Verification of a general-purpose laminated composite shell element implementation: Comparisons with analytical and experimental results

Abstract

The constitutive behavior of a laminated shell element, implemented in a nonlinear finite element code, is verified by analyzing a series of analytical and experimental results. Comparisons between the laminated shell model and analytical results available in the literature verify the implementation of the model for the membrane response, bending response with and without transverse shear, and the coupled response between the membrane and bending modes. The theoretical basis of the laminated shell model is verified by analyzing an impulsively loaded ring test. Our purpose in presenting this set of analytical and experimental results is to provide other researchers and developers of laminated composite shell elements with an initial source of comparative data for both their element verification and performance relative to the dyna3d implementation.