Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

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Finite Elements in Analysis and Design

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Bending analysis of composite folded plates by nite element method

S. Haldar a,n, A.H. Sheikh b
a
b

Department of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Bengal Engineering and Science University, P.O. Botanic Garden, Howrah-711103, India
School of Civil Environment and Mining Engineering, University of Adelate, North Tarrace, SA 5005, Australia

a r t i c l e in f o

abstract

Article history:
Received 6 October 2009
Received in revised form
27 September 2010
Accepted 10 December 2010
Available online 21 January 2011

In this paper a high precision composite plate bending element has been presented and its application to
the analysis of isotropic and composite folded plates has been shown to study the performance of the
element. In the present element the effect of shear deformation has been considered. Numerical examples
have been solved by the proposed element and the results obtained in the form of bending moment,
in-plane force and deection have been compared with the published results (where available) to show
the potentiality of the element. Number of new results have been presented, which are expected to be
useful in future research.
& 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Finite element
Shear deformation
Shear locking
Folded-plate
Crank angle
Laminated composite plate

1. Introduction
There is very limited information regarding the analysis of composite folded structures. One of the successful attempts by Mark and Jorge
[1] for investigation of folded plate was a photoelastic analysis of folded
plate model made of epoxy resin. At that time, a continuous folded plate
structure was solved by Pulter et al. [2] using thin shell theory following
classical method based on force or exibility method. Consequently,
nite strip method was developed and applied by Cheung [3] to
the analysis of folded plate structure. The difculties encountered with
the intermediate supports in the nite strip method [3] were overcome
and subsequently Maleki [4] proposed a new method, known as
compound strip method. The compound strip method which is
basically the nite strip method with the provision for including the
effect of an intermediate support by taking an additional stiffness
matrix for the support element. Irie et al. [5] analyzed the free vibration
of an isotropic one-fold folded plate analytically. Later, Irie et al. [5] used
Ritz method for the analysis of free vibration of an isotropic cantilever
folded plate. Recently a family of effective shell elements of hybrid/
mixed nite element method with transverse deformation was
proposed by Duan and Miyamoto [6] for the analysis of folded
structures. Free vibration analysis of isotropic and composite one-fold,
two-fold and four fold folded plate were analyzed using a sixteen node
triangular element by Haldar and Sheikh [7]. These are just few

Corresponding author. Tel.: + 91 9830671153; fax: +91 33 2668 4564.

E-mail address: salilhaldar@lycos.com (S. Haldar).

0168-874X/$ - see front matter & 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.nel.2010.12.006

amongst the number of investigations carried out on folded plate

structures so far.
In this paper the same sixteen node triangular thick platebending element [7] has been used. Isotropic and laminated
composite ve and two-fold folded plates have been analyzed.
Both symmetric and anti-symmetric laminated folded plates
with different plate thickness ratio, ber angle orientations,
crank angle of the folded plate and layer numbers have been
analyzed.

2. Formulation
The formulation is based on thick plate theory, which ensures
the incorporation of shear deformation effects. The transverse
displacement has been assumed to be small, compared to plate
thickness. The middle plane of the plate has been considered as the
reference plane.
The element considered in this paper is shown in Fig. 1, which
has a total numbers of nodes equal to sixteen. The location of the
nodes 3, 7 and 11 are midpoint of the corresponding sides while 2,
4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 are located at a distance of one third of the length
of the corresponding side from the nearest end. The co-ordinates of
the nodes 13, 14, 15 and 16 are (1/2, 1/4, 1/4), (1/4, 1/2, 1/4), (1/4,
1/4, 1/2) and (1/3, 1/3, 1/3), respectively. The degrees of freedom
taken at nodes 112, except 3, 7 and 11 are u, v, w, yx and yy while it
is only u, v and w at nodes 3, 7, 11, 13, 14 and 15 and the centroidal
node contains yx and yy. Formulations of element stiffness matrix
and load vector have been presented in Refs. [7,8], respectively.

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S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

3. Numerical examples

Diaphragm

As there is very limited information of composite folded

plates, an isotropic ve-fold folded structure has been analyzed and compared the present results with the published
results. This has been done for the validation of the present
formulation for analysis of folded-plate structures. The present
element [7] has already been tested for composite plates.
Finally, ve and two-fold composite folded plates have been
solved and the results have been presented as new results. The
following material properties have been used for composite
materials.

