Enhancement to four-node quadrilateral plate elements by using cell-based smoothed strains and higher-order shear deformation theory for nonlinear analysis of composite structures

Abstract

This paper improves four-node quadrilateral plate elements by using cell-based strain smoothing enhancement and higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) for geometrically nonlinear analysis of composite structures. Small strain-large displacement theory of von Kármán is used in nonlinear formulations of four-node quadrilateral plate elements that have strain components smoothed or averaged over the sub-domains of the elements. From the divergence theory, the displacement gradients in the smoothed strains are transformed from the area integral into the line one. The behavior of composite structures follows the third-order shear deformation theory. The solution of the nonlinear equilibrium equations is obtained by the iterative method of Newton–Raphson with the appropriate convergence criteria. The present numerical results are compared with the other numerical results available in the literature in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed element. These results also contribute a better knowledge and understanding of nonlinear bending behaviors of these composite structures.