Plates and shells play an important role in structural, mechanical, aerospace and manufacturing applications. The theory of plates and shells have advanced in the past two decades to handle more complicated problems that were previously beyond reach. In this book, the most recent advances in this area of research are documented. These include topics such as thick plate and shell analyses, finite rotations of shell structures, anisotropic thick plates, dynamic analysis, and laminated composite panels. The book is divided into two parts. In Part I, emphasis is placed on the theoretical aspects of the analysis of plates and shells, while Part II deals with modern applications. Numerous eminent researchers in the various areas of plate and shell analyses have contributed to this work which pays special attention to aspects of research such as theory, dynamic analysis, and composite plates and shells.

Part I. Theoretical Aspects of the Analysis of Plates and Shells. Theory and finite-element formulation for shell structures undergoing finite rotations (Y. Basar, Y. Ding). A refined theory of anisotropic thick plates (S. Igarashi, K. Shibukawa). Generalized theory for bending of thick plates (A.K. Muhammad, M.H. Baluch, A.K. Azad). Postbuckling of long thick plates in compression including higher order transverse shearing effects (M. Stein, P.D. Sydow, L. Librescu). Bending of thick plates on an elastic foundation (G.Z. Voyiadjis, P.I. Kattan). Higher-order constitutive equations of thick cylindrical shells (G.Z. Voyiadjis, G. Shi). Boundary layers and Saint-Venant's principle for slender and thin elastic bodies (F.Y.M. Wan). II. Applications of the Theory of Plates and Shells. Dynamic analysis of plates and shallow shells by the D/BEM (D.E. Beskos). Nonlinear analysis of imperfect cylindrical angle-ply panels (C.-Y. Chia). Nonlinear local-global static analysis of shells of revolution (P.L. Gould, H. Harintho). Recent studies on buckling, vibration and static response of anisotropic shear-flexible plates (D. Karamanlidis, H. Awal, R. Foerch, V. Prakash). The effects of time-dependent excitation on the oscillatory motion of viscously damped laminated composite flat panels (A. Nosier, L. Librescu, D. Frederick). Effect of soil-structure interaction on the vibrations of stretched circular plates (B.A. Ovunc). The internal loading of a fibre reinforced composite plate (A.P.S. Selvadurai, N. Moutafis). References.