Analytical solution for bending of cross-ply laminated plates under thermo-mechanical loading

The static thermo-elastic response of symmetric and anti-symmetric cross-ply laminated plates has been investigated by the use of a unified shear deformation plate theory. The present plate theory enables the trial and testing of different through-the-thickness transverse shear-deformation distributions and, among them, strain distributions that do not involve the undesirable implications of the transverse shear correction factors. The validity of the present theory is demonstrated by comparison with solutions available in the literature. A wide variety of results is presented for the static response of simply supported rectangular plates under non-uniform sinusoidal mechanical and/or thermal loadings. The influence of material anisotropy, aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, thermal expansion coefficients ratio and stacking sequence on the thermally induced response is studied. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.