Static behavior of arbitrarily supported composite laminated cylindrical shell panels: An analytical 3D elasticity approach

Abstract First time, an analytical three-dimensional elasticity solution is proposed for bending analysis of composite laminated cylindrical shell panels having arbitrarily end-support conditions which were unavailable hitherto. Governing partial differential equations are obtained in terms of displacements and stresses by employing Ressiner mixed variational principle in the cylindrical coordinate system. Further employing extended Kantorovich method, governing partial differential equations are reduced to sets of non–homogeneous first order ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The set of ODEs with variable coefficients (along radial direction) is ingeniously solved through a new modified power series method whereas the set with constant coefficients (along circumferential direction) is solved using Pagano’s approach. After thorough validation, some new benchmark results are presented for single layer and multilayered laminated composites under various boundary conditions. This development will help to revisit/develop solutions for many classical problems of arbitrarily supported shell structures.