A hybrid-stress finite-element formulation for thick multilayer laminates

Abstract A hybrid-stress-based finite-element formulation for thick multilayer laminates is presented and evaluated. Particular attention is given to the through-thickness distributions assumed for both stress and displacement components; high order through-thickness distributions are assumed within each layer in the present formulation. Attention is restricted to cylindrical bending of cross-ply laminates and a two-dimensional plane-strain element is derived. Results obtained for through-thickness distributions of stress and displacement are compared with the elasticity solutions for various numbers of layers and increasing thickness to span ratios. Good correlation between computed and elasticity solutions and the need for the inclusion of high-order through-thickness distributions are shown.