A new plate bending element based on higher-order shear deformation theory for the analysis of composite plates

A triangular element based on Reddy's higher-order shear deformation plate theory is developed. Although the plate theory is quite attractive but it could not be exploited as expected in finite-element analysis. This is due to the difficulties associated with satisfaction of inter-elemental continuity requirement of the plate theory. Keeping this aspect in view, the proposed element is developed where Reddy's plate theory is successfully implemented. It has six nodes and each node contains equal degrees of freedom. The performance of the element is tested with different numerical examples, which show its precision and range of applicability. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.