Postbuckling finite element analysis of composite panels

Abstract A three-dimensional degenerated isoparametric multilayer finite element is described in conjunction with an automatic incremental/iterative method to find the complete non-linear response of arbitrarily laminated composite panels under destabilizing loads. In the prebuckling range of the structural response, incremental bifurcation analyses are combined with an arclength algorithm to control the step size; for the postbuckling path, the increment size is determined automatically by a new recurrence formula. The good behaviour of this proposed procedure is illustrated on two structural applications, namely a thick hinged multilayer cylindrical shell subjected to a transverse load and a highly curved cylindrical composite panel under in-plane compression.

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