Corrugated laminate analysis: A generalized plane-strain problem

The task of finding a substitute plate model representing the structural properties of a corrugated laminate requires solving of a set of six load cases all of which are generalized plane-strain problems. This work derives a dedicated two-dimensional finite element which is not found in commercial FEM software. It is used to model the corrugated laminate, solve the load cases, and obtain the substitute stiffness matrix entries as a postprocessing task. Displacement constraints map the solid-model response to plate behavior and impose the periodicity and boundary conditions on the unit cell. The new model is verified by comparing its predictions with those of three-dimensional-model FEM simulations, performed with a commercial code, and with a previously existing closed-form model based on thin-shell theory.