The title, “Laminated Composite Doubly-Curved Shell Structures. Differential and Integral Quadrature. Strong Form Finite Elements” illustrates the theme treated and the prospective followed during the composition of the present work. The aim of this manuscript is to analyze the static and dynamic behavior of thick and moderately thick composite shells through the application of the Differential Quadrature (DQ) method. The book is divided into two volumes wherein the principal higher order structural theories are illustrated in detail and the mechanical behavior of doubly-curved structures are presented by several static and dynamic numerical applications. In particular, the first volume is mainly theoretical, whereas the second one is mainly related to the numerical DQ technique and its applications in the structural field. The numerical results reported in the present volume are compared to the one available in the literature, but also to the ones obtained through several codes based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). Furthermore, an advanced version of the DQ method, termed Strong Formulation Finite Element Method (SFEM), is presented. The SFEM solves the differential equations inside each element in the strong form and implements the mapping technique typical of the FEM.

This manuscript comes from the experience gained over ten years of study and research on shell structures and on the Generalized Differential Quadrature method. The title, Mechanics of Laminated Composite Doubly-Curved Shell Structures, illustrates the theme followed in the present volume. The present study aims to analyze the static and dynamic behavior of moderately thick shells made of composite materials through the application of the Differential Quadrature (DQ) technique. A particular attention is paid, other than fibrous and laminated composites, also to “Functionally Graded Materials” (FGMs). They are non-homogeneous materials, characterized by a continuous variation of the mechanical properties through a particular direction. The GDQ numerical solution is compared, not only with literature results, but also with the ones supplied and obtained through the use of different structural codes based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). Furthermore, an advanced version of GDQ method is also presented. This methodology is termed Strong Formulation Finite Element Method (SFEM) because it employs the strong form of the differential system of equations at the master element level and the mapping technique, proper of FEM. The connectivity between two elements is enforced through compatibility conditions.

This manuscript comes from the experience gained over thirteen years of study and research on shell structures. The title, Theory of Laminated Composite Doubly-Curved Shell Structures, illustrates the theme followed in the present volume. The present study aims to analyze the static and dynamic behavior of moderately thick shells made of composite materials. A particular attention is paid, other than fibrous and laminated composites, also to “Functionally graded materials” (FGMs). They are non-homogeneous materials, characterized by a continuous varia on of the mechanical properties through a particular direction. In particular, the present manuscript was written as an attempt to show, in an easy way, the theoretical aspects of doubly-curved composite shell structures. Furthermore, it focuses only on the theoretical aspects related to laminated composite doubly-curved shell structures and represents a shortened version of the book entitled: Mechanics of Laminated Composite Doubly-Curved Shell Structures by the same authors, wherein also the numerical part has been presented. The present volume is aimed at Master degree and PhD students in structural and applied mechanics, as well as experts in these fields. The present volume is divided into six chapters, in which static and dynamic analyses of several structural elements are provided in detail. Furthermore, the results of the adopted numerical technique are presented for several problems such as different loading and boundary conditions.

This manuscript comes from the experience gained over ten years of study and research on shell structures and on the Generalized Differential Quadrature method. The title, Mechanics of Laminated Composite Doubly-Curved Shell Structures, illustrates the theme followed in the present volume. The present study aims to analyze the static and dynamic behavior of moderately thick shells made of composite materials through the application of the Differential Quadrature (DQ) technique. A particular attention is paid, other than fibrous and laminated composites, also to “Functionally Graded Materials” (FGMs). They are non-homogeneous materials, characterized by a continuous variation of the mechanical properties through a particular direction. The GDQ numerical solution is compared, not only with literature results, but also with the ones supplied and obtained through the use of different structural codes based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). Furthermore, an advanced version of GDQ method is also presented. This methodology is termed Strong Formulation Finite Element Method (SFEM) because it employs the strong form of the differential system of equations at the master element level and the mapping technique, proper of FEM. The connectivity between two elements is enforced through compatibility conditions.

This book aims to present in depth several Higher-order Shear Deformation Theories (HSDTs) by means of a unified approach for the mechanical analysis of doubly-curved shell structures made of anisotropic and composite materials. In particular, the strong and weak formulations of the corresponding governing equations are discussed and illustrated. The approach presented in this volume is completely general and represents a valid tool to investigate the structural behavior of many arbitrarily shaped structures. An isogeometric mapping procedure is also illustrated to this aim. Special attention is given also to advanced and innovative constituents, such as Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), Variable Angle Tow (VAT) composites and Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs). In addition, several numerical applications are developed to support the theoretical models. Accurate, efficient and reliable numerical techniques able to approximate both derivatives and integrals are presented, which are respectively the Differential Quadrature (DQ) and Integral Quadrature (IQ) methods. Finally, two numerical techniques, named Strong Formulation Finite Element Method (SFEM) and Weak Formulation Finite Element Method (WFEM), are developed to deal with multi-element domains characterized by arbitrary shapes and discontinuities.

The title, “Laminated Composite Doubly-Curved Shell Structures. Differential al Geometry and Higher-order Theories” illustrates the theme treated and the prospective followed during the composition of the present work. The aim of this manuscript is to analyze the static and dynamic behavior of thick and moderately thick composite shells through the application of the Differential Quadrature (DQ) method. The book is divided into two volumes wherein the principal higher order structural theories are illustrated in detail and the mechanical behavior of doubly-curved structures are presented by several static and dynamic numerical applications. In particular, the first volume is mainly theoretical, whereas the second one is mainly related to the numerical DQ technique and its applications in the structural field. The starting point to analyze higher-order structural theories is given by the so-called Unified Formulation (UF), which allows to consider and study several kinematic models in a unified manner. Both the Equivalent Single Layer (ESL) and Layer-Wise (LW) approaches are presented. A particular attention is paid to composite materials, due to their increasing development and use in many engineering fields during the last years.

Vibrations drive many engineering designs in today's engineering environment. There has been an enormous amount of research into this area of research over the last decade. This book documents some of the latest research in the field of vibration of composite shells and plates filling a much-needed gap in the market. Laminated composite shells have many engineering applications including aerospace, mechanical, marine and automotive engineering. This book makes an ideal reference for researchers and practicing engineers alike. - The first book of its kind - Documents 10 years of research in the field of composite shells - Many Engineering applications