Buckling behaviour of composite shells

In this work, a finite-element model is presented for geometric non-linear analysis of composite shell structures. It adopts a layered formulation of the Marguerre shell element. The material is assumed to have an orthotropic behaviour. The non-linear incremental equilibrium equations are set using a total Lagrangian displacement formulation of the finite-element method and the solution is accomplished using the incremental/literative Newton-Raphson method as well as a spherical formulation of the arc-length methods. The buckling behaviour of composite shells is analysed as a function of the material orientation and laminate stacking. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.