International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

Prestressed composite laminates featuring

interlaminar imperfection
Zhen-Qiang Cheng , S. Kitipornchai
*
Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026,
People's Republic of China

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia
Received 27 February 1998; received in revised form 15 February 1999

Abstract
The third-order zigzag displacement model is improved to include inplane displacement jumps across each
layer interface of composite laminates to enable interlaminar imperfection to be incorporated. The imperfection is characterized by a linear spring-layer model which includes perfect bonding as a special case. The
principle of virtual work is used to derive a boundary value formulation for laminated composite plates
initially in a prestress state. Bending, buckling and vibration problems are studied for the case of rectangular
cross-ply laminated plates for illustrative purpose.  1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Composite laminate; Interfacial imperfection; Prestress; Improved zigzag model

1. Introduction
Composite materials are used in all kinds of engineering structures, medical prosthetic devices,
electronic circuit boards and sports equipment. Reddy [1] presented a comprehensive review of
traditional theories and re"ned theories of laminated composite materials. In most analytical and
numerical work on composite materials, a perfect interface between adjacent laminae is assumed
which implies continuous displacements and tractions across it. Interface properties and structures

 Visiting Fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
* Corresponding author. Fax: 0061-7-3365-4599.
E-mail address: e2kitip@brolga.uq.edu.au (S. Kitipornchai)
0020-7403/00/$ - see front matter  1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 2 0 - 7 4 0 3 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 1 2 - 0

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Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

Nomenclature
x, t
G
a, b, h
v, u, g
G G H
f ,h
?H ?H
K*v , KR , RM
?
?@
E
GHIJ
o, u
q
p ,e
GH GH
p , N
?@ ?@
N ,M ,P ,R
?@ ?@ ?@ H

Cartesian coordinate and time

side lengths in three directions of a rectangular plate
displacement functions
coe$cient functions of displacements
inplane displacement jump and interfacial parameters
component of elasticity tensor
mass density and frequency
transverse normal load
components of stress and strain tensors
prestress and compression prestress resultant
generalized stress resultant, moments and transverse shear force

are thereby eliminated from the analysis. In many cases of interest, however, the assumptions of
a perfect interface is inadequate [2,3].
Recently, Cheng et al. [4}6] proposed linear and geometrically nonlinear theories for composite
laminated plates incorporating interfacial imperfections at the ply level. Numerical examples
revealed that the important in#uence of imperfect interfaces on linear bending, buckling and
vibration behavior of laminated plates, as well as on their static large de#ection characteristics of
von KaH rmaH n's type. The well-developed higher-order zigzag theory, also termed the equivalent
single-layer theory [7], for composite laminated plates with perfect interfaces [8}10] can be
recovered as a special case of [4}6]. In a separate development, Schmidt and Librescu [11]
presented a similar theory which was based on a piecewise linear variation of inplane displacements. In an alternative assessment of the proposed theoretical model using numerical results for
perfect interfaces [12,13], the work [11] made some remarks on several interesting counterparts of
general theorems in three-dimensional elasticity. Other work related to the subject can be seen in
Refs. [14}17].
It is well known that the structural behavior of an elastic body is signi"cantly a!ected by an
initial stress state. Controlled prestressing is feasible for e$cient utilization of advanced laminated
composite structures. Therefore, research on bending, buckling and vibration behavior of
laminated plates with initial stress has attracted much attention [18}20]. However, a majority of
work was based on the classical and Mindlin-type theories of plates. It is therefore necessary to
study more general cases where the classical and the "rst-order smeared theories are not su$ciently
accurate to predict the behavior of many laminated composite structures.
The present work uses an improved displacement model which incorporates imperfect bonding
at the ply level and includes the conventional third-order zigzag model for perfect interfaces as
a special case. The equations of motion and boundary conditions of laminated composite plates in
an initial stress state are derived by using the principle of virtual work. A rectangular cross-ply
laminated plate with simply supported edges is taken as an example to examine its bending,
buckling and vibration responses.

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

427

2. A prestressed laminate
A multilayered plate consisting of k homogeneous anisotropic layers of uniform thickness h is
shown in Fig. 1. The plate is initially subjected to the action of inplane prestress and external edge
loads and is in a state of equilibrium. Let +x , (i"1, 2, 3) be denoted as a Cartesian coordinate
G
system. A plane parallel to and between the two bounding surfaces of the plate is chosen as the
reference plane x Ox and the x -axis is normal to the plane of the plate. The bottom surface, the
 

k!1 interfaces and the top surface are denoted by K) (m"0, . . . , k) in the sequence. Thus, the
mth layer is in the range of [K\h, Kh] in the x -direction, where Kh (m"0, . . . , k) is the distance

between K) and the reference plane. Clearly, Ih! h"h is the total thickness of the plate.
Throughout, a comma followed by a subscript denotes a derivative with respect to the corresponding spatial coordinate. A dot over a quantity refers to a derivative with respect to time t. The
Einsteinian summation convention applies to repeated subscripts of tensor components, with lower
case Latin subscripts ranging from 1 to 3 and Greek subscripts from 1 to 2.
It is assumed that the transverse normal stress p for the plate problem under consideration is

negligibly small compared with other stress components. The material symmetry assumed is that of
re#ectional symmetry in planes parallel to the reference plane. Under these assumptions, an
approximate perturbation displacement "eld suitable for describing the prestressed plate subjected
to a time-varying incremental deformation is given as
I\
v (x ; t)"u !x u #f g # K*v H(x ! Kh), v (x ; t)"u ,
(1)
? G
?
 ?
?H H
?

