First order shear deformation theory for hybrid cylindrical panel in cylindrical bending considering electrothermomechanical coupling effects

Abstract

The coupled first order shear deformation theory based on Flugge's approximations is presented for cylindrical bending of cross-ply laminated circular cylindrical hybrid panels without assuming a priori the distribution of electric potential across the thickness of the laminate. Unlike available two dimensional theories, the coupled constitutive equations for electric displacement are used in the charge equation of equilibrium to obtain its solution in terms of displacements of the panel. Fourier series solutions are obtained for simply-supported panels under static electrothermomechanical load. These are used in three dimensional equilibrium equations to obtain transverse stress components. The results are compared with the three dimensional solution to assess the accuracy of the present theory. The influence of the electrothermomechanical coupling on the response is found to be significant. The study reveals that it is important to incorporate what are called ‘thermal thickening’ and ‘electrical thinning/thickening’ effects in the two dimensional theory to improve its performance for cylindrical shell panels under thermoelectric loads.