A Refined Small Strain and Moderate Rotation Theory of Elastic Anisotropic Shells

Abstract

A general refined shell theory that accounts for the transverse deformation, small strains, and moderate rotations is presented. The theory can be reduced to various existing shell theories including: the classical (i.e., linear Kirchhoff-Love) shell theory, the Donnell-Mushtari-Vlasov shell theory, the Leonard-Koiter-Sanders moderate rotations shell theory, the von Ka´rma´n type shear-deformation shell theory and the moderate-rotation shear-deformation plate theory developed by Reddy. The present theory is developed from an assumed displacement field, nonlinear strain-displacement equations that contain small strain and moderate rotation terms, and the principle of virtual displacements. The governing equations exhibit strong coupling between the membrane and bending deformations, which should alter the bending, stability, and post-buckling behavior of certain shell structures predicted using the presently available theories.