Thermal-elastic analysis of laminated plates based on the incompatible generalized partial mixed method

Area of Science:

• Mechanical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Accurate thermomechanical stress analysis is crucial for laminated composites and sandwich plates.
• Existing methods may face limitations in handling stress discontinuities and boundary conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an incompatible generalized partial mixed finite element method (IGPMFEM) for thermomechanical stress analysis.
• To enhance the accuracy and efficiency of analyzing laminated composites and sandwich plates.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the generalized Hellinger-Reissner (H-R) mixed variational principle.
• Introducing incompatible displacement modes to improve bending performance and element accuracy.
• Employing an elimination method to reduce computational effort by focusing on out-of-plane stress variables.

Main Results:

• The proposed IGPMFEM effectively handles in-plane stress discontinuities at material interfaces.
• Incorporating incompatible displacement modes significantly improves bending performance and element accuracy.
• The method demonstrates accuracy and effectiveness when compared to existing elasticity solutions.

Conclusions:

• The IGPMFEM offers a robust and accurate approach for thermomechanical stress analysis of laminated composites and sandwich plates.
• The method successfully balances computational efficiency with high accuracy.
• The investigation highlights the importance of considering stress boundary conditions in the analysis.