Quarter-span
section
G

Mid-span
section

J
K

E1 25E2 , G12 G13 0:5E2 , G23 0:2E2 ,

v12 0:25, E2 106 N=m2 , v12 E2 v21 E1

L
D

3.1. Analysis of isotropic ve-fold folded plate

Position of
Intermediate
column

An isotropic ve-fold folded plate as shown in Fig. 2 has been

investigated in this example. As the folded plate structure is
symmetric in both the directions, only a quarter of the structure

Free
E
F

Fig. 3. One quadrant of the ve-fold folded plate.

13

Table 1
Geometry, load and elastic constants of isotropic ve-fold folded plate.

12
11

16

10

5
6

E (Kips/sq. ft)

Vertical load
(Kips/sq. ft)

Thickness
(ft) (h)

Width (ft)

1.44  105
1.44  105
1.44  105

0.25
0.25
0.25

0.075
0.080
0.080

0.5
0.3333
0.3333

3.0
10.0
10.0

15

14
7

Plate 1
Plate 2
Plate 3

Fig. 1. A typical element with nodes.

y
10
10

Diaphargm

10

10 /

3/

Position of
intermediate
column

3/
Free

140/
=10

=30 0
Plate 2

Plate 3
Diaphargm

Plate 1
Fig. 2. Five-fold folded plate.

S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

479

Table 2
Vertical deection (w) in feet at mid-span (y 70.0 ft) and quarter-span (y35.0 ft) sections.
Sources

For mid-span section at points

PE (3  8b)
PE (3  10)c
PE (3  12)
PE (3  14)
PE (5  14)
Pultar et al. [2]

0.909
0.909
0.909
0.909
0.907
0.908

0.856
0.856
0.856
0.856
0.855
0.855

0.662
0.662
0.662
0.662
0.662
0.659

0.372
0.372
0.372
0.372
0.369
0.367

0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001
0.001

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

For quarter-span section at points

PE (3  8)
PE (3  10)
PE (3  12)
PE (3  14)
PE (5  14)
Pultar et al. [2]
a
b
c

0.603
0.603
0.603
0.603
0.597
0.599

0.575
0.575
0.575
0.575
0.569
0.570

0.475
0.476
0.476
0.476
0.471
0.469

0.344
0.343
0.343
0.343
0.356
0.355

0.164
0.164
0.164
0.164
0.164
0.155

0.163
0.163
0.163
0.163
0.163
0.151

PE Present 16-node element (applicable for all other tables).

Mesh division (applicable for all other tables).
No. of x-division is 3 and No. of y-division is 10.

Table 3
Longitudinal force (Ny) in Kip/ft at mid-span and quarter-span sections.
Sources

PE (3  8)
PE (3  10)
PE (3  12)
PE (3  14)
PE (5  8)
Pultar et al. [2]

For mid-span section at points

A

 67.60
 67.40
 67.30
 67.26
 67.20
 66.98

 45.29
 45.15
 45.04
 44.95
 44.33
 44.00

 22.52
 23.20
 23.40
 23.60
 23.40
 22.55

30.98
29.37
28.29
27.60
27.63
27.61

100.72
95.00
94.00
94.00
94.00
82.40

 73.85
 74.88
 75.12
 75.18
 75.22
 22.58

For quarter-span section at points

PE (3  8)
PE (3  10)
PE (3  12)
PE (3  14)
PE (5  8)
Pultar et al. [2]

 38.68
 38.67
 38.66
 38.66
 38.60
 38.28

 28.50
 29.28
 29.57
 29.80
 29.70
 29.73

 21.90
 21.87
 21.85
 21.85
 21.70
 21.25

3.65
4.01
4.21
4.35
4.41
4.41

29.69
29.70
29.68
29.68
29.69
30.07

127.8
127.8
127.8
127.8
127.8
125.6

Table 4
Transverse moment (Mx) in Kip-ft/ft at mid-span and quarter-span sections.
Sources

PE (3  8)
PE (3  10)
PE (3  12)
PE (3  14)
PE (5  8)
Pultar et al. [2]

