Application of the variational-asymptotical method to laminated composite plates

This method is a technique by which the geometrically nonlinear, three dimensional analysis of plate deformation can be split into a linear, one dimensional, through-the-thickness analysis and a nonlinear, two dimensional, plate analysis. The elastic constants used in the plate analysis are obtained in closed form from the through-the-thickness analysis, along with approximate, closed-form three dimensional distributions of displacement, strain, and stress. The development of such a theory is presented herein for laminated plates in which each lamina exhibits monoclinic symmetry about its own midplane