Interlaminar stress analysis of laminated composite and sandwich circular arches subjected to thermal/mechanical loading

Stresses and displacements in cross-ply laminated composite and sandwich circular arches subjected to thermal and mechanical loadings are analyzed by a global higher-order arch theory which can take into account the effects of both transverse shear and normal stresses. By using the method of power series expansion of displacement components, a set of fundamental equilibrium equations of a one-dimensional higher-order theory for laminated composite circular arches is derived through the principle of virtual work. Several sets of truncated approximate theories are applied to solve the boundary value problems of simply supported laminated composite and sandwich circular arches. Transverse shear and normal stresses can be calculated by integrating the three-dimensional equations of equilibrium in the depth direction, and satisfying the continuity conditions at the interface between layers and stress boundary conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of arches. The present global higher-order approximate theories can predict displacements and stresses in cross-ply laminated composite circular arches with a large number of layers within the small number of independent variables accurately.