Thermomechanical effects on the bending of antisymmetric cross-ply composite plates using a four variable sinusoidal theory

The thermomechanical bending response of anti-symmetric cross-ply composite plates is investigated by the use of the simple four variable sinusoidal plate theory. The theory accounts for sinusoidal distribution of transverse shear stress, and satisfies the free transverse shear stress conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the plate without using shear correction factor. By dividing the transverse displacement into bending and shear parts, the number of unknowns and governing equations for the present theory is reduced, significantly facilitating engineering analysis. The validity of the present theory is demonstrated by comparison with solutions available in the literature. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the behavior of the system. The influences of aspect ratio, side-to-thickness ratio, thermal expansion coefficients ratio and stacking sequence on the thermally induced response are studied. The present study is relevant to aerospace, chemical process and nuclear engineering structures which may be subjected to intense thermal loads.