For mid-span section at points

A

1.402
1.407
1.411
1.411
1.411
1.483

3.067
3.178
3.191
3.198
2.950
2.943

2.776
2.720
2.720
2.720
2.730
2.6732

1.701
1.724
1.750
1.763
1.770
1.709

 1.101
 1.102
 1.120
 1.120
 1.050
 0.875

0.002
0.001
0.001
0.001
00.00
00.00

For quarter-span section at points

PE (3  8)
PE (3  10)
PE (3  12)
PE (3  14)
PE (5  8)
Pultar et al. [2]

0.5965
0.5983
0.5990
0.6040
0.6000
0.6540

1.560
1.453
1.425
1.570
1.560
1.580

0.567
0.569
0.570
0.570
0.567
0.625

1.167
1.185
1.198
1.204
1.160
1.195

L
0.110
0.112
0.111
0.111
0.111
0.117

 0.021
 0.018
 0.016
 0.014
 0.013
0.0

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S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

(Fig. 3) has been modeled. The folded plate, considered here, is

supported by diaphragms at its two ends and two intermediate
columns at the other two free ends as shown in Fig. 2. It has
been assumed [2] that the diaphragms are innitely rigid in
their own planes and absolutely exible out of their planes.
For the intermediate columns, it has been considered [2] that
there is no horizontal restrained in x-direction. The material
property, plate thickness and load intensity for the individual

Diaphargm
L1

3.2. Analysis of composite ve-fold folded plate

L2
L3

I
J
K

L
A

plates of the folded structure (see Fig. 2) have been presented in

Table 1. The results obtained by the proposed element have
been tabulated in Tables 24 in the form of vertical deection
(w), axial force in the longitudinal direction (Ny) and bending
moment in the transverse direction (Mx) along the mid-span
and quarter-span sections with the results of Pultar et al. [2].
The analysis of Pultar et al. [2] is based on thin shell theory
following exibility method. The agreement of the present
result is good except longitudinal force (Ny) at the region having
the column supports, which might be improved by ner mesh for
the region.

C
D
E

Mid-span section
F
Fig. 4. Quarter part of ve-fold folded plate (for cross ply composite plate).

The same ve-fold folded plate (Fig. 2) but made of ber

reinforced laminated composite material and having uniform
plate thickness has been investigated. In this example the intermediate column has been restrained only in vertical direction.
The individual plate dimensions have been shown in Fig. 4.
Quarter part of the structure (Fig. 4) has been analyzed for cross
ply (0/90) laminated composite ve-fold folded plate structure.
The transverse deection with different thickness ratios (h/L0.01
and 0.001) at mid-span and quarter-span sections have been
presented in Table 5. The transverse and longitudinal forces
(Nx, Ny) and moments (Mx, My) at mid-span and quarter-span
sections are presented in Tables 6 and 7, respectively, considering
h/L0.001.
The same ve-fold folded plate (Fig. 2) has been investigated
considering two layer anti-symmetric angle ply (45/  45) laminate. Here the diaphragms have been replaced by xed supports
and full folded plate structure has been analyzed. The individual
plate dimensions have been shown in Fig. 4. The deections,

Table 5
Vertical deection (w) in cm. at mid-span and quarter-span sections for two layered cross ply (0/90) ve-fold folded plate. L1.0 m, L1 L2 0.2L, and L3 0.1L.
h/L

Sources

Mid-span section at points

A

0.01

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9(10  20)a

0.106
0.106
0.106
0.106
0.105

0.102
0.102
0.102
0.102
0.101

0.0806
0.0806
0.0806
0.0806
0.0803

0.0480
0.0480
0.0480
0.0480
0.0483

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.001

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)b
IPBE9 (10  20)c

 1.078
 1.078
 1.078
 1.078
 1.070

1.336
1.337
1.337
1.338
1.339

2.5481
2.5486
2.5487
2.5485
2.5468

3.9574
3.9554
3.9532
3.9491
3.9250

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0730
0.0730
0.0730
0.0730
0.0724

0.0592
0.0592
0.0592
0.0592
0.0589

0.0390
0.0390
0.0390
0.0390
0.0391

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

1.201
1.202
1.203
1.205
0.207

1.8453
1.8460
1.8463
1.8464
0.8392

3.3747
3.3746
3.3743
3.3716
3.3547

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

For quarter-span section at points

G
0.01

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

0.001

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

a
b
c

IPBE9 9-node isoparametric bending element.

