ASYMMETRIC BENDING OF CURVILINEAR-FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE ANNULAR PLATES

The components produced by automated tow-placement machines are of in-plane variable-stiffness. However, the spatial variation of the fiber orientation needs to solve partial differential equations with variable coefficients. Assuming the stiffness varying with young's modulus of exponential function and fiber angles, the classical plate theory is used to derive the governing differential equation of asymmetric bending of the orthotropic annular plates with variable stiffness. The deflections of composite annular plates with variable stiffness for elastically restrained edges were calculated by the method of weighted residuals. By comparing our numerical results with exact solutions, it can be found that the method of weighted residuals has fast convergence and the numerical results have high accuracy. However, the fiber orientation angles were varied from one element to another, it was found that such plates would be more effective than the plates with straight fibers. Moreover, the numerical results of the asymmetric bending analysis of the orthotropic annular plates with variable stiffness have a close relationship with the boundary conditions, material properties parameters, ratio of outer and inner radius and fiber orientation angles.