Bending of cross-ply laminated plates resting on elastic foundations under thermo-mechanical loading

This article investigates the bending response of an orthotropic rectangular plate resting on two-parameter elastic foundations under thermo-mechanical loadings. Analytical solutions for deflection and stresses are investigated by using an 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 governing equations that include the interaction between the plate and the foundations are obtained. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the behavior of the system. The influences of aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, thermal expansion coefficients ratio and stacking sequence on the thermally induced response are studied.