No. of degrees of freedom 3366.
No. of degrees of freedom 5166.

0.0753
0.0753
0.0753
0.0753
0.0746
 0.774
 0.774
 0.774
 0.773
 0.771

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481

Table 6
Transverse (Nx) and longitudinal (Ny) forces in (N/m) and transverse (Mx) and longitudinal (My) moments in (N m/m) at mid-span section for two layered cross ply (0/90)
ve-fold folded plate. L 1.0 m, L1 0.2L, L2 0.2L, L3 0.1L and h/L 0.001.
Sources

Transverse force (Nx) at points

A

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

B
0.63061
0.62783
0.62569
0.62303
0.62721

0.64500
0.64110
0.63816
0.63496
0.63537

D
0.54588
0.53852
0.53181
0.52234
0.52736

0.25956
0.25733
0.25471
0.24969
0.23708

F
0.20117
0.21857
0.23180
0.24626
0.25131

5.2946
6.0814
6.8431
7.2929
5.1426

Longitudinal force (Ny)

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

 2.0061
 2.0007
 1.9958
 1.9875
 1.9266

4.8566
4.8583
4.8595
4.8609
4.8391

13.147
13.142
13.138
13.136
13.010

0.62039
0.63899
0.65788
0.69400
0.70016

 15.667
 15.706
 15.411
 15.485
 15.259

 3.6468
 3.5374
 3.4414
 3.2808
 3.9799

0.00307
0.00307
0.00307
0.00307
0.00324

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

 0.0009
 0.0010
 0.0012
 0.0015
 0.0002

Transverse moment (Mx)

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

 0.004919
 0.004918
 0.004917
 0.004916
 0.004707

0.001166
0.001166
0.001167
0.001169
0.001382

 0.002583
 0.002575
 0.002570
 0.002563
 0.002359

Longitudinal moment (My)

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

 0.000567
 0.000566
 0.000565
 0.000563
 0.000543

0.001154
0.001152
0.001151
0.001151
0.001147

0.0030099
0.0030093
0.0030083
0.0030066
0.0029847

0.000247
0.000250
0.000252
0.000253
0.000243

 0.00363
 0.00364
 0.00365
 0.00367
 0.00350

 0.0012
 0.0012
 0.0012
 0.0012
 0.0015

Table 7
Transverse (Nx) and longitudinal (Ny) forces in (N/m) and transverse (Mx) and longitudinal (My) moments in (N m/m) at quarter-span section for two layered cross ply (0/90)
folded plate. L 1.0 m, L1 0.2L, L2 0.2L, L3 0.1L and h/L 0.001.
Sources

Transverse force (Nx) at points

G

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

H
0.5996
0.5960
0.5949
0.5921
0.5956

0.62160
0.62095
0.62045
0.61906
0.62189

0.54274
0.54185
0.54119
0.53779
0.54409

0.31814
0.31650
0.31574
0.31474
0.31665

3.5628
3.5657
3.5660
3.5678
3.5548

9.9047
9.9095
9.9117
9.9128
9.8228

0.70940
0.70755
0.70794
0.70739
0.72567

L
0.05692
0.05368
0.05110
0.04828
0.05033

 0.00032
 0.00150
 0.00232
 0.00401
 0.02550

Longitudinal force (Ny)

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

 1.7830
 1.7826
 1.7810
 1.7768
 1.7136

 8.5700
 8.5748
 8.5788
 8.5824
 8.4718

 10.410
 10.401
 10.396
 10.386
 10.232

Transverse moment (Mx)

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

 0.004407
0.001218
 0.004409
0.001219
 0.004410
0.001220
 0.004410
0.001220
 0.004207
0.001419
Longitudinal moment (My)

PE (5  6)
PE (5  7)
PE (5  8)
PE (5  10)
IPBE9 (10  20)

 0.000503
 0.000503
 0.000503
 0.000503
 0.000485

 0.002983
 0.002978
 0.002974
 0.002966
 0.002758

0.000853
0.000853
0.000852
0.000852
0.000853

in-plane forces (Nx, Ny) and bending moments (Mx, My) with h/
L0.01 have been presented in Tables 8 and 9, respectively. In all
the cases the present solutions have been compared with the

0.0022471
0.0022482
0.0022488
0.0022491
0.0022327

0.0028050
0.0028115
0.0028154
0.0028234
0.0030088

0.0002459
0.0002420
0.0002401
0.0002372
0.0002364

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

 0.00198
 0.00198
 0.00198
 0.00198
 0.00196

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

 0.0025
 0.0024
 0.0024
 0.0024
 0.0024

results obtained by nine-node isoparametric plate bending element (IPBE9). There is close agreement between the results
obtained by the two elements.

