• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.3A
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• pp.457-464
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• 2006

Fiber-reinforced composite materials due to their high specific strength, high stiffness and light weight are becoming increasingly used in many engineering industry, especially in the aerospace, marin and civil, etc. In this paper, the buckling load and mode shapes of composite laminates with elliptical cross-section including transverse shear deformations are analyzed. For solving this problems, a versatile flat shell element has been developed by combining a membrane element with drilling degree-of-freedom and a plate bending element. Also, an improved shell element has been established by the combined use of the addition of enhanced assumed strain and the substitute shear strain fields. The combined influence of shell geometry and elliptical cross-sectional parameter, fiber angle, and lay-up on the buckling loads of elliptical cylinder is examined. The critical buckling loads and mode shapes analyzed here may serve as a benchmark for future investigations.