Deriving Shear Correction Factor for Thick Laminated Plates Using the Energy Equivalence Method

Abstract

The cylindrical bending of thick laminated sandwich plates under static loading is studied based on the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT). FSDT generally requires a shear correction factor (SCF) to account for the deflection owing to the transverse shear. In this paper the SCF is derived using energy equivalence method. It is shown that depending on the mechanical and geometrical properties of the layers, the contribution of the transverse shear stress to the maximum deflection of the plate is variable and in some cases account for up to around 88% of the total deflection. The effects of non-dimensional parameters such as layers tensile and shear modulus ratio and layers thickness ratio on the SCF and on the maximum deflection are investigated. The analytical results are compared and verified with the finite element analysis.