 G

K
where u , u , g and K*v are independent of x , H(x !Kh) is the Heaviside step function, and
?  H
?


f is given in Appendix A in which several displacement models can be given by specifying di!erent
?H

Fig. 1. Geometry of a laminated plate.

428

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

expressions of f . For perfect interfaces, K*v "0 and thus a corresponding displacement "eld
?H
?
may become the third-order zigzag model [8]. In this case, the compatibility conditions of
transverse shear stresses on both bounding surfaces of the plate as well as at the interfaces have
been satis"ed by the displacement "eld (1), while the displacement jumps K*v across each
?
interface of the plate will be determined by the following linear spring-layer model for imperfect
interfaces [4}6]:
K*v (x ; t),v (x , Kh>; t)!v (x , Kh\; t)" KR (x )p (x , Kh; t), (m"1, . . . , k!1),
? @
? @
? @
?@ M @ ?
(2)
where p is the perturbed stress tensor, KR represent the compliance coe$cients of the mth
GH
?@
spring-layer interface K) . It is clear from Eq. (2) that a perfect interface corresponds to KR "0
?@
which leads to the conventional third-order zigzag displacement model, i.e. Eq. (1) with vanishing
K*v , while KR PR represent complete debonding, i.e. p "0 on K), but no separation.
?
?@
@
Therefore, an intermediately weakened interface may be modeled by "nite values of
KR [4}6,11,14}16]. In practice, when the material interfaces undergo deformation such that
?@
a threshold value of plastic interfacial stress is reached, the linear spring-layer model will not be
valid after the threshold value. More sophisticated models should be developed to characterize the
latter case.
Estimation of the interfacial parameters requires a knowledge of interfacial microstructures and
is beyond the scope of this paper. They can be determined experimentally either by direct shear test
or through statistically equivalent macroscopic moduli for imperfectly bonded layered media [3],
in turn to determine the interfacial parameters. In experiments it is possible to bond actuators on
the bounding surfaces of a plate, and the amount of prestress can be controlled by applying proper
voltages on the actuators.
The incremental strain and stress tensors of the plate are expressed as [21]
e " (v #v ),
HG
GH  GH

(3a)

p "H
e ,
?@
?@SM SM

(3b)

p "2E
e ,
?
?S S

(3c)

H
"E
!E
E
/E
,
?@SM
?@SM
?@ SM 

(3d)

where e is the strain tensor, E is the elasticity tensor of an anisotropic elastic body.
GH
GHIJ
From Eqs. (1), (2), (3a) and (3c), the displacement jump at each interface can be obtained and then
substituted into Eq. (1), the approximate perturbed displacement "eld is obtained as
v "u !x u #h g , v "u ,
?
?
 ?
?H H



(4)

I\
h ,h (x )"f (x )# KR (x )K>E
f
(Kh>)H(x ! Kh).
?H
?H G
?H 
?@ M
@S SH

K

(5)

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

429

The dependence of the interface parameter KR on x implies that a general case of the
?@
M
non-uniform bonding strength at the interface K) (m"1, . . . , k!1) has been included in the
present displacement model.
It is further assumed that the initial inplane stress p and the mass density o of the plate depend
?@
only on x and that the initial displacement gradients and p v v (this term will contribute to

?@ I? I@
nonlinearity which is not considered in the present analysis) are su$ciently small to be neglected in
the principle of virtual work [18], which gives

4pGHdeGH d<#4p?@vI?dvI@ d<#4vK GdvGo d<!qdv d)"0.

(6)

Thus the equations of motion are derived as



F>F



F>F

F
 F ovK ? dx"0,
F>F
F>F
M
#
p (u #x v
) dx !
o(uK #x vK ) dx #q"0,
?@?@ 
?@ ?@
 SS?@
 

 SS

F
F
F>F
F>F
p h v
dx !
oh vK dx "0,
P !R #
?@ SH S?@  
SH S 
H@@
H 
F
F

N #
?@@



p v
dx !
S@ ?S@ 



















(7)

associated with the following boundary conditions:





F>F
p v dx "0 or du "0,
S@ ?S 
?

F


F>F
F>F
n M #
p (d u #x v ) dx !
ox vK dx "0 or du "0,
@
?S
@S
?

@?S

 @ 
?@?



F
F

F>F
n P #
p h v dx "0 or dg "0,
@ H@
?@ SH S? 
H

F

F>F
g M #
p x v dx "0 or du "0,
(8)
@
S@  ?S 
?@
?

F
where q(x ; t) is an arbitrarily distributed normal load applied to the surface ) or I), and
?

