Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, (2019), 32(4): 785–798

Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics

& Beihang University
Chinese Journal of Aeronautics
cja@buaa.edu.cn
www.sciencedirect.com

A review of recent advancements in finite element

formulation for sandwich plates
Shehzaib IRFAN *, Faisal SIDDIQUI

Aerospace Engineering Department, College of Aeronautical Engineering, National University of

Sciences and Technology, Risalpur 44000, Pakistan

Received 2 February 2018; revised 28 March 2018; accepted 15 June 2018

Available online 6 January 2019

KEYWORDS Abstract Use of composite structures is exponentially growing in different fields due to their
Buckling; higher strength-to-weight ratio. This application trend requires that accurate theoretical explana-
Finite element; tions and their finite element models be developed for analyzing sandwich plates before finalizing
FSDT; the designs. This paper reviews the recent research trends of finite element formulations developed
HSDT; for analyzing sandwich plates. This paper reviews the finite element models developed after the year
Laminated composites; 2000. Initially, the finite element formulations based on first order shear deformation theory, higher
Piezoelectric; order shear deformation theories, mixed solid-shell elements, zig-zag theories and global–local the-
Sandwich plates; ories are presented. Then, some finite element formulations developed to analyze a very new class of
Zig-zag theory structures called piezoelectric structures are presented. At the end, some formulations to analyze a
very critical phenomenon called buckling are presented.
Ó 2019 Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. This is
an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction to a class of composite structures known as sandwich plates.

Advancements in technology have paved the way for transition
of composite structures from secondary to primary structural
components. Due to this status upgrade, these composite
structures have to sustain higher loads, which consequently
demands that thicker composite structures must be designed.
This requirement of thick composite structures has given rise
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: shahzeb@aestructures.net (S. IRFAN), faisal@
aestructures.net (F. SIDDIQUI).
Peer review under responsibility of Editorial Committee of CJA.
Production and hosting by Elsevier
These plates are generally made up of two thin face sheets
and a core which is sandwiched between the two face sheets.
These face sheets are made up of metal or composites and core
is generally a honeycomb or foam. This composition of sand-
wich plates results in multiple advantages which include high
stiffness and strength, capability to absorb energy and higher
strength-to-weight ratio. Due to these advantages, sandwich
plates are finding their applications in the field of aerospace,
wind turbines, marine and civil industries. Therefore, accurate
theoretical explanations are of prime importance based on
which this class of structures can be analyzed accurately. Clas-
sical Plate Theory (CPT) is the simplest model which can be
used to analyze the sandwich plates. CPT gives accurate
enough layers which are not very high but it gives highly inac-
curate results otherwise. Therefore, higher order theories are
required for accurately modeling the behavior of sandwich

