Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for

Uniformly Loaded Cross-ply Laminates

and Sandwich Plates

ASHRAF M. ZENKOUR*
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science
King AbdulAziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589, KSA

ABSTRACT: This article establishes the bending problem of cross-ply laminated

plates using the three-dimensional elasticity equations as well as the technique
based on the state space concept. It presents a wide variety of results for the
symmetric and antisymmetric analyses of rectangular multilayer plates subjected
to a sinusoidally/uniformly distributed load (SDL/UDL). In addition, this study
provides a strong mathematical tool allowing one to determine, in an exact and
unified manner, the state of stress and displacement of cross-ply laminated
composites and sandwich plates. The well-known results (given in Pagano ((1970),
Exact Solutions for Rectangular Bidirectional Composites and Sandwich Plates,
Journal of Composite Materials, 4(1): 20–24.) and Pagano and Hatfield ((1972),
Elastic Behaviour of Multilayered Bidirectional Composites, AIAA Journal, 10(12):
931–933.) due to the exact three-dimensional elasticity solution are in fact special
cases of the present technique.

KEY WORDS: bending response, uniform load, cross-ply, sandwich plate, state
space concept.

INTRODUCTION

OST APPROXIMATE LAMINATE theories, such as the equivalent

M single layer theory, the layerwise plate theory, and the individual-
layer plate theory, are mechanics of materials and applied elasticity
approaches for the static and dynamic flexure of laminated composite
plates. In the equivalent single-layer theories [1–15], on reducing the three-
dimensional problem, the laminate is characterized as an equivalent,
homogeneous layer. Therefore, the number of governing equations is

Permanent address: Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Education, Tanta University, Kafr El-Sheikh
33516, Egypt.
*E-mail: [email protected]

Journal of SANDWICH STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS, Vol. 9—May 2007 213

1099-6362/07/03 0213–26 $10.00/0 DOI: 10.1177/1099636207065675
ß 2007 SAGE Publications

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214 A. M. ZENKOUR

independent of the number of layers comprising a laminate. On the

one hand, these theories are more accurate than the classical laminated plate
theory [16–18] in predicting the global behavior of a laminate. On the other
hand, they are usually inadequate in describing the stress field in a laminate
at the layer level. In the layerwise theory [19] and individual-layer theory
[20], the total number of governing equations is dependent on the number
of layers in a laminate. In fact, in the layerwise theory, the continuity of
transverse normal and shear stresses is not forced at the interfaces of any
two adjacent layers. In general, the aforementioned shear deformation
theories offer in most situations, if not all, accurate and reliable solutions for
the analysis and design of laminated plates. However, three-dimensional
elasticity analysis of the laminate problems has attracted quite a number of
researchers.
A full-scale three-dimensional elasticity analysis of laminated plates was
developed in the late 1960s. In this case, the problem is uniquely formulated
in terms of the equations of elasticity of a laminated anisotropic plate.
The problem statement does not require any specific considerations;
therefore the focus of the effort is shifted from developing an approximate
plate theory to developing an approximate numerical solution technique.
In a few exceptional cases of a three-dimensional elasticity analysis
of laminated plates, it was possible to obtain closed form solutions, which
are not approximate. The first solutions of this type were presented by
Pagano [21,22] and Srinivas and Rao [23]. These examples as well as those
of Pagano and Hatfield [24] provide invaluable benchmark results for any
approximate theory or approximate numerical solution.
Three-dimensional elasticity solutions for orthotropic laminated
composite and sandwich plates are carried out by Pagano [21] and
Pagano and Hatfield [24]. However, the numerical results are tabulated
for symmetric cross-ply laminates under sinusoidal transverse loads.
Here, a more general procedure is developed for solving the exact three-
dimensional elasticity equations and generating extensive numerical results
for both symmetric and antisymmetric cross-ply laminates under uniformly
or sinusoidally distributed loads (UDLs or SDLs). An additional example
for a sandwich plate may be given.

GOVERNING ELASTICITY EQUATIONS

Consider a rectangular laminated plate bounded by the coordinate planes

x ¼ 0, a, y ¼ 0, b, and z ¼
h/2, h/2. The plate composed of a finite number L
of homogeneous layers symmetrically/antisymmetrically disposed with
respect to the mid-plane (see Figure 1). The layers are considered perfectly
bounded. The material of each constituent layer is linearly elastic and

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 215

Figure 1. Plate geometry and coordinate system.

orthotropic and the layers are characterized by the same geometrical and
physico-mechanical properties. A normal traction
z ¼ qðx, yÞ is applied on
the upper surface, while the lower surface is traction free.
Let uðkÞ ðx, y, zÞ, vðkÞ ðx, y, zÞ, and wðkÞ ðx, y, zÞ denote the displacement
components of a material point located at (x, y, z) in the kth layer of
a general laminated plate in the x, y, and z directions, respectively.
By treating each layer as an individual homogeneous plate, the stress–
strain relationships in the plate coordinates for the kth layer are written in
the form:
8 9ðkÞ 2 3ðkÞ 8 9ðkÞ
<
x = c11 c12 c13 < "x =

y ¼ 4 c12 c22 c23 5 " , ð1aÞ
: ; : y;

z c13 c23 c33 "z

ðkÞ
yz ¼ cðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
44 yz , xz ¼ c55 xz , xy ¼ c66 xy ; ð1bÞ

where cðkÞ
ij are the transformed elastic coefficients. It is to be noted
that due to the macroscopic homogeneity of an anisotropic body, any
translation in the x, y, or z coordinate direction inside the body does
not alter its elastic characteristics. So, under a general coordinate
transformation, an initially orthotropic material becomes generally
anisotropic. However, there are three specific coordinate transformations
under which an orthotropic material retains monoclinic symmetry,
namely, rotations about the axes x, y, or z. If the plate construction is
cross-ply, the orthotropic material with respect to the old coordinate
system follows under rotation through an angle k (¼0 or 90 ) about the