F>F
[N , M , P , R ]2"
[p , p x , p h , p h ]2 dx .
(9)
?@
?@ H@ H
?@ ?@  ?@ ?H ?I ?HI


F
By using Eqs. (3) and (4), Eq. (9) can be further rewritten as

n N #
@ ?@








N

 

C
!C
C
C
?@
?@SM
?@SM
?@SM
?@SMM
M
C
!C
C
C
?@ " ?@SM
?@SM
?@SM
?@SMM
P
C
!C
C
C
?@
SM?@
SM?@
?@SM
?@S
R
C
!C
C
C
?
SM?@@
SM?@@
SM?
?S

u
SM
u
SM ,
g
SM
g
S

(10)

430

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

where
[C , C , C , C , C , C , C ]
?@SM ?@SM ?@JM ?@SM ?@JM H@JM H@J

F>F
"
H
[1, x , h , x, x h , h h , h h ] dx ,
(11)
?@SM
 SJ   SJ ?H SJ ?H SJM


F

F>F
(H
h h #E
h h ) dx .
(12)
C"
?@SM ?H@ SJM
?S ?H SJ

HJ

F
Eqs. (7) are the displacement-based governing equations involving "ve unknowns u , u and g ,
? 
?
which need to be solved with the boundary conditions (8) for any set of plate and external load
parameters. By setting KR "0 (m"1, . . . , k!1), the corresponding governing equations and
?@
boundary conditions become the third-order zigzag theory for perfect bonding.

3. Illustrative examples
The present formulation for prestressed laminated composite plates featuring interlaminar
imperfection provides a basis for wide applications in related problems. However, due to the
complexity of the governing equations, the following examples are restricted to the case of
a rectangular cross-ply laminated plate in uniform bonding, in which only initial stresses p and

p are prescribed. Since numerical results using prestress-free theory have been given in Refs.

[4}6,16], the e!ect of the prestresses on bending, buckling and vibration problems is of particular
concern in this paper.
It is seen from Eqs. (7) and (10) that the governing equations have 14th order, which is consistent
with the seven prescribed boundary conditions of Eq. (8) for each edge of the plate. For example,
the simply supported conditions along the x edge can be described as


F>F
N #
p v dx "0, u "0, u "0,

  



F

F>F
p h v dx "0, g "0,
P #
   



F

F>F
M #
p x v dx "0, u "0.
(13)

   


F
The boundary conditions along the x edge can be given similarly. Under the action of the

transverse normal load





q"q sin j x sin j x e SR,

(14)

 
 
a closed-form solution of the rectangular cross-ply laminated plate with simply supported edges at
x "0, a and x "0, b has the following form:


[u , g ]"[; , H ] cos j x sin j x e SR,
 
 
 
 
[u , g ]"[; , H ] sin j x cos j x e SR,
 
 
 
 
u "; sin j x sin j x e SR,
(15)


 
 

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

431

where j "m p/a and j "m p/b. The conditions of simply supported edges are satis"ed by




Eq. (15). From these expressions, exact solutions can be given for the static bending problem by
taking u"0 and m "m "1, for the buckling problem by taking u"0 and q "0, and for the



vibration problem by taking q "0. The bottom surface of the laminate is chosen as the reference

plane, i.e. h"0.
3.1. Bending
The material chosen for bending computation is a square four-ply symmetric (03/903/903/03) or
antisymmetric (903/03/903/03) (with 903 starting from bottom lamina) laminated plate with identical
thickness and sti!ness properties for each ply:
E /E "25, G /E "0.5, G /E "0.2, l "l "0.25,
(16)
* 2
*2 2
22 2
*2
22
where E is the tensile modulus, G is the shear modulus, l is Poisson's ratio and the subscript and
refer to the directions parallel and normal to the "bers, respectively. The interfacial parameter for
each interface is taken as KR "d RM h/E , where RM is a dimensionless quantity. The value of
?@
?@
2
RM given in Tables 1}6 are 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, representing progressive degrees of imperfection in the
interfaces.
The dimensionless de#ection in Tables 1 and 2 and the dimensionless interfacial stresses in
Tables 3}6 are de"ned as

a b h
100E h
2 v , , ,
v "

q a  2 2 2


a
h
b
h
p "
p 0, , x , p "
p
, 0, x .
 q a 
 q a  2

2 



Table 1
Central de#ection v of a four-ply laminated square plate (a/h"4)

N/N


RM "0

RM "0.3

RM "0.6

RM "0.9

03/903/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

7.62105
3.81103
2.54102
1.90601
1.52500
1.27099
1.08956
0.95348

11.12480
5.56277
3.70874
2.78172
2.22551
1.85470
1.58983
1.39118

14.66350
7.33200
4.88815
3.66622
2.93306
2.44429
2.09517
1.83332

17.77790
8.88909
5.92617
4.44471
3.55583
2.96325
2.53997
2.22251

903/03/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

7.79200
3.89630
2.59773
1.94844
1.55887
1.29915
1.11364
0.97450

11.32760
5.66400
3.77613
2.83219
2.26583
1.88826
1.61856
1.41629

14.70040
7.35036
4.90034
3.67532
2.94032
2.45031
2.10031
1.83781

17.58880
8.79451
5.86309
4.39738
3.51795
2.93166
2.51289
2.19881

(17)

