Nonlinear dynamic instability of laminated composite plates using finite element method

An investigation is carried out on the dynamic instability of anisotropic laminated composite plates considering geometric nonlinearity. The mathematical model is formulated using C° shear flexible, field consistent, QUAD-9 plate elements. The nonlinear governing equations are solved using the direct iteration technique. The effect of a large amplitude on the dynamic instability is studied for a simply-supported laminated composite plate. Detailed numerical results are presented for various parameters, namely, ply-angle, number of layers and thickness of plates. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.