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2018.11.011
1000-9361 Ó 2019 Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
786
plates. Simple cases can be solved analytically using these the-
ories but complex structures require Finite Element (FE)
method because of its versatility and user-friendly behavior.
Ha1 has reviewed the FE formulations of sandwich plates
prior to 1990. Yang et al2 reviewed the advancements between
1985 and 2000, and Zhang and Yang3 reviewed the literature
between 1990 and 2007. The most recent review on computa-
tional models used for analyzing sandwich plates was done
by Kreja4 in 2011. Based on this trend, it can be concluded that
a lot of effort has been made by researchers to build accurate
FE models of sandwich plates, thus generating a requirement
of reviewing the literature on a periodical basis. Therefore, a
latest review of the finite element models which are developed
after the year 2000 on the base of different theories for analyz-
ing sandwich plates has been presented in this paper. Around
85% of the reviewed literature in this paper is published after
2007. Initially, a review of very latest theoretical models for
analyzing sandwich plates has been presented. Authors could
not find the finite element formulations based on these models,
therefore stimulating the readers to develop FE formulations
based on these very new models. Then, FE formulations on
basis of different theories are presented, which include First-
order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT), Higher-order Shear
Deformation Theories (HSDTs), global–local theories and
Zig-Zag theories. Then some mixed FE formulations are pre-
sented, which use solid-shell formulations to analyze sandwich
plates. Then FE formulations based on global–local theories
are presented. Then some FE formulations for piezoelectric
sandwich plates and at the end some FE formulations focusing
on buckling and stability are presented. Further, it is acknowl-
edged that due to limitation of space many relevant publica-
tions could not be included in this review for which authors
apologize.
2. Theoretical models for sandwich plates
As already discussed, a sandwich plate typically consists of two
thin face sheets and a soft core sandwiched between those as
shown in Fig. 1.
The CPT presented by Kirchhoff5 is the simplest theoretical
explanation which models the behavior of plates and assumes
that
(1) Transverse normal before and after deformation remain
straight
(2) Transverse normal do not experience elongation
Fig. 1 Configuration of a typical sandwich plate.
S. IRFAN, F. SIDDIQUI
(3) Transverse normal remains perpendicular to middle sur-
face after rotation
As a consequence of these assumptions, the only non-zero
strains experienced by the plate are exx, eyy and exy. This theory
fails to capture the shear stress in the plate and therefore gives
inaccurate results for a thick plate. Hence there is a need to
have an alternate which can give accurate results for both thin
and thick plates. This alternative was presented by Mindlin6
and Reissner7 in form of FSDT which neglects the third
assumption of CPT. By neglecting the third assumption, the
non-zero strains in plate now are exx, eyy, exy, exz and eyz.
Majority of the theoretical formulations built for sandwich
plates assumes that thin face sheets obey the assumptions of
CPT while soft core does not. Researchers have dedicated a
lot of effort in modeling the behavior of soft core and have
come up with different theoretical explanations. Tounsi et al.8
presented a refined trigonometric shear deformation theory for
analyzing functionally graded sandwich plates under thermo
elastic bending loads. Number of unknowns in the presented
theory is only four which is one less than most of the available
shear deformation models. This model does not require any
shear correction factor. Predicted shear stress distribution is
parabolic in the thickness direction, thus satisfying the condi-
tion of shear stress free surfaces. Less number of unknowns
makes this theoretical model simpler in application. Recently,
Siddiqui9 proposed an extended higher-order theory for sand-
wich plates with arbitrary aspect ratio also known as
EHSAPT. In this formulation, all six strains in the core (exx,
eyy, ezz, eyz, exz, and exy) were considered to be non-zero, thus
fully capturing the compressibility effects of the core in all
three directions. Hebali et al.10 presented a new quasi-3D
hyperbolic shear deformation theory for the bending and
dynamic analysis of functionally graded plates. The number
of unknowns and governing equations of the present theory
were reduced, thus making its application less complicated.
The presented model takes into account both transverse shear
and normal deformations without requiring a shear correction
factor. The number of unknown functions involved in dis-
placement field is only five in the presented theoretical model.
Bousahla et al.11 presented a trigonometric higher-order
theory which accounts for stretching in static analysis of func-
tionally graded plates. The number of unknowns in the pre-
sented theory is only five. Governing differential equations of
the model are derived using principle of virtual work and the
physical neutral surface concept. Navier-type analytical solu-
tion was obtained for functionally graded plate under trans-
verse loading and was compared with benchmark solution to
validate the theory. Belabed et al.12 presented an efficient and
simple higher-order shear and normal deformation theory for
Functionally Graded Material (FGM) plates. Number of
unknowns in the presented theory is only five. Presented theory
predicts a hyperbolic variation of all displacements in the thick-
ness direction. It also satisfies the stress-free boundary condi-
tions on the surfaces of the plate without requiring any shear
correction factor. Governing differential equations of the the-
ory has been derived using Hamilton’s principle. Presented the-
ory is simple in application and accurate in static and dynamic
analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates. Bourada
et al.13 presented a refined trigonometric higher-order beam
theory for analyzing bending and vibration of functionally
graded beams. This theory models the displacement field with
A review of recent advancements in finite element formulation for sandwich plates
three unknowns as in Timoshenko beam theory, and the thick-
ness stretching effect is also included, which results in non-zero
transverse normal strain. Presented theory does not require a
shear correction factor and governing differential equations
are derived using Hamilton’s principle. Yahia et al.14 has devel-
oped various higher-order shear deformation plate theories for
wave propagation in functionally graded plates. Main focus of
the developed models is to model the wave propagation in
functionally graded plates which occurs due to porosities in