432

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

Table 2
Central de#ection v of a four-ply laminated square plate (a/h"10)

N/N


RM "0

RM "0.3

RM "0.6

RM "0.9

03/903/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

2.94356
1.47179
0.98120
0.73590
0.58873
0.49061
0.42053
0.36796

3.72379
1.86191
1.24128
0.93097
0.74478
0.62065
0.53199
0.46549

4.65285
2.32644
1.55097
1.16323
0.93059
0.77550
0.66471
0.58163

5.70264
2.85133
1.90090
1.42568
1.14055
0.95046
0.81468
0.71285

903/03/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

3.01974
1.50989
1.00660
0.75496
0.60398
0.50332
0.43142
0.37750

3.78249
1.89126
1.26085
0.94565
0.75652
0.63044
0.54038
0.47284

4.71466
2.35734
1.57157
1.17868
0.94295
0.78580
0.67355
0.58935

5.77702
2.88852
1.92569
1.44427
1.15542
0.96285
0.82531
0.72215

The interfacial positions are at x "h/4, h/2, 3h/4. The notation N in Tables 1}6 is de"ned by

F
N" p dx , p"!jp !jp .

 
 


(18a,b)

In particular, N denotes the value associated with the laminate in a critical buckling state in the

fundamental buckling mode (m "m "1). Therefore, the square plate will buckle into the


fundamental mode at N/N "1 if a perturbation is provided. For N/N '1, a postbuckling


problem will arise which is nonlinear and will not be considered in this study. Thus numerical
results are restricted to the range of N/N (1. The values of N/N in Tables 1}6 range from 0.75


to !1. The positive values of N/N correspond to the pre-compression state of the plate and the

negative values of N/N to the pre-tension state. In particular, the results at N/N "0 in these


tables correspond to those without prestresses, in this case the analysis has been presented in
Refs. [4}6].
Tables 1 and 2 show the central de#ection of symmetric and antisymmetric laminates with
progressive interfacial imperfection, respectively. The results (column 3 of Tables 1 and 2) are for
perfectly bonded laminates using the third-order zigzag theory. Comparison has been made with
exact three-dimensional elasticity solutions and several other plate theories, con"rming the high
accuracy achieved and the necessity of using the third-order zigzag approach [8}10]. Therefore,
assessment of the present theory for the case of perfect bonding is unnecessary. With the increasing
interfacial parameter, the central de#ection increases for di!erent N/N and span-to-thickness

ratio a/h"4,10. This is because weakening of the interfacial bond degrades the rigidity of plates.

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

Table 3
Interfacial stress p



of a four-ply laminated square plate (a/h"4)

N/N

03/903/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

903/03/903/03

433

0.75

0.50

0.25

0.00

!0.25

!0.50

!0.75

!1.00

x /h


RM "0

RM "0.3

RM "0.6

RM "0.9

0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50

0.83654
0.84888
0.41754
0.42358
0.27788
0.28181
0.20805
0.21093
0.16615
0.16840
0.13822
0.14005
0.11827
0.11980
0.10330
0.10462

0.74844
0.74352
0.37378
0.37118
0.24889
0.24706
0.18645
0.18501
0.14898
0.14777
0.12400
0.12295
0.10616
0.10522
0.09278
0.09193

0.65774
0.63515
0.32860
0.31718
0.21889
0.21118
0.16403
0.15819
0.13111
0.12639
0.10917
0.10520
0.09350
0.09006
0.08174
0.07870

0.56508
0.52762
0.28238
0.26353
0.18814
0.17550
0.14103
0.13149
0.11275
0.10508
0.09391
0.08748
0.08044
0.07490
0.07035
0.06547

0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75

0.20945
0.98691
0.96991
0.10426
0.48723
0.47877
0.06920
0.32073
0.31511
0.05168
0.23752
0.23333
0.04116
0.18763
0.18429
0.03416
0.15440
0.15163
0.02915
0.13068
0.12832
0.02540
0.11292
0.11086

0.23920
0.82490
0.81761
0.11920
0.40716
0.40355
0.07920
0.26796
0.26557
0.05921
0.19838
0.19661
0.04721
0.15665
0.15525
0.03921
0.12885
0.12769
0.03350
0.10901
0.10803
0.02922
0.09414
0.09329

0.26620
0.66089
0.66318
0.13275
0.32576
0.32693
0.08826
0.21407
0.21487
0.06602
0.15825
0.15886
0.05268
0.12477
0.12527
0.04378
0.10246
0.10289
0.03743
0.08654
0.08691
0.03267
0.07460
0.07494

0.28838
0.51355
0.52425
0.14387
0.25246
0.25784
0.09569
0.16545
0.16905
0.07161
0.12196
0.12468
0.05716
0.09588
0.09806
0.04753
0.07850
0.08033
0.04065
0.06610
0.06767
0.03549
0.05680
0.05818

The de#ection of the symmetric stack is only slightly di!erent from the antisymmetric stack. The
prestresses change the de#ection of the laminate signi"cantly. The positive values of N/N which

correspond to initial compression stresses increase the de#ection while the negative values decrease
the de#ection.

