Geometrically Nonlinear Analysis of Smart Thin and Sandwich Plates

ABSTRACT: This article presents the large deformation analysis of piezolaminated smart structures. The degenerate shell element is formulated using total Lagrangian and von Karman hypotheses. Higher-order shear deformation theory is used in the formulation. The finite element equations are derived using energy principles. The electromechanical coupling linear constitutive model given by Tierstien is used in the formulation. The nonlinear equilibrium equations are solved using the Newton–Raphson iterative technique. Numerical studies on the thin and sandwich plates are presented using different boundary and loading conditions. The comparison between the first-order shear deformation theory (FOST) and higher-order shear deformation theory (HOST) has shown that for sandwich plates the HOST model predicts a better response. KEY WORDS: geometric nonlinearity, piezolaminated composite structure, sandwich plates, higher-order shear deformation theory