A general fibre-reinforced composite shell element based on a refined shear deformation theory

A refined shell theory has been developed for the analysis of isotropic, orthotropic and anisotropic fibre-reinforced laminated composite and sandwich shells. This theory is based on a higher-order displacement model and the three-dimensional Hooke's laws for shell material, giving rise to a more realistic representation of the cross-sectional deformation. The superparametric shell element with four-noded linear eight/nine-noded quadratic and twelve/sixteen-noded cubic, serendipity/ Lagrangian shape functions can be employed. In addition to the present higher-order shear deformation shell theory (HOST), a first-order shear deformation shell theory (FOST), following Reissner-Mindlin plate's formulation, is developed and the results are compared with the closed-form solutions (CFS). The parametric effects of the finite element mesh, radius-to-arc length ratio, arc length-to-thickness ratio, lamination scheme, Gaussian integration rule, and material anisotropy on the response of the laminated composite shells are investigated. Results are tabulated to provide an easy means for future comparisons by other investigators