A CLOSED-FORM SOLUTION FOR LAMINATED COMPOSITE BEAMS

An analytic formulation and solution for the elastic response of laminated composite beams is presented. The formulation is carried out for multilayered beams of rectangular cross-section. The analysis shows that the problem may be analytically derived using Fourier series expansions in the presence of both tip loads and outer surface loads, while all interlaminar constrains are consistently included. The results demonstrate the capability of the present approach to predict the stress distributions and the associated displacement fields as functions of the laminae characteristics and layup angles. The ability to predict the elastic coupling mechanisms and correlation with other solution forms are also presented.