the plates. The governing differential equations of the wave
propagation in the functionally graded plate are derived using
Hamilton’s principle. The presented model can be applied in
the structural health monitoring of functionally graded plates.
Hamidi et al.15 presented a sinusoidal plate theory for bend-
ing analysis of functionally graded sandwich plates under ther-
mal and mechanical loading. Number of unknowns in the
current model is five. Comparison of the results obtained using
current model shows that proposed theory accurately predicts
the behavior of functionally graded sandwich plates under
thermo-mechanical loading. Mahi and Tounsi16 presented a
hyperbolic shear deformation theory for bending and analysis
of all types of sandwich plates. This model has five Degrees of
Freedom (DOFs) which does not need shear correction factor.
Moreover, differential equations are obtained using Hamil-
ton’s principle. Meziane et al.17 presented a refined shear
deformation theory for the dynamic and buckling analysis of
exponentially graded material sandwich plate placed on an
elastic foundation. Comparison of current model was done
with other available models and it was shown that the accuracy
of current model is comparable to that of the models which are
computationally more expensive than this. Bennoun et al.18
presented a refined plate theory for the free vibration analysis
of functionally graded sandwich plates which has five
unknowns. The presented theory is fully capable of analyzing
two common types of FGM sandwich plates, namely, the
sandwich with FGM face sheet and homogeneous core and
the sandwich with homogeneous face sheet and FGM core.
The validation of the presented model is done by comparing
it with three-dimensional elasticity solution. Bouderba et al.19
presented a simplified version of first-order shear deformation
theory for analyzing thermal buckling of functionally graded
sandwich plates which is similar to classical plate theory in cer-
tain aspects. This simplification results in four unknowns of
the problem as compared to five in case of conventional
first-order shear deformation theory. This leads to a less com-
plex model with significant accuracy. Beldjelili et al.20 pre-
sented a refined plate theory for analyzing sigmoid
functionally graded plates under hygroscopic, thermal and
mechanical loading. Number of unknowns of the theory is
four. This theory successfully captures the trigonometric distri-
bution of transverse shear strains in the thickness direction and
ensures traction free boundary conditions at the top and bot-
tom surfaces. El-Haina et al.21 recently presented a simplified
model to analyze the buckling of thick functionally graded
material plate under thermal loading. Plates considered here
have functionally graded faces with homogeneous core made
up of isotropic material.
Bousahla et al.22 presented a refined sandwich plate theory
for analyzing functionally graded plates when subjected to a
linear or non-linear temperature rise in the thickness direction.
However, this model works under a restrictive assumption that
elastic modulus and Poisson ratio remain constant throughout
787
the plate. Comparison of the results show that the presented
model is significantly accurate for this particular case. Abual-
nour et al.23 presented a shear deformation theory for dynamic
analysis of functionally graded plates, and similar to Bourada
et al.24, they also considered the transverse normal stains to be
non-zero. This model takes five unknowns into consideration
and does not use any shear correction factor. This model is
developed for analysis of simply supported plates. Draiche
et al.25 did the static analysis of composite sandwich plates
by using a higher-order shear deformation theory which
assumes that transverse normal strains are not zero. These
results were compared with classical plate theory, first-order
shear deformation theory, Reddy’s higher-order shear defor-
mation theory, higher-order shear and normal deformation
theory and elasticity solution. This comparison showed that
the presented model is significantly accurate. Bellifa et al.26
presented a first-order shear deformation theory for bending
and free vibration analysis of functionally graded plates.
Governing differential equations are developed using the clas-
sical first-order shear deformation theory and neutral surface
concept. Current theory is efficient as well as accurate for
bending and free vibration analysis of the functionally graded
plates. Bellifa et al.27 also developed a zeroth-order shear
deformation theory for nonlinear buckling analysis of Nano
beams. It is different from the existing shear deformation the-
ories in terms of rotational displacements. This theory consid-
ers axial displacements within the use of shear forces instead of
rotational displacements. Besseghier et al.28 did the dynamic
analysis of functionally graded Nano plates placed on an elas-
tic foundation using a novel refined trigonometric shear defor-
mation theory. This theory has only four unknowns and is
validated against available results in the literature. A paramet-
ric study was also carried out for various parameters.
Ćetković and Vuksanović29 proposed a layer-wise displace-
ment model for the global–local analysis of sandwich plates.
The proposed model assumes a piecewise linear variation of
displacements in x- and y- directions and a constant transverse
displacement in the thickness direction. Finite element formu-
lation of the same model was also developed and used to cal-
culate the results. Comparison of the results showed efficacy of
the proposed model. Demasi30 presented an extended general-
ized unified formulation. He also introduced Partially Zig-Zag
Advanced Higher-order Shear Deformation Theories
(PZZAHSDTs), Partially Layer-wise Higher-order Shear
Deformation Theories (PLHSDTs), Partially Layer-wise
Advanced Higher-order Shear Deformation Theories
(PLAHSDTs), Partially Layer-wise Advanced Zig-Zag and
Higher-order Shear Deformation Theories (PLAZZHSDTs).
It was also shown that partially layer-wise theories are compu-
tationally less expensive than classical layer-wise theories.
Khalili et al.31 developed a global–local theory using a 3D elas-
ticity correction for analyzing sandwich plates. The governing
differential equations were solved using a finite element
approach in which Galerkin approach and second-order
Lagrange elements were used. It was shown that the proposed
theory gives accurate results for both thick and thin plates. It
was also shown that current theory gives more accurate results
than higher-order zig-zag theories and is computationally less
expensive. Sahoo and Singh32 presented an inverse hyperbolic
zig-zag theory for analyzing sandwich plates. This theoretical
model assumes a non-linear distribution of in-plane displace-
ments (because of inverse hyperbolic shear strain shape