434

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

Table 4
Interfacial stress p



of a four-ply laminated square plate (a/h"10)

N/N

03/903/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

903/03/903/03

0.75

0.50

0.25

0.00

!0.25

!0.50

!0.75

!1.00

x /h


RM "0

RM "0.3

RM "0.6

RM "0.9

0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50

1.16983
1.20320
0.58451
0.60118
0.38940
0.40050
0.29185
0.30017
0.23332
0.23997
0.19430
0.19983
0.16643
0.17116
0.14552
0.14966

1.10366
1.13475
0.55145
0.56697
0.36738
0.37772
0.27535
0.28309
0.22013
0.22631
0.18331
0.18846
0.15702
0.16142
0.13730
0.14115

1.04172
1.06960
0.52053
0.53445
0.34681
0.35607
0.25995
0.26688
0.20783
0.21336
0.17308
0.17769
0.14826
0.15220
0.12965
0.13309

0.98410
1.00796
0.49178
0.50369
0.32768
0.33560
0.24563
0.25155
0.19639
0.20112
0.16357
0.16750
0.14013
0.14349
0.12255
0.12548

0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75

0.15743
1.09961
1.07162
0.07864
0.54854
0.53455
0.05237
0.36486
0.35553
0.03924
0.27302
0.26602
0.03136
0.21792
0.21232
0.02611
0.18119
0.17652
0.02235
0.15495
0.15095
0.01954
0.13528
0.13177

0.16416
1.06722
1.04125
0.08199
0.53235
0.51937
0.05460
0.35406
0.34541
0.04091
0.26492
0.25843
0.03269
0.21144
0.20625
0.02721
0.17579
0.17146
0.02330
0.15032
0.14662
0.02037
0.13122
0.12798

0.17204
1.02514
1.00173
0.08593
0.51138
0.49967
0.05723
0.34012
0.33233
0.04288
0.25450
0.24865
0.03427
0.20312
0.19845
0.02853
0.16888
0.16498
0.02443
0.14442
0.14108
0.02135
0.12607
0.12315

0.18080
0.97554
0.95509
0.09032
0.48666
0.47644
0.06016
0.32370
0.31689
0.04507
0.24222
0.23712
0.03603
0.19334
0.18926
0.02999
0.16075
0.15735
0.02569
0.13747
0.13456
0.02245
0.12002
0.11747

The interfacial stresses in Tables 3}6 were calculated from the equilibrium equation p "0 as
?II
is normally done, instead of from the constitutive equations. Some comments on the use of an
a posteriori calculation of such components by means of three-dimensional equilibrium and
constitutive relations were given in Refs. [22}24]. In the e!ective tension state caused by negative

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

Table 5
Interfacial stress p



of a four-ply laminated square plate (a/h"4)

N/N

03/903/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

903/03/903/03

435

0.75

0.50

0.25

0.00

!0.25

!0.50

!0.75

!1.00

x /h


RM "0

RM "0.3

RM "0.6

RM "0.9

0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50

0.21707
1.28894
0.10780
0.63947
0.07138
0.42302
0.05318
0.31484
0.04226
0.24995
0.03499
0.20672
0.02979
0.17586
0.02590
0.15273

0.21861
1.07261
0.10859
0.53085
0.07192
0.35032
0.05359
0.26009
0.04260
0.20598
0.03527
0.16993
0.03004
0.14421
0.02612
0.12493

0.21951
0.78724
0.10913
0.38862
0.07234
0.25579
0.05395
0.18941
0.04292
0.14960
0.03557
0.12308
0.03032
0.10416
0.02638
0.08998

0.22270
0.52334
0.11080
0.25714
0.07350
0.16843
0.05486
0.12410
0.04367
0.09753
0.03622
0.07983
0.03090
0.06720
0.02691
0.05774

0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75

0.94014
0.95715
0.17969
0.46894
0.47740
0.09443
0.31186
0.31748
0.06596
0.23333
0.23752
0.05168
0.18620
0.18955
0.04308
0.15479
0.15756
0.03732
0.13234
0.13471
0.03318
0.11551
0.11757
0.03006

0.79292
0.80021
0.21451
0.39538
0.39899
0.11102
0.26286
0.26525
0.07649
0.19661
0.19838
0.05921
0.15685
0.15826
0.04881
0.13035
0.13151
0.04187
0.11142
0.11240
0.03690
0.09722
0.09808
0.03315

0.64117
0.63888
0.24419
0.31963
0.31846
0.12545
0.21245
0.21165
0.08584
0.15886
0.15825
0.06602
0.12671
0.12621
0.05412
0.10528
0.10485
0.04617
0.08997
0.08959
0.04049
0.07848
0.07815
0.03621

