AN ACCURATE SHEAR-DEFORMABLE 6-NODE TRIANGULAR PLATE ELEMENT FOR LAMINATED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

A six-node triangle plate/shell element is developed for the analysis of laminated composite structures. This model is formulated using Hamilton's principle along with a first-order (Reissner/Mindlin) shear deformation theory. The element is based upon an isoparametric representation along with an interdependent interpolation strategy; bicubic polynomials for the transverse displacement and biquadratic polynomials for the element geometry, in-plane displacements and rotations. The resulting element, which is evaluated using exact numerical integration, has correct rank and is free of shear 'locking'. Numerical results are presented that validate the new element and prove its outstanding convergence capabilities in comparison to existing triangular elements using standardized test problems (elastic eigenvalue analysis, patch test, static simply supported square-plate solutions) and experimentally measured vibration data of cantilevered isotropic and composite plates.