Non-linear analysis of fiber-reinforced open conical shell panels considering variation of thickness and fiber orientation under thermo-mechanical loadings

Non-linear bending analysis of moderately thick laminated conical panels under various thermo-mechanical loadings and boundary conditions is presented using the generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method together with the Newton–Raphson iterative scheme. The stiffness coefficients are assumed to be functions of the meridional and circumferential coordinates in panels for the realistic applications. In the first case of orthotropic open conical shell panels, the orientation of fibers are assumed to be in the meridional and circumferential directions. The stiffness coefficients of this type of fiber-reinforced panel are usually assumed to be constant. It is shown that due to the geometry of the conical surface, thickness of laminate will be changed along the meridional direction. The effect of stiffness variation on the non-linear response of panel is considered for the first time. In the second type, open conical shell panel can be made by cutting from a filament wound circular conical shell. In this case, thickness and ply orientation are functions of the shell coordinates. In this paper, different path definitions for variable stiffness filament wound shells are considered. The inclusion of this geometric complicating effect in large deformation analysis will add considerably to the complication and cost of a solution scheme. Paper presents some results to show when these assumptions have a significant effect on the end result. Assuming the effects of shear deformation and initial curvature, based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and von Kármán-type of geometric non-linearity, the governing system of equations is obtained. Comparisons of the predictions with those available in the literature and finite element analyses show very good agreement. More results for panels with particular boundary conditions and thermo-mechanical load are presented for future references. For the sake of brevity, numerical results which presented in this paper are limited to deflection responses only.