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S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

Table 8
Vertical deection (w) in meter at mid-span and quarter-span sections for two layer angle ply (45/  45) ve-fold folded plate. L 1.0 m, L1 0.2L, L2 0.2L and L3 0.1L and
h/L 0.01.
Sources

Mid-span section at points

PE (6  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)a
IPBE9 (10  24)b

0.000484
0.000488
0.000489
0.000489

0.00023
0.000530
0.000533
0.000524

0.000467
0.000469
0.000473
0.000470

0.000312
0.000314
0.000315
0.000313

0.0000131
0.0000136
0.0000143
0.0000149

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

For quarter-span section at

PE (6  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (10  24)
a
b

0.00025
0.00025
0.00026
0.00025

0.000290
0.000294
0.000295
0.00029

0.000274
0.000275
0.000276
0.000275

0.000230
0.000232
0.000234
0.000233

0.000074
0.000074
0.000074
0.00008

0.000069
0.000070
0.000072
0.000076

No. of degrees of freedom 3990.

No. of degrees of freedom 6174.

Table 9
Transverse (Nx) and longitudinal (Ny) forces in (N/m) and transverse (Mx) and longitudinal (My) moments in (N m/m) at quarter-span section for two layered angle ply (45/  45)
folded plate. L 1.0 m, L1 0.2L, L2 0.2L, L3 0.1L and h/L 0.01.
Sources

Transverse force (Nx) at points

G

PE (6  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (10  24)

H
0.6621
0.6714
0.6744
0.6696

0.610
0.623
0.630
0.655

0.495
0.500
0.505
0.501

0.3002
0.3009
0.3012
0.297

0.8227
0.8239
0.8415

0.698
0.706
0.734

0.417
0.423
0.472

L
0.5642
0.5652
0.5667
0.5412

 0.00706
 0.00726
 0.00743
 0.00678

Longitudinal force (Ny)

PE (6  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (10  24)

0.701
0.705
0.701

 0.0661
 0.0672
 0.0621

 2.0324
 2.0334
 2.129

Transverse moment (Mx)

G
PE (6  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (10  24)

 0.0040
 0.0044
 0.0047
 0.0040

I
0.000115
0.000120
0.000124
0.000103

 0.00392
 0.00405
 0.00412
 0.00338

0.0089
0.0093
0.0098
0.00149

 0.00138
 0.00149
 0.00153
 0.00124

0.000008
0.000010
0.000012
0.00009

Longitudinal moment (My)

PE (6  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (10  24)

 0.0028
 0.0030
 0.0032
 0.0027

 0.00038
 0.00043
 0.00046
 0.00052

 0.00341
 0.00350
 0.00354
 0.00317

 0.00015
 0.00021
 0.00025
 0.

 0.00145
 0.00152
 0.00156
 0.00133

3.3. Analysis of composite two-fold folded plate

In this example symmetric (0/90/0) cross ply two-fold folded
plate shown in Fig. 5a with h/L0.01 has been analyzed. The folded
plate is simply supported or clamped along the two folded edges
and free along the other two straight edges as shown in Fig. 5a. As
the folded structure is symmetric about both the axis only quarter
part (Fig. 5b) of the structure has been analyzed. The displacements
at mid-span and quarter-span of the structure have been presented
in Tables 10 and 11, respectively, with different crank angles
(a 901, 1201, and 1501) where as bending moments have been
given in Table 12 for crank angle a 1201. From Tables 10 and 11, it

L
0.00009
0.00010
0.00012
0.00008

is seen that as the crank angle increases (i.e. structure becomes

more and more at) the displacements are increased which are
expected.

