A Combined Strain Element in Static, Frequency and Buckling Analyses of Laminated Composite Plates and Shells

This paper deals with numerical analyses of laminated composite plate and shell structures using a new four-node quadrilateral flat shell element, namely SQ4C, based on the first_order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and a combined strain strategy. The main notion of the combined strain strategy is based on the combination of the membrane strain and shear strain related to tying points as well as bending strain with respect to cell-based smoothed finite element method. Many desirable characteristics and the enforcement of the SQ4C element are verified and proved through various numerical examples in static, frequency and buckling analyses of laminated composite plate and shell structures. Numerical results and comparison with other reference solutions suggest that the present element is accuracy, efficiency and removal of shear and membrane locking.