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216 A. M. ZENKOUR

z-axis so that the transformation formulae for the stiffnesses cij are of the
form (see [25]):

cðkÞ 4 2 2 4
11 ¼ c11 cos k þ 2ðc12 þ 2c66 Þ sin k cos k þ c22 sin k ,

4 
cðkÞ 2 2 4
12 ¼ ðc11 þ c22
4c66 Þ sin k cos k þ c12 sin k þ cos k ,

cðkÞ 2 2
13 ¼ c13 cos k þ c23 sin k ,

cðkÞ 4 2 2 4
22 ¼ c11 sin k þ 2ðc12 þ 2c66 Þ sin k cos k þ c22 cos k ,

cðkÞ 2 2
23 ¼ c13 sin k þ c23 cos k , ð2Þ
cðkÞ
33 ¼ c33 ,

cðkÞ 2 2
44 ¼ c44 cos k þ c55 sin k ,

cðkÞ 2 2
55 ¼ c44 sin k þ c55 cos k ,

2 2
cðkÞ 2 2 2
66 ¼ ðc11
2c12 þ c22 Þ sin k cos k þ c66 cos k
sin k ,

where cij are the stiffness matrix components of the lamina,

E1 ð1
23 32 Þ
c11 ¼ ,


E1 ð21 þ 23 31 Þ E2 ð12 þ 32 13 Þ
c12 ¼ ¼ ,



E1 ð31 þ 21 32 Þ E3 ð13 þ 12 23 Þ
c13 ¼ ¼ ,



E2 ð1
13 31 Þ ð3Þ
c22 ¼ ,


E3 ð1
12 21 Þ
c33 ¼ ,


c44 ¼ G23 , c55 ¼ G13 , c66 ¼ G12 ,

¼ 1
12 21
31 13
23 32
221 32 13 ,

in which E1, E2, and E3 are Young’s moduli corresponding to the tensile
(compressive) loading in the x, y, and z directions, respectively; 23 is
Poisson’s ratio that characterizes normal deformation in the z-direction
when the load is applied in the y-direction, 13 is Poisson’s ratio that
characterizes normal deformation in the z-direction when the load is
applied in the x-direction, and 12 is Poisson’s ratio that characterizes
normal deformation in the y-direction when the load is applied in the

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 217

x-direction; and G23, G13, and G12 are shear moduli corresponding to
the shear load applied in the y–z, x–z, and x–y planes, respectively.
Poisson’s ratios and Young’s moduli are related by the reciprocal
relations as

ij Ej ¼ ji Ei , i, j ¼ 1, 2, 3: ð4Þ

The strain–displacement relations are taken in the linear form

@uðkÞ @vðkÞ @wðkÞ

"ðkÞ
x ¼ , "ðkÞ
y ¼ , "ðkÞ
z ¼ ,
@x @y @z
ð5Þ
ðkÞ @wðkÞ @vðkÞ ðkÞ @wðkÞ @uðkÞ ðkÞ @vðkÞ @uðkÞ
yz ¼ þ , xz ¼ þ , xy ¼ þ :
@y @z @x @z @x @y

The equilibrium equations for the kth ply can be presented as

@2 uðkÞ @2 uðkÞ @2 uðkÞ  ðkÞ  @2 vðkÞ

cðkÞ
11 2
þ cðkÞ
66 2
þ cðkÞ55 2
þ c12 þ cðkÞ 66
@x @y @z @x@y
  @2 wðkÞ
þ cðkÞ 13 þ c55
ðkÞ
¼ 0, ð6aÞ
@x@z
  2 ðkÞ 2 ðkÞ 2 ðkÞ 2 ðkÞ
ðkÞ @ u ðkÞ @ v ðkÞ @ v ðkÞ @ v
cðkÞ
12 þ c 66 þ c 66 þ c 22 þ c 44
@x@y @x2 @y2 @z2
  @2 wðkÞ
þ cðkÞ 23 þ c44
ðkÞ
¼ 0, ð6bÞ
@y@z
  2 ðkÞ   2 ðkÞ @2 wðkÞ @2 wðkÞ
ðkÞ @ u ðkÞ @ v
cðkÞ
13 þ c 55 þ c ðkÞ
23 þ c 44 þ cðkÞ
55 2
þ cðkÞ
44
@x@z @y@z @x @y2
@2 wðkÞ
þ cðkÞ
33 ¼ 0: ð6cÞ
@z2

SOLUTION PROCEDURE

Let the laminate be simply supported on the sides x ¼ 0, a and y ¼ 0, b; the

boundary conditions on these sides are prescribed by the normal traction
and the tangential displacements being equal to zero so that:

xðkÞ ¼ vðkÞ ¼ wðkÞ ¼ 0 at x ¼ 0, a,

ð7Þ

yðkÞ ¼ uðkÞ ¼ wðkÞ ¼ 0 at y ¼ 0, b:

