Exact Solutions of Moderately Thick Laminated Shells

Abstract

An extension of the Sanders shell theory for doubly curved shells to a shear deformation theory of laminated shells is presented. The theory accounts for transverse shear strains and rotation about the normal to the shell midsurface. Exact solutions of the equations are presented for simply supported, doubly curved, cross‐ply laminated shells under sinusoidal, uniformly distributed, and concentrated point load at the center. Fundamental frequencies of cross‐ply laminated shells are also presented. The exact solutions presented herein for laminated composite shells should serve as bench mark solutions for future comparisons.