4. Conclusions
In this paper a high precision shear exible composite triangular
plate element has been used. The effect of shear deformation has
been incorporated in the formulation and it has been done in such a
manner, which has made the element free from locking in shear.
The element has been used for analysis of composite plates having

S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

483

Simply supported/clamped
L2
L3

L1

H
2L

Free edge

Free edge

B
A

Simply supported/clamped
Fig. 5. (a) Complete two-fold folded plate and (b) quarter part of two-fold folded plate.

Table 10
Vertical displacement (w) in meter at mid-span section for three layered cross ply (0/90/0) two-fold folded plate. L 1.0 m, L1 L3 0.25L, L2 0.5L and h/L 0.01.
Boundary condition

Sources

At points for crank angle 901

A  10  3

B  10  3

C  10  3

D  10  3

E  10  2

FFSS

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.6521
0.6525
0.6526
0.6526
0.6525

0.6524
0.6527
0.6528
0.6528
0.6527

0.6524
0.6527
0.6528
0.6528
0.6528

0.9463
0.9473
0.9475
0.9475
0.9474

0.1064
0.1066
0.1066
0.1066
0.1066

FFCC

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.3232
0.3241
0.3242
0.3242
0.3241

0.3233
0.3241
0.3243
0.3243
0.3242

0.3234
0.3242
0.3244
0.3244
0.3243

0.6175
0.6190
0.6192
0.6192
0.6192

0.0735
0.0737
0.0738
0.0738
0.0738

A  10  3

B  10  3

C  10  3

D  10  3

E  10  2

For crank angle 1201

FFSS

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.8503
0.8528
0.8532
0.8533
0.8535

0.8535
0.8539
0.8540
0.8540
0.8539

0.8710
0.8710
0.8710
0.8710
0.8709

0.9832
0.9835
0.9835
0.9835
0.9834

0.1041
0.1041
0.1041
0.1041
0.1041

FFCC

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.4105
0.4141
0.4147
0.4148
0.4150

0.4138
0.4153
0.4156
0.4156
0.4156

0.4315
0.4327
0.4328
0.4329
0.4328

0.5439
0.5454
0.5456
0.5456
0.5456

0.6015
0.6032
0.6034
0.6034
0.0603

A  10  2

B  10  2

C  10  2

D  10  2

E  10  2

For crank angle 1501

FFSS

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.2970
0.2972
0.2972
0.2972
0.2971

0.2767
0.2767
0.2767
0.2767
0.2766

0.2612
0.2612
0.2612
0.2612
0.2611

0.2590
0.2590
0.2590
0.2590
0.2590

0.2603
0.2603
0.2603
0.2603
0.2603

FFCC

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.1640
0.1640
0.1640
0.1640
0.1646

0.1437
0.1442
0.1443
0.1443
0.1442

0.1284
0.1288
0.1289
0.1289
0.1288

0.1262
0.1267
0.1268
0.1268
0.1268

0.1275
0.1280
0.1281
0.1281
0.1281

484

S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

Table 11
Vertical displacement (w) in meter at quarter-span section for three layered cross ply (0/90/0) two-fold folded plate. L 1.0m, L1 L3 0.25L, L2 0.5L and h/L 0.01.
Boundary condition

Sources

At points for crank angle 901

F  10  3

G  10  3

H  10  3

I  10  3

J  10  3

FFSS

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.4737
0.4739
0.4740
0.4740
0.4739

0.4738
0.4741
0.4742
0.4742
0.4741

0.4739
0.4742
0.4742
0.4742
0.4742

0.7698
0.7701
0.7702
0.7702
0.7702

0.8888
0.8890
0.8891
0.8891
0.8891

FFCC

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.2225
0.2233
0.2235
0.2235
0.2234

0.2225
0.2234
0.2235
0.2235
0.2235

0.2226
0.2235
0.2236
0.2236
0.2236

0.5178
0.5184
0.5186
0.5186
0.5186

0.6366
0.6370
0.6372
0.6372
0.6372

F  10  3

G  10  3

H  10  3

I  10  3

J  10  3

For crank angle 1201

FFSS

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.6112
0.6134
0.6138
0.6139
0.6140

0.6150
0.6152
0.6153
0.6153
0.6152

0.6329
0.6329
0.6329
0.6329
0.6328

0.7457
0.7462
0.7462
0.7462
0.7461

0.8035
0.8041
0.8041
0.8041
0.8042

FFCC

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.2757
0.2797
0.2803
0.2804
0.2807