0.50376
0.49306
0.26790
0.25104
0.24566
0.13707
0.16680
0.16320
0.09344
0.12468
0.12196
0.07161
0.09941
0.09722
0.05850
0.08256
0.08073
0.04976
0.07053
0.06895
0.04350
0.06150
0.06012
0.03881

N/N , the interfacial stresses p of the plate are lower than those in the prestress-free state,

?
while the interfacial stresses associated with positive N/N are higher than those without

prestresses. Moreover, the variation in the interfacial stresses is signi"cant. As the interfacial
parameter progressively increases, the dominant interfacial stress decreases for both symmetric and

436

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

Table 6
Interfacial stress p



of a four-ply laminated square plate (a/h"10)

N/N

03/903/903/03

0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
!0.25
!0.50
!0.75
!1.00

903/03/903/03

0.75

0.50

0.25

0.00

!0.25

!0.50

!0.75

!1.00

x /h


RM "0

RM "0.3

RM "0.6

RM "0.9

0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50
0.5G0.25
0.50

0.14703
0.80005
0.07346
0.39971
0.04894
0.26626
0.03668
0.19954
0.02932
0.15950
0.02441
0.13282
0.02091
0.11375
0.01828
0.09945

0.15921
0.86318
0.07952
0.43101
0.05296
0.28696
0.03968
0.21493
0.03171
0.17172
0.02640
0.14291
0.02260
0.12233
0.01976
0.10690

0.16920
0.88962
0.08449
0.44404
0.05626
0.29551
0.04214
0.22125
0.03367
0.17669
0.02803
0.14699
0.02399
0.12577
0.02097
0.10986

0.17721
0.88268
0.08849
0.44045
0.05892
0.29305
0.04413
0.21934
0.03526
0.17512
0.02935
0.14564
0.02512
0.12459
0.02195
0.10880

0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.50
0.75

1.06337
1.09135
0.14918
0.53181
0.54580
0.07589
0.35462
0.36395
0.05146
0.26602
0.27302
0.03924
0.21286
0.21846
0.03190
0.17742
0.18209
0.02701
0.15211
0.15611
0.02351
0.13312
0.13662
0.02088

1.03420
1.06017
0.15711
0.51703
0.53001
0.07965
0.34463
0.35328
0.05382
0.25843
0.26492
0.04091
0.20672
0.21190
0.03316
0.17223
0.17656
0.02799
0.14761
0.15131
0.02429
0.12913
0.13238
0.02152

0.99564
1.01906
0.16596
0.49765
0.50935
0.08391
0.33165
0.33945
0.05656
0.24865
0.25450
0.04288
0.19885
0.20353
0.03467
0.16565
0.16954
0.02920
0.14194
0.14527
0.02528
0.12415
0.12707
0.02235

0.94973
0.97018
0.17544
0.47466
0.48488
0.08853
0.31630
0.32311
0.05956
0.23712
0.24222
0.04507
0.18961
0.19369
0.03638
0.15794
0.16134
0.03058
0.13532
0.13823
0.02644
0.11835
0.12090
0.02334

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

437

antisymmetric stack of laminates, especially more pronounced for small span-to-thickness ratio
a/h, i.e. for thick plates.
3.2. Buckling
The conventional procedure for calculating the buckling stress N is based on initially stress?@
free theories of laminated plates (e.g. Refs. [8,25]), which normally lead to the governing equations
N "0, M
!N u "0, P !R "0,
(19)
?@@
?@?@
?@ ?@
H@@
H
associated with homogeneous boundary conditions. Compared with Eq. (7) for static buckling
problems, many terms appearing in Eq. (7) are absent in Eq. (19). In order to further understand
whether such an omission made by the conventional approach is valid or not, it is essential to
compare the results of the buckling stress parameter calculated from both sets of di!erent
governing equations, i.e. Eq. (7) after dropping all terms related to time and Eq. (19) for buckling
problems.
The eigenvalue equation corresponding to the set of governing equations (7) for a static buckling
problem is
[k#m(p)]Y"0.

(20)

The eigenvalue equation corresponding to the set of governing equations (19) is

[k#e(p)]Y"0.

(21)

In the above eigenvalue problems,

Y"[; , ; , ; , H , H ]2,
(22)
    
k and m are 5;5 symmetric matrices (k )"(k ) and (m )"(m ) (I, J"1, . . . , 5). k depends
'(
('
'(
('
only on material and geometry constants of the plate and m is such a matrix of its elements
involving integrals of p with appropriate through-thickness weighted averages. Their speci"c
expressions are given in Appendix B. e is a 5;5 matrix with its only nonzero element being
e "N, which is de"ned by Eq. (18a).