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218 A. M. ZENKOUR

The displacement components satisfying the boundary conditions on the

edges may be expressed as
8 9 8 9
ðkÞ ðkÞ
<u >
> < Umn ðzÞ cosðm xÞ sinðn yÞ >
= > =
vðkÞ ¼ VðkÞ
mn ðzÞ sinð  m xÞ cos ð n yÞ : ð8Þ
: ðkÞ >
> ; >
: ðkÞ >
;
w Wmn ðzÞ sinðm xÞ sinðn yÞ

where
m n
m ¼ and n ¼ , ð9Þ
a b

in which m and n are integers. Substitution of Equation (8) into Equation (6)
yields a system of second-order ordinary differential equations in the
z-coordinate. After some elementary manipulations, the obtained set of
equations takes the form:

d2 Umn
ðkÞ
ðkÞ ðkÞ dWmn ðkÞ
¼ C 1 Umn þ C 2 V mn þ C3 , ð10aÞ
dz2 dz
2 ðkÞ ðkÞ
d Vmn ðkÞ ðkÞ dWmn
2
¼ C4 Umn þ C5 Vmn þ C6 , ð10bÞ
dz dz
d2 Wmn
ðkÞ
ðkÞ dUmn ðkÞ
dVmnðkÞ
¼ C 7 W mn þ C 8 þ C 9 , ð10cÞ
dz2 dz dz

where the expressions Ci ði ¼ 1,9Þ are given by

1  ðkÞ 2 ðkÞ 2

C1 ¼ c 
11 m þ c 66 n ,

cðkÞ
55
m n  
C2 ¼ ðkÞ cðkÞ 12 þ cðkÞ
66 ,
c55
!
cðkÞ
13
C3 ¼
m 1 þ ðkÞ ,
c55
m n  ðkÞ ðkÞ

C4 ¼ ðkÞ c12 þ c66 ,
c44
1  
C5 ¼ ðkÞ cðkÞ 
66 m
2
þ c ðkÞ 2
22 n ,

c44
!
cðkÞ
23
C6 ¼
n 1 þ ðkÞ ,
c44

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 219

1  ðkÞ 2 ðkÞ 2

C7 ¼ c 55  m þ c 44  n ,
cðkÞ
33
m  
C8 ¼ ðkÞ cðkÞ
13 þ c ðkÞ
55 ,
c33
n  
C9 ¼ ðkÞ cðkÞ ðkÞ
23 þ c44 : ð11Þ
c33

For the sake of convenience the state variables are introduced as follows:

dUðkÞ dSðkÞ
SðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
1 ðzÞ ¼ Umn ðzÞ, S4 ðzÞ ¼
mn
¼ 1 ,
dz dz
dVðkÞ dSðkÞ
SðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
2 ðzÞ ¼ Vmn ðzÞ, S5 ðzÞ ¼
mn
¼ 2 , ð12Þ
dz dz
dWðkÞ dSðkÞ
SðkÞ ðkÞ
3 ðzÞ ¼ Wmn ðzÞ, SðkÞ
6 ðzÞ ¼
mn
¼ 3 :
dz dz

Equations (10) may be reduced to the matrix form as

 
dSðkÞ  
¼ AðkÞ fSðkÞ g, ð13Þ
dz

where
8 9
>
>
> SðkÞ
1 >
>
>
>
< ðkÞ >
ðkÞ
S2 =
S ¼
> .. >, ð14Þ
>
> . >>
: ðkÞ >
> ;
S6

and the matrix ½AðkÞ  is given by

2 3
0 0 0 1 0 0
6 0 0 0 0 1 0 7
6 7
 ðkÞ  6 0 0 0 0 0 1 7
A ¼6
6 C1
7: ð15Þ
6 C2 0 0 0 C3 7
7
4 C4 C5 0 0 0 C6 5
0 0 C7 C8 C9 0

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220 A. M. ZENKOUR

The general solution of Equation (13) is given by

2 ðkÞ
3
e 1 z
0
ðkÞ
 ðkÞ 6
6 e ðkÞ
2
z 7
7 ðkÞ 
1 ðkÞ

S ¼ R 6 .. 7R B , ð16Þ
4 . 5
6ðkÞ z
0 e

where BðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ

1 ,B2 , . . . , B6 are arbitrary unknown complex constants con-
nected with the boundary conditions. Here, ðkÞ ðkÞ
j ð j ¼ 1,6Þ, and ½R  are the
eigenvalues and the matrix of eigenvector of the coefficient matrix ½AðkÞ 
and ½RðkÞ 
1 is the inverse of the matrix ½RðkÞ . The eigenvalues ðkÞ
j and the
elements of the matrix of eigenvector ½RðkÞ  are generally complex valued.
Equation (16) can alternatively be presented as

X
6
ðkÞ
SiðkÞ ¼ sðkÞ
ij e
j z ðkÞ
Bj , i ¼ 1, 2, . . . , 6: ð17Þ
j¼1

The displacements and their first derivatives with respect to z may be

easily given from the above relations. In addition, the stresses of the kth
layer can be obtained as

6 
X 
ðkÞ ðkÞ jðkÞ z ðkÞ

xðkÞ ¼
m cðkÞ s
11 1j
ðkÞ

 n c ðkÞ ðkÞ
s
12 2j þ c 13 6j e
s Bj sinðm xÞ sinðn yÞ,
j¼1
6 
X 
ðkÞ ðkÞ jðkÞ z ðkÞ

yðkÞ ¼
m cðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
12 s1j
n c22 s2j þ c23 s6j e Bj sinðm xÞ sinðn yÞ,
j¼1
6 
X 
ðkÞ ðkÞ jðkÞ z ðkÞ

zðkÞ ¼
m cðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
13 s1j
n c23 s2j þ c33 s6j e Bj sinðm xÞ sinðn yÞ,
j¼1