788
function) in the thickness direction as compared to third-order
polynomial in the conventional theories. Vidal et al.33 has used
proper generalized decomposition for layer-wise modeling of
the plates with different layers. This approach allows for the
reduction of number of unknowns, and approximation func-
tion of the displacement field is sum of the functions of three
displacements in the respective axes. This formulation uses
an iterative approach in which a 2D and 1D problem are
solved in each iteration. Results obtained using current formu-
lation were compared with the elasticity and were found in
good agreement. Vidal et al.34 has also extended the same
approach to analyze the sandwich plates with piezoelectric lay-
ers. It was also shown that current approach is less computa-
tionally expensive when solving for quasi-3D results as
compared to classical layer-wise theoretical models. Wu and
Chen35 developed a C0 continuous higher-order theory for
analyzing sandwich plates under bending and thermal loads.
Derivatives of transverse displacement have been omitted in
the in-plane displacement fields so that C1 continuity can be
avoided. This theory is compared with a C1 continuous
higher-order theory and it has been found in good agreement.
Further, the proposed model can calculate transverse shear
stress using constitutive relations without using any post-
processing method.
3. FE models based on first-order shear deformation theory
This section reviews the FE models which are built on theoret-
ical explanations which applies FSDT to the core. Ganapathi
et al.36 presented a C0 membrane-plate quadrilateral finite ele-
ment for static and dynamic analysis of moderately thick plates
when subjected to relatively small deflections. This element
showed an improved membrane response without adding
modes having zero energy. To improve the performance of ele-
ment for coupled membrane-plate analysis, the assumed strain
field method was used. It was shown that current finite element
does a rapid convergence and responds very well to the mesh
distortions. The added advantage of the element was that it
was standard from engineering perspective having all conven-
tional engineering degrees of freedom. This element was also
tested against benchmark results of some linear and non-
linear problems available in the literature and showed accurate
results. Moreira et al.37 presented a four-node facet type shell
finite element for dynamic analysis of sandwich plates with vis-
coelastic damping layers. Authors used non-conforming mem-
brane formulation to improve the stiffness matrix which
ultimately helped in overcoming the in-plane shear locking.
On the other hand, Mixed Interpolation of Tonsorial Compo-
nent (MITC) approach was used against shear locking which
helped against stiffness locking failure even for very thin plates.
Hybrid Return-to-Zero (HRZ) method was used for mass
lumping. It was also shown that row-sum technique for obtain-
ing a diagonal mass matrix could not be used in this model
because of the inter layer coupling. It was also shown that for
this particular case, formulation using lumped mass converged
more rapidly than the model with consistent mass matrix.
Oh et al.38 presented a finite element formulation on the
basis of an enhanced first-order shear deformation theory to
analyze the laminated composites. The enhanced FSDT is
derived by achieving a compromise on the error of least
S. IRFAN, F. SIDDIQUI
squared energy between FSDT and HSDT. Further, the
applicability of this enhanced FSDT to commercial software
package ANSYS with minimum effort was shown. A post-
processing procedure was also developed using differential
quadrature method to calculate the higher-order derivatives
and was also implemented in ANSYS. Pandey and
Pradyumna39 developed an FE model for dynamic analysis
of a sandwich plate with functionally graded material in the
center for thermal and non-thermal conditions. The layer-
wise theory is based on FSDT for each layer by ensuring
displacement continuity at each interface. Further, it was sug-
gested that current FE formulation gives accurate results for a
singly or doubly curved sandwich plates or shells having differ-
ent layer configurations and boundary conditions. Shang
et al.40 proposed a finite element method to analyze the edge
effect on the free and simply supported boundaries of the plate
modeled by FSDT. Two elements HDF-P4-Free and HDF-P4-
SS1 were developed under this FE formulation. The develop-
ment of these elements was based on the Hybrid Displacement
Function (HDF) element method. The standout features of
these elements are (A) capability to capture steep gradients
of the resultant forces in vicinity of boundaries, (B) insensitiv-
ity to mesh distortions, and (C) absence of shear locking.
Liu et al.41 studied the vibrations of isotropic plates using a
weak-form based Differential Quadrature Finite Element
Method (DQFEM). Current FE formulation is based on the
layer-wise theory which is expansion of FSDT in each layer.
Novelty of current FE formulation was that analysis of sand-
wich plates by using DQFEM and a layer-wise theory with
rotations in each layer was performed for the first time. This
formulation gave very accurate results for the field variables.
It was also shown that use of DQFEM is a very efficient
method for achieving highly accurate analysis of large-scale
problems by comparing the results against benchmark data
available in the literature. Marjanović et al.42 presented a rect-
angular plate element based on the Reddy’s HSDT. Further,
the presented FE model was reduced to a FSDT model and
comparison was made between the two models against some
benchmark data available in the literature. After performing
the comparison, the following was concluded:
(1) HSDT model gives considerably accurate results for
lower vibration modes while a reduction of accuracy
was observed for higher vibration modes and the plates
which are highly constrained i.e. CCCC plate.
(2) FSDT model over predicts the natural frequencies for all
cases because of the over simplification of transverse
shear. It was concluded that FSDT model is almost of
no use because softer core has to be modeled using
HSDT in order to model shear instead of using a shear
correction factor.
Lezgy-Nazargah et al.43 has presented a mixed finite ele-
ment model for the bending and vibrational analysis of thick
plates. This FE model is based on the mixed variational prin-
ciple which combines the Reissner’s and Rong’s mixed varia-
tional theorem. A new parameter was also introduced in the
formulation, which was called splitting factor. A procedure
was also outlined, using which value of splitting factor can
be selected for higher accuracy. The results of this FE model
were compared with other theoretical explanations and 3D
A review of recent advancements in finite element formulation for sandwich plates 789

