Axisymmetric non-linear analysis of laminated orthotropic annular spherical shells

The problem of axisymmetric non-linear behaviour of laminated orthotropic spherical shells is formulated using the principle of virtual work. The efficacy and applicability of the method of global interior collocation for the solution of the title problem are investigated. The zeroes of a Chebyshev polynomial are used as the collocation points. Parametric studies are conducted to bring out the effects of factors like orthotropic ratio, R/h ratio, shear deformation and opening angle on the non-linear static response of two-layered annular cross-ply shells. The results using the analytical solution presented herein should serve as bench-mark numerical results to test the accuracy of non-linear composite shell elements employed in finite element analysis. © 1992.