Bending analysis of composite laminated plates using a partially hybrid stress element with interlaminar continuity

A partially hybrid stress element for modelling composite laminated plates is developed based on the state space in which only the displacement components and the transverse stress components are assumed to be independent. This formulation satisfies exactly the interlaminar continuity requirements and the surface traction free conditions. It also combines the advantages of both the conventional displacement elements and the fully hybrid stress elements. Numerical examples are illustrated to investigate the accuracy, convergence and shear locking sensitivity of the present method. The nonlinear distributions of the normal and transverse stresses along the thickness direction are also especially studied.