X
6  
ðkÞ ðkÞ
ðkÞ
yz ¼ cðkÞ
44  n s ðkÞ
3j þ s5j e
j zB
ðkÞ
j sinðm xÞ cosðn yÞ,
j¼1

X
6  
ðkÞ jðkÞ z ðkÞ
ðkÞ
xz ¼ cðkÞ ðkÞ
55 m s3j þ s4j e Bj cosðm xÞ sinðn yÞ,
j¼1

X
6  
ðkÞ ðkÞ
ðkÞ
xy ¼ cðkÞ
66  s ðkÞ
m 2j þ  n 1j e
s j zB
ðkÞ
j cosðm xÞ cosðn yÞ:
j¼1

ð18Þ

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 221

To obtain the displacements and stresses of the laminate, the continuity

and equilibrium conditions at the interfaces and the transverse stress
boundary conditions at the faces surfaces must be satisfied. There are
two sets of internal boundary conditions at each interface z ¼ zk þ 1
between the kth and (k þ 1)st layers (k ¼ 1, . . . , L
1): (1) the continuity of
displacements

uðkÞ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ ¼ uðkþ1Þ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ,

vðkÞ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ ¼ vðkþ1Þ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ, ð19aÞ
wðkÞ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ ¼ wðkþ1Þ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ,

and (2) the continuity of transverse stresses

zðkÞ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ ¼
zðkþ1Þ ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ,

ðkÞ ðkþ1Þ
yz ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ ¼ yz ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ, ð19bÞ
ðkÞ ðkþ1Þ
xz ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ ¼ xz ðx, y, zkþ1 Þ:

The set of boundary conditions on the face surfaces has the form

zð1Þ ðx, y, z1 Þ ¼ yz

ð1Þ ð1Þ
ðx, y, z1 Þ ¼ xz ðx, y, z1 Þ ¼ 0, ð20aÞ

and

zðLÞ ðx, y, zLþ1 Þ ¼ qðx, yÞ, ðLÞ

yz ðLÞ
ðx, y, zLþ1 Þ ¼ xz ðx, y, zLþ1 Þ ¼ 0: ð20bÞ

To solve this problem, the external force may be presented in the form of
a double trigonometric series

N X
X N
qðx, yÞ ¼ qmn sinðm xÞ sinðn yÞ, ð21Þ
m¼1 n¼1

The coefficients qmn for the case of uniformly distributed load are defined
as follows:
8
< 16q0
for m, n odd,
qmn ¼ mn2 ð22Þ
:
0 for m, n even,

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222 A. M. ZENKOUR

where q0 represents the intensity of the load at the plate center. For the case
of SDL,
x y
qðx, yÞ ¼ q0 sin sin , ð23Þ
a b

m ¼ n ¼ 1, and q11 ¼ q0.

The results of a uniformly loaded plate as well as a sinusoidally loaded
plate will be considered in the following section. The uniformly distributed
load is expressed in terms of Fourier series given in Equation (21). With a
total of N ¼ 49 terms in both x and y-directions the uniformly distributed
load is closely approximated. Equations (16) in conjunction with the
continuity conditions of Equation (19) and the boundary conditions of
Equation (20), with the help of Equation (21) yield a determination of
the arbitrary constants BðkÞ ðkÞ ðkÞ
1 , B2 , . . ., and B6 .

NUMERICAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Based on the analysis of the foregoing sections, the stresses and

displacements of simply supported cross-ply laminated plates are obtained
by the three-dimensional elasticity solutions. The state space approach
used in conjunction with the three-dimensional elasticity equations of
cross-ply laminated plates enables one to analyze the behavior in bending
of rectangular laminates. It constitutes a tool of a great computational
convenience and a compact vehicle for analytical manipulation. In what
follows the plate problems:
1. a multilayer sinusoidally/uniformly loaded symmetric composite plate,
2. a 3-layer sinusoidally/uniformly loaded square sandwich plate, and
3. a multilayer sinusoidally/uniformly loaded antisymmetric composite
plate,
are considered. The displacements and stresses being reported herein are
in the following dimensionless forms, which are consistent with
commonly used forms of dimensionless displacements and stresses in the
plate literature [21,24].
 
100E3 h2 b 100E3 h2 a 
u1 ¼ u 0, , x3 , u 2 ¼ v , 0, x 3 ,
a3 q0 2 a3 q0 2
   
100E3 h3 a b 4 Qh3 a b
u3 ¼ w , , x 3 , u 4 ¼ w , , x3 ,
a4 q0 2 2 12a4 q0 2 2

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 223
   
h2 a b h2 a b

1 ¼ 2
x , , x3 ,
2 ¼ 2
y , , x3 ,
a q0 2 2 a q0 2 2
  a 
1 a b h

3 ¼
z , , x3 ,
4 ¼ yz , 0, x3 ,
q0 2 2 aq0 2
 
h b 100h2

5 ¼ xz 0, , x3 ,
6 ¼ 2 xy ð0, 0, x3 Þ, ð24Þ
aq0 2 a q0

where

E1 þ E2 ð1 þ 223 Þ
Q ¼ 4G12 þ : ð25Þ
1
12 21

Note that E3 is calculated for the middle layer and x3 ¼ z/h. In addition,
the layer material coefficients are assumed to be

E1 ¼ 25 Msi, E2 ¼ E3 ¼ 1 Msi, G12 ¼ G13 ¼ 0:5 Msi,

ð26Þ
G23 ¼ 0:2 Msi, 12 ¼ 13 ¼ 23 ¼ 0:25:

A 3-layer symmetric (0 /90 /0 ) rectangular composite plate with layers
of equal thickness and subjected to a SDL is presented in Table 1. Similar
results for a plate subjected to a UDL are presented in Table 2.
The next numerical example is for a square sandwich plate with a
varying thickness ratio a/h. Selected results for the bending response of a

Table 1. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for a 3-layer (0 /90 /0 )
composite rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a) subjected to SDL.

a/h r1 (1/2) r2 (1/6)* r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (1/2) u1 (1/2) u2 (1/2) u3 (0)

2 2.13308 0.22952 0.06678 0.25709
5.63754
2.60058
2.72211 8.16585

1.62404
0.26772 5.48182 2.05328 2.80541
4 1.14430 0.10878 0.03336 0.35108
2.68780
1.42434
1.23633 2.82113

1.09921
0.11929 2.80652 1.39164 1.32281
10 0.72598 0.04176 0.01524 0.42014
1.19772
0.91653
0.45698 0.91890

0.72540
0.04349 1.22710 0.91971 0.47463
20 0.64998 0.02945 0.01194 0.43440
0.92407
0.82347
0.31379 0.60954

0.65013
0.02988 0.93184 0.82464 0.31835
50 0.62758 0.02583 0.01098 0.43868
0.84355
0.79600
0.27169 0.52046

0.62762
0.02590 0.84481 0.79620 0.27242
100 0.62431 0.02531 0.01084 0.43928
0.83185
0.79198
0.26558 0.50762

0.62432
0.02532 0.83217 0.79203 0.26577

*The maximum values indicated for
2 occur in the central layer.

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224 A. M. ZENKOUR

Table 2. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for a 3-layer (0 /90 /0 )
composite rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a) subjected to UDL.

a/h r1 (1/2) r2 (1/6)* r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (1/2) u1 (1/2) u2 (1/2) u3 (0)

2 2.52860 0.11478 0.41865 0.37519
32.36584
3.95644
8.54802 10.85988

2.51605 0.15856 15.23445 2.85810 7.12982
4 1.40054
0.004858 0.41208 0.50855
12.89992
2.02326
4.13419 3.65511

1.38260
0.007873 10.09164 1.90139 4.10367
10 0.88986
0.005139 0.37575 0.61589
5.92294
1.22549
1.88649 1.16899

0.89013 0.002954 5.78518 1.22301 1.91119
20 0.80457
0.0000176 0.36762 0.65421
4.64774
1.08369
1.41300 0.77820

0.80465 0.0005387 4.65792 1.08451 1.42106
50 0.78087 0.001320 0.36995 0.67694
4.22221
1.04114
1.26608 0.66675

0.78089
0.001408 4.22923 1.04141 1.26748
100 0.77745 0.001498 0.37104 0.68403
4.14970
1.03477
1.24448 0.65071

0.77745
0.001520 4.15188 1.03484 1.24483

*The maximum values indicated for
2 occur in the central layer.

sandwich plate subjected to SDL and UDL are presented in Tables 3 and 4,
respectively. The thickness of each face sheet is h/10, where h is the
total thickness of the sandwich plate. The material properties of the
face sheets are that defined by Equation (26). The core material is
transversely isotropic with respect to z and is characterized by the following
properties:

E1 ¼ E2 ¼ 0:04 Msi, E3 ¼ 0:5 Msi, G13 ¼ G23 ¼ 0:06 Msi,

ð27Þ
G12 ¼ 0:016 Msi, 12 ¼ 32 ¼ 31 ¼ 0:25:

Next, 3-layer, 5-layer, 7-layer, and 9-layer symmetric square composite

plate problems are solved and the numerical results are given in Tables 5–7.
The stacking sequence is (0 /90 /0 . . . ), and the 0 layers are the outer
surfaces of the laminate. The total thickness of the 0 and 90 layers are
the same, whereas layers at the same orientation have identical
thicknesses. Under these conditions, the effective laminate stiffnesses in
the x and y-directions are the same. The layer material properties are given
in Equation (26). Tables 5 and 6 contain the results of a 3-layer (0 /[90 ]2/0 )
symmetric square composite plate subjected to sinusoidal and uniform
loadings, respectively, while Table 7 contains the results of 5-layer, 7-layer,
and 9-layer symmetric square composite plates under SDLs. It is seen from
Tables 1–7 that the deflections and stresses of sinusoidally loaded composite
and sandwich plates are exactly the same as those given in Pagano [21]
and Pagano and Hatfield [24].

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 Table 3. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for a sandwich square plate subjected to SDL.

a/h r1 (1/2) r2 (2/5) r2 (1/2) r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (1/2) u1 (1/2) u2 (1/2) u3 (0)

2 3.27809
2.2198 0.45173 0.13986 0.18480
24.02792
1.97521
5.67311 11.05149

2.65256 81.66791
0.39190 23.37769 1.62630 5.81505
4 1.55586
0.2331 0.25949 0.10719 0.23867
14.36609
0.93924
3.63363 3.79814

1.51207 10.19628
0.25327 14.80503 0.92230 3.79028
10 1.15314 0.62795 0.11044 0.05269 0.29979
7.066667
0.71494
1.53445 1.10022

1.15180
0.62873
0.10988 0.16679 0.71577 1.56549
20 1.10980 0.80990 0.07007 0.03607 0.31737
5.100885
0.69497
0.92869 0.61323

1.10967
0.80990
0.06995 0.12701 0.69531 0.93667
50 1.09913 0.86661 0.05693 0.03057 0.32318
4.461494
0.69061
0.72953 0.46748

1.09912
0.86660
0.05691 0.46572 0.69067 0.73082
Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates

100 1.09807 0.87527 0.05499 0.02976 0.32416
4.367964
0.69029
0.70008 0.44643

1.09807
0.87527
0.05499 0.36902 0.69030 0.70040

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225
 226

Table 4. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for a sandwich square plate subjected to UDL.

a/h r1 (1/2) r2 (2/5) r2 (1/2) r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (1/2) u1 (1/2) u2 (1/2) u3 (0)

2 4.10255 0.004348 0.60603 0.24857 0.32567
73.30000
3.47007
10.1895 16.99979

3.93918 0.001739
0.59216 40.97324 2.67513 99.53893
4 2.22760 0.003789 0.39440 0.19346 0.43336
32.98756
1.64307
6.04800 5.95379

2.22011
0.002224
0.38661 26.95472 1.55334 6.20028
10 1.81204 0.003198 0.17380 0.10219 0.54535
13.36380
1.18663
2.50474 1.75737

1.80984
0.002939
0.17170 12.92930 1.18252 2.56362
20 1.76509 0.003021 0.11108 0.07225 0.57866
8.90286
1.13788
1.51836 0.98591

1.76442
0.002955
0.11051 8.92438 1.13773 1.53600
50 1.75335 0.002961 0.09051 0.06003 0.59164
7.48873
1.12592
1.19575 0.75402

1.75325
0.002951
0.09042 7.51664 1.12598 1.19881
100 1.75236 0.002953 0.08747 0.05766 0.59432
7.28086
1.12467
1.14813 0.72048

1.75234
0.002951
0.08745 7.28987 1.12469 1.14890

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A. M. ZENKOUR
Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 227

Table 5. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for a 3-layer

(0 /[90 ]2/0 ) composite square plate subjected to SDL.

a/h r2 (1/2) r2 (1/4)* r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (1/2) u1 (1/2) u2 (1/2) u 3 ð0Þ

2 1.38841 0.83508 0.29458 0.15300
8.63031
1.62519
3.86903 11.76705

0.91165
0.79465 6.73234 1.12625 3.15969
4 0.72026 0.66255 0.29152 0.21933
4.66646
0.86889
2.10187 4.49097

0.68434
0.66551 4.58094 0.84847 2.06785
10 0.55861 0.40095 0.19595 0.30137
2.75027
0.69492
1.05595 1.70895

0.55909
0.40257 2.76406 0.69947 1.06018
20 0.54282 0.30835 0.15562 0.32816
2.30206
0.68056
0.78498 1.18946

0.54320
0.30880 2.30664 0.68203 0.78642
50 0.53931 0.27593 0.14115 0.33740
2.15697
0.67784
0.69533 1.03098

0.53938
0.27600 2.15775 0.67809 0.69558
100 0.53885 0.27101 0.13894 0.33880
2.13537
0.67751
0.68191 1.00777

0.53886
0.27102 2.13556 0.67757 0.68197

*The maximum values indicated for
2 occur in the central layer.

Table 6. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for a 3-layer

(0 /[90 ]2/0 ) composite square plate subjected to UDL.

a/h r2 (1/2) r2 (1/4)* r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (1/2) u1 (1/2) u2 (1/2) u 3 ð0Þ

2 1.69443 1.21355 0.53659 0.27001
36.20842
2.89879
7.49596 17.77085

1.36291
1.18676 11.92158 1.82485 5.23103
4 0.98456 0.95860 0.58045 0.39563
13.67359
1.49872
3.72105 6.81756

0.98032
0.96788 8.88813 1.39143 3.47792
10 0.82660 0.55966 0.49446 0.55566
6.00420
1.14255
1.82770 2.64363

0.82797
0.56169 5.56274 1.14229 1.82043
20 0.82213 0.41632 0.46600 0.61411
4.55367
1.10163
1.36781 1.86179

0.82247
0.41682 4.50375 1.10298 1.36854
50 0.82332 0.36483 0.46630 0.63965
4.06848
1.09052
1.21811 1.62283

0.82338
0.36491 4.07105 1.09087 1.21845
100 0.82357 0.35688 0.46908 0.64567
3.98715
1.08888
1.19580 1.58779

0.82359
0.35690 3.98888 1.08898 1.19590

*The maximum values indicated for
2 occur in the central layer.

The variation of stresses through the thickness of a sinusoidally/uniformly

loaded sandwich and composite laminated plates are shown graphically in
Figures 2–10. The results for a/h ¼ 4 are presented here. Figures 2 and 3
illustrate the variation of
1 through the thickness of 3-layer composite
and sandwich plates subjected to either an SDL or a UDL. It can be seen
that there are pronounced discontinuities in the
1 stress value at the
interfaces. Figure 4 shows the variation of the out-of-plane normal stress
3
of a sinusoidally distributed loaded 5-layer symmetric square plate.

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 228

Table 7. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for symmetric

(0 /90 /0 /. . .) composite square plates subjected to SDL.

a/h Structure r1 (1/2) r2 (x3)* r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (1/2) u1 (1/2) u2 (1/2) u 3 ð0Þ

2 5-layer 1.33213 1.00112 0.18637 0.22655
8.36016
1.55473
3.76751 12.27827

0.90275
0.84831 6.34349 1.11733 2.92106
7-layer 1.28428 1.03889 0.23782 0.17770
7.74541
1.49730
3.43359 12.34278

0.87967
0.83828 5.78753 1.09130 2.59316
9-layer 1.26000 1.05059 0.19371 0.20356
7.21561
1.46956
3.12404 12.28752

0.86620
0.82441 5.34371 1.07687 2.32504
4 5-layer 0.68522 0.63348 0.22897 0.23778
3.93923
0.82860
1.67919 4.29127