Here it is assumed that the prebuckled plate is #at. The buckling solutions using the present
approach (20) and the conventional approach (21) can be easily obtained. Eq. (20) is a standard
form of an eigenvalue problem from which its exact solution can easily be obtained. For the
conventional approach it can be derived from Eq. (21) that
N "!1/(k\) .
(23)


To enable the present results to be compared with the exact three-dimensional solution [26],
the same example problem has been used, i.e. an orthotropic three-layered symmetric square
plate with simply supported edges, layer thickness (h! h)/h"0.1, (h! h)/h"0.8,
(h! h)/h"0.1, and identical relative values of the elastic moduli for each layer
E
/E
"0.543103, E
/E
"0.530172,
 
 
E
/E
"0.23319, E
/E
"0.010776, E
/E
"0.098276,
 
 
 
E
/E
"0.262931, E
/E
"0.159914, E
/E
"0.26681.
 
 
 

(24)

438

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

The plate is subjected to p only. The through-thickness compression distributed on the edges is

piecewise constant, speci"ed as p "b  p " p . The buckling stress parameter is de"ned as



k "12(b/h)N /(0.2b#0.8)/(E
hp),
(25)



where
F
N "! p dx , b" E
/E
.
(26)

 



N may be interpreted from equilibrium consideration as an inplane compression stress resultant

exerted on the edges per unit length.
The buckling solutions corresponding to the present approach of Eq. (20) and conventional
approach of Eq. (21) are solved. Numerical results are given in Table 7 for the static buckling stress
parameter for di!erent values of the parameter b, together with comparative exact results [26] for
perfect bonding calculated from three-dimensional elasticity. It is seen that the present buckling
results from Eq. (20) for perfect bonding are very accurate compared with the three-dimensional
approach. The conventional approach from Eq. (21) also gives quite accurate results, though not so
accurate as from Eq. (20). This implies that the e!ect of the dominant element has been taken into
account in the conventional approach to the buckling problem. Because the dominant element, i.e.
the compression stress resultant N , does not depend on the through-thickness distribution of

edge compression, it is reasonable to see in Table 7 that the buckling stress parameter under
di!erently distributed compression, such as the uniformly distributed edge compression (column
4 in Table 7) is also quite accurate. Therefore, we may conclude in this case that the buckling stress
parameter is insensitive to the through-thickness distribution of edge compression. However, this
conclusion in more general cases needs further con"rmation.

3.3. Vibration
The vibration problem using the present formulation of Eq. (7) reduces to
[k#m(p)#m(o)u]Y"0,

(27)

Table 7
Buckling stress parameter k for a square three-ply laminated plate with perfect interfaces

(a/h"10, RM "0)
p (x )
 

Layerwise constant

Arbitrary

Uniform

Layerwise constant

Three-dimensional
exact [26]

Conventional
Eq. (21)

Present
Eq. (20)

Present
Eq. (20)

1
2
5
10
15

2.770
3.330
4.046
4.200
4.037

2.80767
3.38291
4.11833
4.27111
4.09769

2.76836
3.33821
4.07208
4.23331
4.06818

2.76836
3.32732
4.04147
4.19596
4.03374

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

439

from which an eigenvalue problem arises and its exact solution can easily be obtained. In
particular, the eigenvalue equation can also be used to solve static buckling problems by taking
u"0 and initially stress-free #exural vibration problems by taking p"0.
It is interesting to "nd, according to Eq. (27) and Eqs. (B.2)}(B.4) in Appendix B, that when the
through-thickness distribution of the mass density o is proportional to the through-thickness
distribution p of the plate, i.e. o(x )"Cp(x ), the eigenvalue problem reduces to the same


eigenvalue equation as Eq. (20). The proportional factor C can be alternatively represented by
integrating the proportion relation over the plate thickness as C"I/N, with the transverse
translational inertia I"I(o). It is inferred from the eigenvalue equation (27) that the prestressrelated N and the vibration frequency u are subject to the relationship
Iu #N"IuL  ,
(28)


where u denotes the circular frequency of the laminate under the action of prestress

N"!jN !jN and uL denotes the circular frequency of the laminate without prestress.
 
 

In particular, the static buckling stress N and the vibration frequency uL by using the present


formulation are subject to the relationship
N "IuL  .
(29)


This correspondence is exactly the same as already found in the classical theory.
It is therefore found from Eq. (29), for perfect bonding and even uniform weak bonding, that the
solutions of buckling and vibration problems are similar, i.e. the buckling stress and vibration
frequency are subject to the same correspondence relationship as in the classical theory. However,
this analogy is only valid under the condition that the through-thickness distribution of initial
stress and mass density are proportional to each other.
Moreover, it will be unnecessary to solve the vibration frequencies of a rectangular prestressed
laminate with simply supported edges. Such a solution can be simply given from relationship (28)
upon knowing the vibration frequencies of the same laminate without prestress or, in accordance
with Eq. (29), the critical buckling load. As discussed earlier in this section regarding the buckling
problem, the buckling stress parameter is insensitive to the through-thickness distribution of edge
compression. Relations (28) and(29) may be used approximately to evaluate other eigenvalues after
knowing the solution in one case. Such an approximation will produce only negligible errors even if
the through-thickness distribution of the mass density o is not proportional to the throughthickness distribution p of the plate.
Note that the expression of h (x ) in Eq. (4) does not necessarily refer to Eq. (5) when coming to
?H G
the above conclusion. In fact, di!erent expressions of h (x ) can result in di!erent theories of
?H G
laminated plates, as discussed by Di Sciuva [8] for perfect bonding (see also Appendix A). When
following the foregoing procedures, the analogy between buckling and vibration eigenvalue
problems could be simply extended to the "rst-order and third-order theories (gross and zigzag
models) of laminated plates for perfect bonding.
4. Conclusion
A formulation for prestressed laminated composite plates featuring imperfect bonding has been
given, Using this approach, the e!ect of prestresses on bending of a rectangular cross-ply laminate