0.2792
0.2809
0.2812
0.2812
0.2813

0.2971
0.2984
0.2985
0.2985
0.2985

0.4102
0.4114
0.4116
0.4116
0.4116

0.4683
0.4694
0.4695
0.4695
0.4695

F  10  2

G  10  2

H  10  2

I  10  2

J  10  2

For crank angle 1501

FFSS

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.2260
0.2261
0.2262
0.2262
0.2261

0.2055
0.2055
0.2055
0.2055
0.2054

0.1898
0.1898
0.1898
0.1898
0.1898

0.1875
0.1875
0.1875
0.1875
0.1875

0.1887
0.1888
0.1888
0.1888
0.1888

FFCC

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (6  12)

0.1235
0.1241
0.1242
0.1242
0.1241

0.1034
0.1039
0.1039
0.1039
0.1039

0.08810
0.08860
0.08862
0.08863
0.08861

0.08615
0.08660
0.08664
0.08665
0.08667

0.08679
0.08798
0.08801
0.08802
0.08803

Table 12
Bending moment Mx in (N m/m) at quarter-span sections for three layered cross ply (0/90/0) fold folded plate. L 1.0 m, L1 L3 0.25L, L2 0.5L and h/L 0.01.
Boundary condition

Sources

Bending moment (Mx) at points

A  10  4

C  10  1

E  10  1

F  10  4

H  10  1

J  10  1

FFSS

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (8  16)

 4.265
 1.126
 0.639
 0.519
 0.580

 0.15645
 0.15638
 0.15630
 0.15628
 0.15329

0.15668
0.15617
0.15615
0.15615
0.16198

 0.476
 0.109
 0.060
 0.049
 0.030

 0.15629
 0.15579
 0.15570
 0.15563
 0.15102

0.1564
0.1567
0.1567
0.1567
0.1625

FFCC

PE (2  4)
PE (4  8)
PE (6  10)
PE (6  12)
IPBE9 (8  16)

 4.201
 1.126
 0.642
 0.519
 0.582

 0.15673
 0.15633
 0.15627
 0.15621
 0.15452

0.15570
0.15621
0.15620
0.15620
0.15949

 3.125
 1.094
 0.605
 0.493
 0.509

 0.15769
 0.15654
 0.15650
 0.15645
 0.15382

0.1568
0.1565
0.1565
0.1565
0.1598

thickness ratio h/L0.001 and 0.01. The present formulation has

been tested through analysis of isotropic folded plate having
thickness ratios 0.0333 and 0.167. The results have compared
with the published solutions. From the results it clearly indicates
the accuracy and efciency of the present element formulation.
The element is called high precision because convergence of the
proposed element is very fast and the results obtained by the
present element are very close to the published results. A number

of new results have been presented. It is expected that the new

results will be useful in future research.

References
[1] R. Mark, D.R. Jorge, Photoelastic analysis of folded-plate structures, J. Eng. Mech.
ASCE 4 (1967) 7993.

S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh / Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 47 (2011) 477485

[2] M. Pultar, P.B. Divid, D.R. Jorge, Folded plate continuous over exible supports, J.
Struct. Eng. Div., ASCE 5 (1967) 253277.
[3] Y.K. Cheung, Folded-plate structures by nite strip method, J. Struct. Div., ASCE
12 (1969) 29632979.
[4] S. Maleki, Compound strip method for BoxGirders and folded plates, Comput.
Struct. 40 (1991) 527538.
[5] T. Irie, G. Yamada, Y. Kobayashi, Free vibration of a cantilever folded plate, J.
Acoust. Soc. Am. 76 (6) (1984) 17431748.

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[6] M. Duan, Y. Miyamoto, Effective hybrid/mixed nite elements for folded-plate

structure, J Eng. Mech. Div., ASCE 128 (2) (2002) 20022008.
[7] S. Haldar, A.H. Sheikh, Free vibration analysis of isotropic and composite
folded plates using a shear exible element, Finite Elem. Anal. Des. 42 (2005)
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plates with elastically restrained edges, J. Reinf. Plast. Comp. 18 (7) (1999) 626641.