A unified formulation of various shell theories for the analysis of laminated composite spherical shells

This study investigates the static and free vibration responses of orthotropic laminated composite spherical shells using various refined shear deformation theories. Displacement-based refined shear deformation theories are presented herein for the analysis of laminated composite spherical shells via unified mathematical formulations. Equations of motion associated with the present theory are derived within the framework of Hamilton's principle. Analytical solutions for the static and free vibration problems of laminated spherical shells are obtained using Navier's technique for the simply supported boundary conditions. Few higher order and classical theories are recovered from the present unified formulation; however, many other theories can be recovered from the present unified formulation. The numerical results are obtained for symmetric as well as anti-symmetric laminated shells. The present results are compared with previously published results and 3-D elasticity solution. From the numerical results, it is concluded that the present theories are in good agreement with other higher order theories and 3-D solutions.