Partial hybrid stress element for transient analysis of thick laminated composite plates

The variationally consistent partial hybrid stress element proposed by the authors is extended to transient analysis of thick laminated composite plates in this paper. Through dividing six stress components into flexural (σ_x, σ_y, τ_xy, σ_z) and transverse shear (τ_xz, τ_yz) parts, the corresponding dynamic version of the modified Hellinger–Reissner principle is presented. By assuming stress parameters for transverse shear only, the partial hybrid stress element can be used to solve transient problems without any contradiction. The mass matrix derived is a simply consistent mass regardless of the assumed stress field. Comparisons are made with results available in the literature. Through thickness variations of all the six stress components for a dynamic version of Pagano's example are also presented for the first time. These results can serve as a reference source for future comparisons.