Geometrically non-linear performances of laminated composite toroidal shells

An efficient structural model combines an economic structural form with advanced, efficient material. The curved toroidal shells are aesthetically appealing, stiff structures that are preferred to cover long spans of stadiums, auditoriums, museums, and airports. Since the second half of the last century, laminated composites gained popularity among practicing civil engineers owing to the high strength-to-weight ratio, flexibility to orient the major load-carrying capacity along the directions of governing stresses, and superior fatigue resistance. The research in the field of laminated composite shells is quite vast. However, the same effort on the composite toroidal shells are relatively scanty. Hence this paper aims to address that gap in the literature to popularise the use of composite toroidal shells further among practicing engineers. A C 0 continuous, isoparametric, geometrically non-linear finite element code is proposed here which combines Reissner-Mindlin theory and Sander’s non-linear shell theory applicable to moderately thin panels. The governing equation is derived by minimising the total potential energy with respect to the shell deformations and solved using the Newton-Raphson method. The results are so presented that practically viable design guidelines can be recommended for practical use.