Application of layered finite elements in the numerical analysis of laminated composite and sandwich structures with delaminations

Laminar composites are modern engineering materials widely used in the mechanical and civil engineering. In the paper, some recent advances in a numerical analysis of laminated composite and sandwich plates and shells of different shapes, with existing zones of partial delamination, are presented. The layered finite elements, based on the extended version of the Generalized Laminated Plate Theory of Reddy, are applied for the numerical solution of several structural problems. After the verification of the proposed model for intact structures using the existing data from the literature, the effects of the size and the position of embedded delamination zones on the structural response of laminated structures are investigated numerically by means of a variety of numerical applications.