Application of the analytical strip method to antisymmetric laminates

The analytical strip method is presented in this paper for the analysis of the bending-extension coupling problem of antisymmetric thin laminates. A system of three equations of equilibrium, governing the general response of antisymmetric laminates, is reduced to a single eighth-order partial differential equation (PDE) in terms of a displacement function. The PDE is then solved in a single series form to determine the displacement response of antisymmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminates. The solution is applicable to rectangular laminates with two opposite edges simply supported and the other edges being simply supported, clamped, or free. The laminate can be subjected to any combination of concentrated, uniform, line, and patch loads. This method overcomes the limitations of other analytical methods (e.g., Navier's and Levy's) and provides an alternative to numerical, seminumerical, and approximate methods for rectangular plates with two parallel edges simply supported. The results obtained from this method compare very well with the ones derived using the finite-element program ANSYS and, where applicable, the existing classical laminated plate theory.