Table 1 Summary of reviewed FE models based on FSDT.36–43

Author Contribution
Ganapathi et al.36 A C0 membrane-plate element was presented and it was shown that this element improves membrane response without
adding zero energy modes. This element also showed rapid convergence and responded well to the mesh distortions.
Moreira et al.37 A four-node shell element to study dynamic response of sandwich plates with viscoelastic damping was presented. This
element used HRZ method of mass lumping and it was shown that formulation using lumped mass matrix converges
more rapidly than the one using consistent mass matrix.
Oh et al.38 Feasibility of using an FE model based on enhanced FSDT in any commercial software package was presented. The
same model was implemented in ANSYS with minimum effort.
Pandey and An FE model based on a layer-wise theory is presented, which can be used to analyze the dynamic response of a
Pradyumna39 sandwich plate with functionally graded material in the center.
Shang et al.40 Two finite elements namely HDF-P4-Free and HDF-P4-SS1 were presented, which are derived from FSDT using HDF
element method. These elements showed superiority because of absence of shear locking and insensitivity to mesh
distortion.
Liu et al.41 An FE model was developed to study the vibrations of isotropic plates. Model was developed using differential
quadrature finite element method which showed superior results when large-scale problem was analyzed using it.
Marjanović et al.42 A rectangular finite element was developed on the basis of Reddy’s HSDT, then the same was reduced to FSDT based
model, and finally both were compared. HSDT based model showed better results.
Lezgy-Nazargah A finite element based on mixed variational principle was presented. A new parameter was introduced in formulation
et al.43 and it was shown that by controlling the parameter accuracy can be increased.

