Shear-flexible quadrilateral composite plate elements based on Timoshenko's composite beam function method

Timoshenko's composite beam function method, which has been employed to develop shear flexible layered composite plate elements, is presented. Unified finite element formulation for layered quadrilateral composite plate elements with application in composite laminates, steel reinforced concrete slabs and Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP)-reinforced concrete slabs is developed in this chapter. The distinguished material properties of the different composites are described. The composite plate elements are based on Mindlin-Reissner plate theories and Timoshenko's composite beam functions, and thus can be used for both thin and moderately thick plate analysis with shear locking avoided naturally without the employment of any stabilization schemes. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the composite elements for linear and nonlinear finite element analysis of composite laminates and steel and FRP-reinforced concrete slabs.