Reissner’s Mixed Variational Theorem for Layer-Wise Refined Beam Models Based on the Unified Formulation
The present paper proposes the application of the Reissners Mixed Variational Theorem (RMVT) for the accurate stress analysis of general multi-layered beam problems. Laminated materials usually differ from homogeneous materials in that they exhibit much higher transverse shear and transverse normal deformabilities. These characteristics, and others such as the Transverse Anisotropy (TA) and the Interlaminar Continuity of transverse stresses (IC), make Classical Laminated Theories (CLT) inappropriate for the analysis of multi-layered structures. The Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF) sets a framework in which classical-to-refined beam models can be generated by expanding the unknown variables over the cross-sectional domain by means of arbitrary functions. A LW expansion is adopted for both displacements and transverse stresses over the cross-section section domain. In this manner, the ZZ condition is automatically satisfied through the use of independent kinematics for each layer in a LW sense, with no need of introducing ad-hoc ZZ functions.