elasticity solution, which showed that this FE formulation can
achieve almost identical results to those of 3D elasticity.
Table 1 gives the summary of reviewed FE models based on
FSDT.36–43
4. FE models based on higher-order shear deformation theory
It is noteworthy here that order of theory can be extended up
till any desired level, but it will give little gains in terms of
accuracy at the cost of manifold complexity and computa-
tional effort required. Therefore, generally a third-order the-
ory is considered to be a good enough compromise between
accuracy and complexity. We have already discussed the dif-
ference between CPT and FSDT in Section 2. If we neglect
the third assumption of CPT, it becomes FSDT; similarly,
if we neglect the first assumption as well, it becomes the
higher-order shear deformation theory and now the trans-
verse normal may become quadratic or cubic curves after
the deformation has taken place. This eliminates the need
for shear correction factors, and the results obtained are
more accurate.
Chakrabarti and Sheikh44 presented a finite element model
based on a refined HSDT which is able to analyze the sand-
wich plates having imperfections at the layer interface. These
imperfections were modeled by incorporating displacement
jumps at the layer interface using the characteristic of a linear
spring layer. The developed element was a triangular element
with a total of six nodes (three each at corners and mid-
sides). Degrees of freedom at each node were seven. Perfor-
mance of the new element was evaluated against the numerical
results for imperfect layers and it showed accuracy in results
with rapid convergence. Das et al.45 presented a new finite ele-
ment based on an HSDT to carry out the thermo-elastic anal-
ysis of sandwich plates with a functionally graded core. This
element was based on a higher-order single layer theory used
to model thick sandwich plates having either a functionally
graded core or not. A hybrid energy functional was used to
derive the elemental equations to ensure C1 continuity require-
ment at the element boundaries. Shape of the element was tri-
angular with thirteen degrees of freedom at each node. Two
cases were investigated to validate the results. Initially, a sand-
wich plate without functionally graded core was analyzed and
then the core of the same plate was replaced with a function-
ally graded material. Comparison of the results showed that
by using functionally graded core, stress gradient reduces at
the interface of core and face sheets. This is in agreement with
the fact that by using functionally graded cores, interfacial
stress can be reduced. These results were also compared with
the analytical solution and were found to be in agreement
which validates the element.
Plagianakos and Saravanos46 presented a higher-order the-
ory and a finite element based on it for thick sandwich plates
with damping layers in between the laminas. Stiffness, mass
and damping matrices of the element were calculated from
layer to structural level. This approach combined with the
shear stress compatibility for different layers leads to a size
reduction of the elemental matrices and calculation of shear
stresses at the layer interface. C1 continuity at the element
boundaries was ensured. The results obtained from element
were compared with both exact solution and the experiments.
Comparison revealed that developed element is accurate,
robust and efficient. Moreira et al.47 presented an eight-node
hexahedral finite element for individual layers of a sandwich
plate. The element was based on a layer-wise theory and FE
formulation was done on the basis of Enhanced Assumed
Strain (EAS) method. This formulation resolved the shear
locking phenomena. Accuracy of the results obtained from
the developed element showed that this element can serve as
a good alternative if a 3D representation of strain and stress
field is required. Grover et al.48 developed a finite element
model based on an inverse hyperbolic shear deformation the-
ory. The element was an iso-parametric eight-node serendipity
quadrilateral element with seven degrees of freedom at each
node. To reduce the continuity requirement from C1 to C0 at
element edges, first derivatives of transverse displacement were
considered as a separate degree of freedom. This element was
used to study the free vibration response of sandwich plates in
different ply configurations. It was found that this element is
capable of giving higher modes of vibration and corresponding
mode shapes accurately.
790
Mantari and Soares49 presented a C0 iso-parametric quadri-
lateral element for static analysis of sandwich plates. The ele-
ment was based on a generalized layer-wise HSDT. The
results obtained using this element were compared with the
available exact solutions and some numerical calculations. It
has also been shown that some relatively unknown layer-wise
HSDTs with lesser degrees of freedom can give more accurate
results than some well-known layer-wise HSDTs. It has also
been recommended that analysis based on meshless method
may be performed using this layer-wise HSDT to explore fur-
ther solution options. Thai and Choi50 presented the finite ele-
ment formulation for four different shear deformation theories
for functionally graded plates. These theories are similar to
classical plate theory, but effect of shear deformation is
accounted for without using the shear correction factors. It
is to be noted here that elongation of plate in the transverse
direction is neglected in the formulation. A four-node quadri-
lateral element was developed by using Lagrange interpolation
for in-plane displacements and Hermite interpolation for
transverse displacement. Comparison of results was performed
for both thin and thick plates, which showed that current FE
