A REFINED SMALL STRAIN AND MODERATE ROTATION THEORY OF ELASTIC ANISOTROPIC SHELLS

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 Karman 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.