Hygrothermomechanical Effects on Laminated Composite Plates in Terms of a Higher-Order Global-Local Model

Abstract

Results analytical or numerical on transverse shear stresses of laminated composite plates subjected to hygrothermomechanical effects are scarce in literature. To fill this gap, a higher-order global-local model (HGLM) satisfying the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses at interfaces is proposed. Based on stress continuity condition between layers, the number of variables in the proposed model is independent of the number of layers of the laminate. Applying Navier's technique to equilibrium equations obtained using the principle of minimum potential energy, analytical solution of the model HGLM is derived for simply supported composite plates. Comparing the results from available three-dimensional elasticity theory and those computed from the first-order and the higher-order models, it is found that the proposed model can produce promising transverse shear stresses directly from constitutive equations without any smoothing technique. The effects of material properties, aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, stacking sequence and thermal expansion coefficients on the hygrothermomechanical response have also been studied.