3-DIMENSIONAL ELASTICITY SOLUTION FOR STATIC RESPONSE OF ORTHOTROPIC DOUBLY CURVED SHALLOW SHELLS ON RECTANGULAR PLANFORM

The analysis of homogeneous and laminated doubly curved shells made of an orthotropic material using the three-dimensional elasticity equations is presented. Solution is obtained by utilising the assumption that the ratio of the shell thickness to its middle surface radius is negligible as compared to unity. However, it is shown that by dividing the shell thickness into layers of smaller thickness and matching the interface displacement and stress continuity conditions, very accurate results can be obtained. The two-dimensional shell theories are compared for their accuracy in the light of the present three-dimensional elasticity analysis. Numerical results for orthotropic shells show that the two-dimensional shell theories are very inacurrate for shells with thickness to length ratio greater than or equal to 1/10.