A layer-wise triangle for analysis of laminated composite plates and shells

The paper presents a new triangle for analysis of laminate plates and shells. The in-plane degrees of freedom are interpolated quadratically whereas a linear layer-wise approximation is chosen for the normal displacement. A substructuring technique is used to eliminate the in-plane degrees of freedom during the assembly process thus reducing substantially the computationed costs. The element performance is evaluated in the static and dynamic analysis of different laminate plate and shell structures. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.