Browsing by Author "Fronk, Thomas Harris"
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- Fully-coupled fluid-structure analysis of a baffled rectangular orthotropic plate using the boundary element and finite element methodsFronk, Thomas Harris (Virginia Tech, 1991-06-26)Laminated composite plates have become an important and proven structural material in aerospace and ocean vehicles. However, because of the inherent orthotropy of laminated composite materials the analysis of these structures is complex and usually cannot be adequately performed using classical methods. In this dissertation the formulation of the fully coupled fluid-structure interaction of a laminated composite plate and its surrounding fluid medium is presented. The solution technique involves the finite element method for modeling the structural response and the boundary element method for modeling the acoustic field. The model incorporates the Mindlin plate theory which includes five degrees of freedom. An improved integration technique is demonstrated which significantly reduces the approximation error. Storage requirements are reduced by grouping complex numbers. Finally the fully coupled fluid-structure interaction involving laminated composite plates is modeled using the combined FEM-BEM approach demonstrating the usefulness and the significance of the method.
- Nonlinear finite element analysis of a laminated composite plate with nonuniform transient thermal loadingFronk, Thomas Harris (Virginia Tech, 1988-03-25)Metal plates are being replaced by lighter but equally strong laminated composite plates in order to improve efficiency and increase performance of aerospace vehicles. But because of the complex construction of laminated plates they are very difficult to analyze. Conventional thin plate theories prove to be inadequate in predicting laminated composite plate behavior. Therefore, a finite element model which incorporates a first- order shear-deformation theory and nonlinear von Karman strains is described. The model is shown to accurately predict deflections in laminated composite plates due to nonuniform transient heat fluxes and transverse mechanical loads.