<¢ - grafite fibres 282 Mecnanica of Composite Materials Note that no assumptions involve fiber-reinforced composite mate- rials explicitly. Instead, only the restriction to orthotropic materials at various orientations is significant because we treat the macroscopic be- havior of an individual orthotropic (easily extended to anisotropic) lamina. Therefore, what follows is essentially a classical plate theory for lami- nated materials. Actually, interlaminar stresses cannot be entirely disre- garded in laminated plates, but this refinement will not be treated in this book other than what was studied in Section 4.6, Transverse shear ef- fects away from the edges will be addressed briefly in Section 6.6. 5.2.2 Equilibrium Equations for Laminated Plates The equilibrium differential equations in terms of the force and ‘moment resultants derived in Chapter 4 and the transverse loading p(x,y) are Nyt Nyy y= (63) Naya Naa 6a Mat May May —P cr) where a comma denotes differentiation of the principal symbol with re- spect to the subscript that follows the comma. In this form, the equilb- rium equations are merely those of classical plate theory as derived from the equilibrium of a differential element in Appendix D. When the stipu- lation of a laminated plate is introduced by the explicit use of the force and moment resultants in Equations (4.22) and (4.23) and the strain and change of curvature definitions in Equations (4.14) and (4.15), then the equilibrium equations, Equations (6.3) to.(6.5), become (upon dropping the zero subscript used to denote middle-surtace displacements) gpl + 2A gQUagy + Aggtayy +A Qi + (Aya + Agg any + Azg¥iyy = By {Mrpce~ 3B gray — (By2 + 2B GQ) Wingy — Bog Wryyy =O Arctic * (Art Agg)iny + Azetiyy + Ageia t 2AzeV ny + Aaa iy = BygMina~ (B42 + 2B g—)¥ rary — SBagMiayy — BoaWrpy =O nope + 4D gM rexay + 2(D 12 + 2D 66)¥rpny + 4D zg Many + Dra Mryyyy ~ By Uag9¢¢— 9B QU ory ~ (B12 + 2B gg) Yrgyy — Bog Yryyy (5.8) = Big pce (By2+ 2856) erry ~ 9B 264 xyy ~ Baa"yyy = P Obvious and sometimes drastic simplifications occur when the laminate is symmetric about the middle surface (By=0), specially orthotropic (all the terms wih 16 and 26 subsgrpts vanish in addon to tho By), homo- geneous (B)=0 and Dj=Ajt'/12), or isotropic. In all those cases, Equations (6.6) and (5.7) are coupled to each other, but uncoupled from Equation (6.8). That is, Equation (5.8) contains derivatives of the trans- verse displacement w only, and Equations (5.6) and (5.7) contain both u and v but not w. Accordingly, only Equation (5.8) must be solved to determine the transverse deflections of a plate with the aforementioned (6.8) 6.7) D, 1< grafite fibres ( Bending, Buckling, and Vibration of Laminated Plates 263 simplifications; the in-plane displacements can be found from the solution of Equations (5.6) and (5.7). The more general case of unsymmetrical faminates requires the simultaneous solution of the three coupled equations, Equations (6.6)-(6.8) for the transverse and ln-plane dis- placements. Boundary conditions used to be thought of as a choice between simply supported, clamped, or free edges if all classes of elastically re- Strained edges are neglected. The real situation for laminated plates Is Store complex than foF isotropic plates because now there are actually four types of boundary conditions that can be called simply supported edges. These more complicated boundary conditions arise because NOW Sve must consider u, v, and w Inslead of Just w alone. Similarly, there we Tour kinds of clamped edges. These boundary conditions can be concisely described as a displacement or derivative of a displacement Gr alternatively, a force or moment Is equal to some presenibed value (often zero) denoted by an overbar at the edge: or Na=¥ or 69) or Mut Qn= Ko Inn and t coordinates where n is the direction normal to the edge and t it the direction tangent to the edge as in Figure 5-6. Also, Q, is the shear force and K,, is the well-known Kirchhoff force of classical plate theory {gee Timostienko and Woinowsky-Krioger [5-5)). For example, on the edge x=0 in Figures 5-2 and 5-3, u=0 or N,=0 (6.10) = NORMAL t= TANGENTIAL Figure 5-6 Boundary Condition Notation ill Oo é<¢ - grafite fibres 204 Mol cs of Composite Matoriaia The eight possible types of simply