440

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

has been analyzed and discussed. The buckling solution obtained from this paper is more
accurate than the conventional approach. The same correspondence relationship between
the static buckling stress and the #exural vibration frequency exists for the "rst-order and
third-order models with perfect bonding and uniform imperfect bonding as readily found
in the classical laminated plate theory, subject to the condition that the through-thickness
distribution of edge compression and mass density are proportional to each other. The vibration
frequencies of the prestressed plate need not necessarily be solved but simply obtained from the
relation formula established in this paper upon knowing the eigenvalue solution of the plate
without prestresses.

Acknowledgements
This work was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Appendix A
The expression of f

?H

for a perfectly bonded laminate is [5]

 

3
h I\
1 I\
Ka x ! (h#2 h)d #
Ka x
f (x )" 3(h# h) hd #
?H 
?H 
?H
?H 2h
?H 
2
h
K
K
I\
# d x# Ka (x ! Kh)H(x ! Kh),
?H 
?H 

K

(A.1)

where d is the Kronecker delta function, the constants Ga depend only on the material elasticity
?H
?H
properties of each layer and connect Gu and g as Gu " Ga g , which are obtained through the
?
H
?
?H H
following 2(k!1) linear algebraic equations:

# GE
Gu "0, (i"1, . . . , k!1).
?S S

(A.2)

G
h! Gh I\
Ku
(G>E
! GE
) 3(h# h! Gh)( h! Gh)g # Ku #
S
S
S
?S
?S
h
K
K

In particular, several existing laminated plate models for perfect interfaces can be recovered from the displacement "eld. Speci"cally, the third-order zigzag model is given by
taking K*v "0 in Eq. (1). The third-order Reddy gross model [27] is given by further taking
?
Ka "0 in Eq. (A.1). The "st-order shear deformation theory is based on the displacement model
?H
(1) by taking K*v "0 and f "x . The classical Kirchho! theory can be given from the
?
?H

displacement "eld (1) by taking K*v "0 and f "0. The "rst-order zigzag model [25] and its
?
?H
improved version to include interfacial imperfection [11] can also be given by specifying the
expression of f .
?H

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

441

Appendix B
The elements of the matrices k and m are given as
k "!jC !jC ,

 
 
k "!j j C !j j C ,

  
  
k "jC #j jC #j j(C #C ),

 
  
  

k "!jC !jC ,

 
 
k "!j j C !j j C ,

  
  
k "!jC !jC ,

 
 
k "jj C #jC #jj (C #C ),

  
 
  



k "!j j C
!j j C
,

  
  
k "!jC !jC ,

 
 

k "!jC
!jj(C #C )!jC !jj(C #C #C #C ),

 
  

 
  



k "jC #j jC #j j(C #C ),

 
  
  

k "jj C #jC #jj (C #C ),

  
 
  

k "!jC !jC !C,

 
 

k "!j j C !j j C ,

  
  
k "!jC !jC !C,
(B.1)

 
 

and
m (p)"I(p),

m (p)"0,

m (p)"!j J(p),


m (p)"I (p),


m (p)"0,

m (p)"I(p),

m (p)"!j J(p),


m (p)"0,

m (p)"I (p),


m (p)"I(p)#(j#j)K(p),



m (p)"!j J (p),

 

442

Z.-Q. Cheng, S. Kitipornchai / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 42 (2000) 425}443

m (p)"!j J (p),

 
m (p)"K (p),


m (p)"0,

m (p)"K (p),


where

(B.2)
F

 p[1 x x] dx,

F
[I (p) J (p) K (p)]" ph [1 x h ] dx .
?@
?@
H@
 ?@  ?H 
[I(p) J(p) K(p)]"

(B.3)
(B.4)

References
[1] Reddy JN. Mechanics of laminated composite plate: theory and analysis. Boca Raton, FL; CRC Press, 1997.
[2] Chen TC, Jang HI. Thermal stresses in a multilayered anisotropic medium with interface thermal resistance.
Journal of Applied Mechanics 1995;62:810}1.
[3] Lai YS, Wang CY, Tien YM. Micromechanical analysis of imperfectly bonded layered media. Journal of
Engineering Mechanics 1997;123:986}95.
[4] Cheng ZQ, Jemah AK, Williams FW. Theory for multilayered anisotropic plates with weakened interfaces. Journal
of Applied Mechanics 1996;63:1019}26.
[5] Cheng ZQ, Kennedy D, Williams FW. E!ect of interfacial imperfection on buckling and bending behavior of
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