0.65122
0.62560 3.84278 0.81072 1.63567
7-layer 0.67917 0.62265 0.23647 0.21902
3.56352
0.82327
1.44534 4.15296

0.64475
0.60983 3.46853 0.80483 1.40330
9-layer 0.68411 0.62791 0.22336 0.22305
3.37442
0.83081
1.31741 4.07881

0.64890
0.61153 3.28141 0.81137 1.27764
10 5-layer 0.54562 0.43047 0.22341 0.25818
2.45553
0.68015
0.88309 1.57050

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0.54591
0.43176 2.46853 0.68446 0.88705
7-layer 0.54761 0.45689 0.21923 0.25498
2.36918
0.68327
0.82500 1.52927

0.54783
0.45797 2.38199 0.68748 0.82894
9-layer 0.55123 0.47641 0.22591 0.24649
2.33335
0.68814
0.79731 1.51211

0.55141
0.47734 2.34609 0.69231 0.80126
A. M. ZENKOUR
 20 5-layer 0.53843 0.37999 0.21162 0.26768
2.21315
0.67551
0.73342 1.14550

0.53880
0.38042 2.21766 0.67696 0.73485
7-layer 0.53928 0.41938 0.20984 0.26694
2.18967
0.67675
0.71723 1.13387

0.53964
0.41980 2.19417 0.67819 0.71866
9-layer 0.54050 0.44399 0.22131 0.25500
2.18018
0.67837
0.70958 1.12917

0.54085
0.44440 2.18467 0.67980 0.71100
50 5-layer 0.53853 0.36266 0.20636 0.27145
2.14191
0.67693
0.68665 1.02344

0.53860
0.36273 2.14269 0.67718 0.68690
7-layer 0.53868 0.40661 0.20603 0.27133
2.13804
0.67716
0.68396 1.02150

0.53876
0.40669 2.13882 0.67741 0.68421
9-layer 0.53890 0.43315 0.21911 0.25818
2.13649
0.67744
0.68269 1.02073

0.53897
0.43322 2.13727 0.67769 0.68294
100 5-layer 0.53865 0.36002 0.20551 0.27204
2.13158
0.67728
0.67973 1.00587

0.53867
0.36004 2.13178 0.67734 0.67979
7-layer 0.53867 0.40466 0.20542 0.27200
2.13052
0.67731
0.67902 1.00534

0.53869
0.40468 2.13072 0.67737 0.67909
9-layer 0.53874 0.43151 0.21875 0.25867
2.13022
0.67741 -0.67873 1.00519

0.53876
0.43153 2.13042 0.67747 0.67879

*x3 ¼ 1/3 for a 5-layer plate, x3 ¼ 3/8 for a 7-layer plate and x3 ¼ 2/5 for a 9-layer plate.
Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates

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229
230 A. M. ZENKOUR

0.5

0.4 UDL

0.3 SDL

0.2

0.1
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
−1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
σ1

Figure 2. Variation of
1 through the thickness of a 3-layer (0 /90 /0 ) UDL/SDL composite
rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a).

0.5

0.4 UDL

0.3 SDL

0.2

0.1

0
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
−2 −1.5 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
σ1

Figure 3. Variation of
1 through the thickness of a UDL/SDL sandwich square plate.

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 231

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
σ3

Figure 4. Variation of
3 through the thickness of a 5-layer SDL symmetric square plate.

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0 SDL UDL
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
σ4

Figure 5. Variation of
4 through the thickness of a 3-layer (0 /90 /0 ) UDL/SDL composite
rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a).

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232 A. M. ZENKOUR

0.5

0.4

0.3 UDL
SDL
0.2

0.1
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
σ5

Figure 6. Variation of
5 through the thickness of a 3-layer (0 /90 /0 ) UDL/SDL composite
rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a).

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0 SDL UDL
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.04 0.08 0.12 0.16 0.2 0.24 0.28
σ4

Figure 7. Variation of
4 through the thickness of a UDL/SDL sandwich square plate.

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 233

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0 SDL UDL
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
σ5

Figure 8. Variation of
5 through the thickness of a UDL/SDL sandwich square plate.

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0 SDL UDL
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
σ4

Figure 9. Variation of
4 through the thickness of a 3-layer (0 /[90 ]2/0 ) UDL/SDL
composite square plate.

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234 A. M. ZENKOUR

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0 SDL UDL
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
σ5

Figure 10. Variation of
5 through the thickness of a 3-layer (0 /[90 ]2/0 ) UDL/SDL
composite square plate.

This accurately satisfies the required boundary conditions at the free

(bottom) and loaded (upper) surfaces. It is to be noted that the behavior of

3 through-the-thickness of SDL 7-layer and 9-layer square plates may be
the same as that for a SDL 5-layer square plate.
Variations of the out-of-plane transverse shear stresses (
4 and
5)
are shown in Figures 5 and 6 for a uniformly/sinusoidally distributed
loaded 3-layer rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a). Similar results are given in
Figures 7–10 for a sandwich square plate and a 3-layer (0 /[90 ]2/0 )
composite square plate, respectively. These stresses accurately satisfy the
free surface boundary conditions at the top and bottom surfaces of the
plate. As seen from Figures 4–10, the out-of-plane transverse normal and
shear stresses accurately satisfy the continuity conditions at the interfaces.
In most instances the maximum values of transverse shear stresses
4 and

