Analysis of three-layer composite plates with a new higher-order layerwise formulation

Abstract In this paper, we combine a new higher-order layerwise formulation and collocation with radial basis functions for predicting the static deformations and free vibration behavior of three-layer composite plates. The skins are modeled via a first-order theory, while the core is modeled by a cubic expansion with the thickness coordinate. Through numerical experiments, the numerical accuracy of this strong-form technique for static and vibration problems is discussed.