect to the variable that follows. To account for
the non-uniform
distribution of transverse shear
stresses, correction factors are introduced. In the case
of a homogeneous plate, the correlation factor of 1.2
is included in the definition of the transverse shear
stiffness
(4)
where G is the shear modulus, and h is the plate
thickness.
For the analysis of laminated or sandwich plates,
it is necessary to provide the proper material constants, expressed in terms of stress-strain relations for
the individual layers, or in terms of the plate resultant
forces and moments. Correction factors for this class
were derived by Whitney [ 15,161 based on energy
consideration.
The popularity of the Reissner-Mindlin
element
type arises partly from the simplicity in the
formulation which requires only Co displacement
continuity, and partly from its general applicability
to both thin and thick plates. The first order
Reissner-Mindlin elements may work well for laminated plates, but Khatua and Cheung [17] have
shown that the assumption of constant shear strain
may not be suitable for sandwich construction of
multiple cores having large differences in stiffnesses.
Because many of these elements (mostly for homogeneous plates, but also for the approximate analysis
of sandwich plates by means of equivalent stiffnesses)
have been reviewed by Hrabok and Hrudy [18],
the emphasis here will be on elements which were
either designed specifically for sandwich construction
or developed after 1983. We may add to the list
compiled in [ 181 the following recently developed
homogeneous thick plate elements, mainly of the
400
K. H. HA
Most of the elements discussed above are characterized by assumed linear or piece-wise linear displacements in the cross-section, and where the nodal
degrees of freedom include only displacements or
rotations. Higher order elements for thick laminated
plates, in the present context, allow for non-linear
warping of the plate cross-section by using extra
degrees of freedom. This warping function is often
selected to achieve a more realistic distribution of
transverse shear stresses vanishing at the exterior
surfaces. Since transverse shear stresses are no longer
assumed to be uniform, shear correction factors are
generally not required for this type of element.
In addition to the use of extra degrees of freedom,
higher order elements involve higher order resultant
moments and shears which have little physical
meaning.
Quadratic
warping functions
were used by
Engblom and Ochoa [41], with shear stresses being
obtained by integration of the equilibrium equation.
Parabolic variation of transverse shear strains was
assumed by Phan and Reddy [42] for plates, and by
Bhimaraddi et al. [43] for shells of revolution. Since
the warping functions chosen contain first derivatives
of w, both of these elements require C displacement
continuity, i.e. the set of degrees of freedom includes
w as well as the normal rotations. In contrast,
fo&ulation proposed by Pandya and Kant [44],
also of parabolic shear distribution, is Co continuity.
Furthermore,
by assuming linear variation
of
the thickness normal stress [approximation
l(a)
abandoned], all six stress components can be found.
A more complex three-dimensional formulation was
presented by Kim and Lee [45], and by Hwang and
Sun [46]; the latter, in particular, rely on a mixed
field iterative scheme for accurate determination of
interlaminar stresses.
401
1.
y.
402
H. HA
15. J. M. Whitney, Stress analysis of thick laminated composite and sandwich plates. J. Comp. Muter. 6,42-O
(1972).
16. J. M. Whitney, Shear correction factors for orthotropic
laminates under static load. J. appl. Mech. 40(2),
302-304 (1973).
17. T. P. Khatua and Y. K. Cheung, Bending and vibration
of multilayer sandwich beams and plates. Int. J. Numer.
Merh. Engng 6, 1l-24 (1973).
18. M. M. Hrabok and T. M. Hrudy, A review and
catalogue of plate bending finite elements. Comput.
Srruct. 19, 479-495 (1984).
19. S. K. Ghosh and D. N. Buragohain, Two triangular
elements for the analysis of thick, sandwich plates. In
Proceedings qf the International Conference on Finite
Elements in Computational Mechanics, Bombay, India,
2-6 December 1985 (Edited bv T. Kant). DD. 259-268.
AA
laminated
plates
by
finite
element
displacement
25-34 (1984).
41. J. J. Engblom and 0. 0. Ochoa, Through-the-thickness
stress predictions for laminated plates of advanced
composite materials. Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 21,
1759-1776 (1985).
42. N. D. Phan and J. N. Reddy, Analysis of laminated
composites using a higher-ordered shear deformation
theory. Inc. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 21, 2201-2219
(1985).
43. A. Bhimaraddi, A. J. Carr and P. J. Moss, A shear
deformable finite element for the analysis of general
shells of revolution. Comput. Strucr. 31,299-308 (1989).
44. B. N. Pandya and T. Kant, Flexural analysis of laminated composites using refined higher-ordered Co plate
bending elements. Compur. Meth. appl. Mech. Engng 66,
173-198 (1988).
45. Y. H. Kim and S. W. Lee, A solid element formulation
for large deflection analysis of composite shell structures. Compul. Struct. 30, 269-274 (1988).
46. W. C. Hwang and C. T. Sun, A finite element iterative
approach for analysis of laminated composite structural
elements. Comput. Slruct. 31, 5562 (1989).
47. T. H. H. Pian, Derivation of element stiffness matrices
by assumed stress distribution. AIAA Jnl 2, 1333-1336
(1964).
48. T. H. H. Pian and P. Tong, Rationalization
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in deriving
element stiffness matrix bv assumed stress approach.
Proc. 2nd Conf. Matrix -Methods in Struct:-Mech.,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, pp. 441469
(1968).
H. R. Lundgren, Buckling of multilayer plates by finite
element. Ph.D. thesis, Oklahoma State University, OK
(1967).
A. J. Barnard, The finite element method applied to the
analysis of sandwich plate and shell structures. M.Sc.
thesis, Loughborough University of Technology, U.K.
(1972).
H. K. Ha, Analysis of three-dimensional orthotropic
sandwich plate structures by finite element method.
Ph.D. thesis, Sir George Williams University, Montreal
(1972).
P. Fazio and H. K. Ha, Sandwich plate structure
analysis by finite element. J. struct. Diu., ASCE 100,
1243-1262 (1974).
H. K. Ha and P. Fazio, Flexural behaviour of
sandwich floor assembly. J. Bdlg Envnmt 13, 6147
(1978).
G. Bartelds and H. H. Ottens, Finite element analysis
of sandwich panels. Proc. IUTAM Symp. on High
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Lievre, Vol. 1, pp. 357-382 (1971).
R. D. Cook, Two hybrid elements for analysis of thick,
thin and sandwich nlates. Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 5,
277-288 (1972).
56. R. D. Cook, Finite element buckling analysis of homogeneous and sandwich plates. Int. J. Numer. Melh.
Engng 9, 39-50 (1975). _
57. J. W. Luo. A hvbrid/mixed finite element analysis for
buckling oi modkrateiy thick plates. Comput. Srrk. 15,
359-364 (1982).
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