5 do not occur at x3 ¼ 0. An exception of this notice occurs as given in
Figures 5 and 9 in which the maximum value of transverse shear stress
4
occurs at the middle surface of the plate.
Additional cases for antisymmetric cross-ply composite plates
are considered. Numerical results for 2-layer, 4-layer, and 8-layer anti-
symmetric composite rectangular plates are presented in Tables 8 and 9.
All the layers have identical thicknesses. The layer material properties are

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 235

Table 8. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for a 2-layer

(0 /90 ) composite rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a).

a/h Loading r1 (1/2) r2 (1/2) r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (
1/2) u1 (
1/2) u2 (
1/2) u3 (0)

2 SDL 0.33634 0.66202 0.06675 0.26460 7.36619 2.52110 3.84910 10.00725

UDL 0.41339 0.55913 0.20787 0.44338 17.86095 3.64654 8.58014 13.77385
4 SDL 0.22468 0.33062 0.05278 0.22175 5.98207 2.20448 2.70693 4.39312
UDL 0.29856 0.21316 0.21961 0.38999 14.50953 3.19218 6.46371 6.10557
10 SDL 0.18781 0.22772 0.04378 0.19955 4.40508 2.09735 2.10524 2.77600
UDL 0.25430 0.08603 0.22333 0.34785 12.11857 3.02524 5.26355 3.90308
20 SDL 0.18188 0.21189 0.04210 0.19555 4.23019 2.08259 1.99883 2.54127
UDL 0.24719 0.06574 0.22193 0.33219 11.50337 2.99863 5.03793 3.58278
50 SDL 0.18017 0.20737 0.04160 0.19436 4.17914 2.66578 1.96772 2.47516
UDL 0.24516 0.05997 0.21916 0.32160 11.26396 2.99062 4.96877 3.49249
100 SDL 0.17989 0.20669 0.04153 0.19416 4.17112 2.07746 1.96293 2.46532
UDL 0.24482 0.05908 0.21824 0.31833 11.22008 2.98882 4.95791 3.47884

Table 9. Dimensionless stresses and displacements for anti-symmetric

(0 /90 /. . .) composite square plates subjected to a SDL.

a/h Structure r1 (1/4) r2 (1/2) r4 (0) r5 (0) r6 (
1/2) u1 (
1/2) u2 (
1/2) u3 (0)

2 4-layer 0.80103 1.42941 0.19500 0.16268 6.95438 1.17496 3.25233 5.26322

8-layer 0.97076 1.31264 0.19856 0.18004 5.76213 1.11068 2.55761 5.34482
4 4-layer 0.61460 0.74440 0.24108 0.23253 4.57005 0.87122 2.03816 1.95812
8-layer 0.61815 0.68666 0.22660 0.22204 3.47593 0.80951 1.40333 1.79030
10 4-layer 0.49419 0.53087 0.27194 0.27129 2.92080 0.66192 1.19752 0.76239
8-layer 0.50663 0.52474 0.24333 0.24299 2.44105 0.65732 0.89670 0.66982
20 4-layer 0.47069 0.49792 0.27815 0.27810 2.60909 0.62240 1.03860 0.57158
8-layer 0.48984 0.50235 0.24672 0.24669 2.26929 0.63028 0.81439 0.50368
50 4-layer 0.46366 0.48859 0.28004 0.28004 2.51735 0.61071 0.99188 0.51699
8-layer 0.48513 0.49623 0.24779 0.24779 2.22012 0.62242 0.79096 0.45690
100 4-layer 0.46265 0.48726 0.28032 0.28032 2.504102 0.60902 0.98514 0.50915
8-layer 0.48469 0.49560 0.24806 0.24806 2.1412 0.62158 0.78797 0.45043

given in Equation (26). Table 8 contains the results of a 2-layer

antisymmetric rectangular composite plate (b ¼ 3a) subjected to different
loadings. In addition, Table 9 contains the results of 4-layer and 8-layer
antisymmetric square composite plates under SDLs. In Figures 11 and 12
the variations of
4 and
5 are shown for a uniformly/sinusoidally
distributed loaded 2-layer (0 /90 ) composite rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a). It
is to be noted that the maximum value of
4 occurs at the middle of the 90
layer, while the maximum value of
5 occurs at the middle of the 0 layer.

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236 A. M. ZENKOUR

0.5

0.4

0.3
UDL
0.2 SDL
0.1

0
x3

−0.1

−0.2

−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
σ4

Figure 11. Variation of
4 through the thickness of a 2-layer (0 /90 ) UDL/SDL composite
rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a).

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
x3

−0.1

−0.2
SDL UDL
−0.3

−0.4

−0.5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
σ5
Figure 12. Variation of
5 through the thickness of a 2-layer (0 /90 ) UDL/SDL composite
rectangular plate (b ¼ 3a).

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Three-dimensional Elasticity Solution for Cross-ply Plates 237

CONCLUSIONS

The objective of the present work is to prove the three-dimensional

elasticity solutions for the bending of laminated plates. The elasticity
equations are solved by utilizing the state-space variables and the transfer
matrix. A detailed analysis is carried out to study the loaded composites and
sandwich plates. Results are also obtained for symmetric and anti-symmetric
cross-ply laminates. The numerical solution technique employed in this
work based on the state space concept has been proven to be of a great
computational efficiency. For all the cases studied, the results of Pagano [21]
and Pagano and Hatfield [24] should be considered as partial cases of the
present results. The author believes that the results produced in this article
should serve as a reference for the two-dimensional plate theories and finite
element analyses.

REFERENCES

1. Whitney, J.M. and Sun, C.T. (1973). A Higher-order Theory for Extensional Motion of
Laminated Composites, Journal of Sound and Vibrations, 30(1): 85–97.
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