supported (prefix S) and clamped (prefix C) edge boundary conditions (combinations o! the conditions in Equation (6.9)] are commonly classified as (see Almroth (5-6)): St: 82: 3: 84: 6.11) cr: C2: w= C3: w=0 C4: W=0 Wa=O Na= whereupon a rectangular plate can be characterized as having any one of the eight conditions in Equations (5.11) and (5.12) on each of its four edges. The range of possibilities is, therefore, quite large (twelve possi- ble conditions on each of the four edges if the free-edge conditions are included). The simplest cases to analyze naturally involve like types of boundary conditions on opposite, if not all, edges. The emphasis in this book is on plates with four simply supported edges, so cases are chosen {rom those in Equation (5.11). Note that simply supported edges have no rotational restraint, but when this simplified terminology of simply ‘supported edges is used, the specific in-plane conditions are not deter- mined. Obviously, the totality of boundary conditions including in-plane conditions must be specified by stating, for example, that a solution is obtained for $1 boundary conditions. To better appreciate the four possible simply supported edge boundary conditions, consider the support system for the edge of a plate illustrated in Figure 5-7 in near-physical terms with mechanisms that the reader can easily understand. Note that the support mechanisms de- picted are only for understanding how the various supports. could work. Only the reader can decide what support conditions are applicable to a specific structure of interest. For a simply supported plate edge, the principal support mechanism in Figure 5-7 is a triangular prism with a circular-cross-section prismatic protrudance on top as a realistic mech- anism for the usual so-called knife-edge support for free rotation, ie., M,=0. The end view of the triangular prism looks similar to the usual beam support, but with more realistic mechanisms thal permit the motion required. For a plate, the protrudance is a bearing thal permits (limited) rotation about the y-axis through the center of the protrudance which is located at the middle surface of the plate (but not precisely al the edge of the plate). The protrudance fits in a cavity in the plate such that ro- tation around the y-axis is possible, but motion transverse to the plate surface is prevented (w=0) and translation along the y-axis of the circu- (6.12) Il O << - grafite fibres x Benclng, Bucktng ané Vion of Laminated se 285 0 veo v=0 Figure 5-7 Simply Supported Edge Boundary Conditions lar prism is nol permitted. The four manners of supporting the triangular prism are: (1) For the $1 condition, the triangular prism is fastened to a horizontal surface such that the prism cannot translate in either the x- or y- directions. Thus, u=0 and v=0. Hence, forces N, and N,y must exist. (2) For the S2 condition, the triangular prism is supported on partially embedded y-direction roller bearings that permit translation in the x-direction, but none in the y-direction. Thus, u#0 and v=0. Hence, force N, must be zero, bul Nyy must exist. (@) For the 83 corkition, the triangular Prism is supported on partially embedded x-direction roller bearings that permit translation in the y-sireetion, but none in the x-direction. Thus, u=0 and v#0. Hence, force N, must exist, but Ny must be zero. (4) For the $4 contdlion, the triangular prism is supported on partially embedded spherical bearings that permit translation in any direction inthe xy plane, Thus, u#0 and v#0, so both forces N, and Nyy must be zero. For a clamped plate edge, the principal support mechanism Is a boxy mass that restrains rotation about the edge of the plate (W.,=0) and motion transverse to the plate surface (w=0). The four ways of sup- porting the boxy mass are analogous to the four ways for a simply sup- ported edge and are shown in Appendix D. 5.2.3 Buckling Equations for Laminated Plates A plate buckles when the in-plane compressive load gels so large that the originally flat equilibrium state is no longer stable, and the plate deflects into a nonfiat (wavy) configuration. The load at which the de- parture from the flat state takes place is called the buckling load. The flat equilibrium state has only in-plane forces and undergoes only ex Ul O <