formulation converges rapidly with high accuracy. Khandel-
wal et al.51 developed an element for static analysis of sand-
wich plates based on a combination of refined HSDT and
Least Square Error (LSE) method. C1 continuity was reduced
to C0 by carefully choosing the nodal degrees of freedom.
Analysis in the proposed scheme is done in two phases. First,
FE model based on RHSDT is used to calculate the displace-
ments and in-plane stresses. Second, LSE method is used to
accurately predict the transverse shear based on displacements
obtained in first phase. It has also been claimed that the pro-
posed model is the most efficient 2D model to predict the dis-
placements and stresses in sandwich plates. Pandey and
Pradyumna52 presented a C0 continuous element based on a
higher-order theory for static and free vibration analysis for
sandwich plates. The higher-order theory was developed for
a sandwich plate with three layers. This theory assumes a
higher-order displacement for the core and first-order displace-
ment for the top and bottom face sheets. The developed ele-
ment was an iso-parametric eight-node element. Accuracy of
results obtained by the proposed element was evaluated
against 3D elasticity solution and available numerical results.
It was shown after comparison that the proposed element is
much easier to implement and gives accurate results for greater
range of problems by using few elements. Nguyen et al.53
developed an FE formulation for isotropic and functionally
graded sandwich plates on the basis of an HSDT. The pro-
posed element was a triangular element with seven degrees of
freedom at each node and required only C0 continuity. Main
element was further divided into three sub-triangles in which
MITSC3 element was used to calculate the strains and then
edge based smoothing technique was used. After comparison
of obtained results, it was concluded that the proposed model
is efficient and accurate for isotropic and functionally graded
sandwich plates.
Pandey and Pradyumna54 presented a finite element formu-
lation for the analysis of thermally induced vibrations in a
functionally graded sandwich plate subjected to thermal shock.
The formulation was based on a higher-order layer-wise theory
in which higher-order displacement was assumed for FGM
core and first-order displacement was assumed for face sheets.
S. IRFAN, F. SIDDIQUI
Equations of dynamic problem were solved using Newmarl
average acceleration method. Heat conduction effects were
captured by solving transient heat conduction equation using
central difference method and Crank-Nicolson method simul-
taneously. It was concluded that the proposed FE model can
be easily used to analyze free vibration response of an FGM
sandwich plate which is subjected to rapid heating. Zhao
et al.55 presented an FE formulation based on a piecewise
shear deformation theory. An iso-parametric C0 continuous
finite element with four nodes was developed for analyzing free
and forced vibrations of sandwich plates in thermal environ-
ment. It was also demonstrated that FE formulation based
on piecewise shear deformation theory gives sufficiently accu-
rate results as compared to layer-wise, zig-zag and higher-
order Equivalent Single Layer (ESL) theories at a very low cost
of computation. Bhar and Satsangi56 developed a C0 continu-
ous finite element based on higher-order shear deformation
theory. The proposed methodology uses HSDT to carry out
the primary analysis and then a least square error technique
is applied during post-processing phase. It has been shown that
the proposed approach accurately predicts the transverse stres-
ses in the thickness direction for the thick sandwich plates.
Elmalich and Rabinovitch57 proposed a finite element formu-
lation for dynamic analysis of sandwich plates with soft core
and stiff face sheets. This finite element uses first-order shear
deformation theory for the face sheets while uses a higher-
order theory for the core. This study also showed that compu-
tational effort for analysis of sandwich plates can be consider-
ably reduced by combining higher-order theory and the finite
element concept.
Table 2 gives the summary of reviewed FE models based on
HSDT.44–57
5. FE models based on zig-zag theories
This section is dedicated to the review of some finite element
models based on zig-zag theories. The difference between
ESL models (as discussed in Sections 2 and 3) and Zig-Zag
(ZZ) theoretical models lies in the representation of displace-
ment fields of different layers. In case of ESL models, displace-
ment and stress field of each layer are specified and continuity
at layer interface is implemented. However in the case of ZZ
models, displacement and stress fields are piecewise continuous
in the thickness direction.58
Icardi59 developed a finite element for the sandwich plates
subjected to some damage. To cater for the normal stress in
the thickness direction, C2 continuity was required but author
did some mathematical manipulation to get rid of some terms
and reduced the continuity requirement to C0: Each node of
the element had six degrees of freedom (three displacements
and three stresses). Further, a post-processing scheme was
also developed which helped to improve the accuracy of pre-
dicted stresses between different layers. Distinct feature of the
developed element was that it halved the computational time
as compared to an FE model based on conventional ESL the-
ories. This feature was demonstrated by comparing the
results with available data in literature. Kulkarni and
Kapuria60 developed a four-node finite element based on a
third-order zig-zag theory for dynamic analysis of sandwich
plates. Salient feature of the developed element included
A review of recent advancements in finite element formulation for sandwich plates 791

