Flexure of composite plates

A new higher order shear deformation theory of laminated composite plates is developed. The basic displacement variables in this theory are two partial normal displacements and two in-plane displacement parameters. The governing equations are presented in the form of four simultaneous partial differential equations. The shear deformation theories of Bhimareddy and Stevens, and of Reddy are special cases of this formulation. In their models, transverse shear strains will become zero at points in the plate where displacements are constrained to be zero such as those on fixed edges. This limitation has been overcome in the present formulation.