Abstract
An unconstrained third-order shear deformation theory is presented for the analysis of laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells. Based on the realistic through-thickness distribution of the in-plane displacements, a zig-zag function is used to approximate the piecewise nature of the displacements. The zero-shearing condition on the laminate surfaces and continuous conditions for the transverse shear stresses on the inter-laminar surfaces have been considered for the final stresses calculation, while the displacement functions remain to be unconstrained. This theory is very useful for finite element analysis because it requests only C° continuity for the assumed displacement field. By comparison with three-dimensional elasticity theory for laminated orthotropic cylindrical shells, the performance of the present theory is verified. The problems solved in this paper illustrate that the present theory is very accurate for thin and moderately thick shells.
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