Table 2 Summary of reviewed FE models based on HSDT.44–57

Author Contribution
Chakrabarti and A six-node triangular element was developed for analysis of imperfections at the layer interface of a sandwich plate. It
Sheikh44 showed accurate results with rapid convergence for the problems being analyzed.
Das et al.45 A triangular element was developed with thirteen degrees of freedom at each node to analyze the sandwich plates with
functionally graded core subjected to thermo-elastic loading.
Plagianakos and A C1 continuous finite element was developed for analyzing free vibration response of thick sandwich plates with
Saravanos46 damping layers between the laminas. Results were compared with the experiments and exact solution and were found
in good agreement.
Moreira et al.47 A three-dimensional eight-node hexahedral element is developed using a layer-wise theory which is a very efficient
alternative when representation of a three-dimensional strain or stress field is desired.
Grover et al.48 An eight-node serendipity element with C0 continuity was developed to study the free vibrations of sandwich plates in
different ply configurations. It predicted higher vibration modes and mode shapes accurately.
Mantari and Soares49 A C0 element for static analysis was presented based on a layer-wise HSDT and it was shown that it gives better
results than some well-known layer-wise HSDTs.
Thai and Choi50 A quadrilateral four-node element was developed for four different relatively unknown shear deformation theories. It
was shown that current formulation gives accurate results with rapid convergence.
Khandelwal et al.51 A C0 continuous element based on a refined HSDT and LSE method is developed for static analysis. It has been
claimed that the proposed model is the most efficient model for static analysis of sandwich plates.
Pandey and A C0 continuous element for static and dynamic analysis was developed for sandwich plates with three layers. It was
Pradyumna52 shown that the proposed element can give accurate results for a greater range of problems with very few elements.
Nguyen et al.53 An MITSC3 triangular element with seven degrees of freedom per node was developed based on an HSDT for the
static and dynamic analysis of isotropic and functionally graded sandwich plates.
Pandey and A finite element formulation based on a higher-order layer-wise theory was developed to study the free vibrations of
Pradyumna54 an FGM sandwich plate subjected to rapid heating.
Zhao et al.55 An FE formulation on piecewise shear deformation theory was presented for vibration analysis of sandwich plates in
thermal environment. It was shown that piecewise theory can gives better results than layer-wise, zig-zag and HSDTs.
Bhar and Satsangi56 A C0 continuous finite element based on higher-order shear deformation theory was presented, which uses a least
square error technique during post-processing and gives very accurate results for thick sandwich plates.
Elmalich and A computationally less expensive FE formulation for dynamic analysis of sandwich plates with softer core was
Rabinovitch57 presented, which uses FSDT for face sheets and an HSDT for the core.

absence of shear locking and user-friendly behavior for com-
puter implementation. The results obtained from current ele-
ment were compared against the Navier solution of this
theory and were found in good agreement. Further, it was
shown that for free vibration analysis of the sandwich plate,
the results of improved Discrete Kirchhoff Quadrilateral
(DKQ) interpolation are better than those of simple DKQ
interpolation.
Ren et al.61 developed a C0 continuous triangular element
based on a zig-zag theory with seven degrees of freedom at
each node for static analysis of the sandwich plates. Quadratic
interpolation was used in the construction of this element. The
specialty of constructed element is that it can give accurate
results for both cross ply and angle ply with equal capability.
The accuracy of current element is evaluated by comparing
results of sandwich plates with different materials and stacking
sequences. Comparison showed that developed element can
accurately predict the static response of sandwich plates. Sar-
angan and Singh62 presented an FE model using a non-
polynomial zig-zag theory for dynamic analysis of sandwich
plates. The element exhibited C0 continuity. Authors were able
to reduce the computational cost significantly as compared to
previous FE models because of less number of degrees of free-
dom at each node. Current element had eight nodes with seven
degrees of freedom at each node.
Barut et al.63 developed a C0 continuous six-node triangular
element based on a {2, 2}-order refined zig-zag plate theory.
Three nodes were located on the corners while the remaining
three were located on the middle of the sides. Corner nodes
have eleven degrees of freedom while mid-side nodes have
three degrees of freedom. This finite element formulation is
free of geometric locking and does not require shear correction
factor. Results obtained using this element were compared
with the analytical solution and ANSYS and it was found that
current element gives significantly accurate results. Eijo et al.64
developed a C0 continuous four-node quadrilateral element
based on a refined zig-zag theory with seven degrees of free-
dom per node. The distribution of transverse shear stresses
in the thickness direction is accurately predicted by a posteriori
computational process and shear locking is avoided by assum-
ing a linear shear strain field. Polit et al.65 presented three
eight-node C0 continuous finite element models for smart
sandwich plates. Nodal degrees of freedom are 9, 11 and 12
respectively. Accuracy of the analysis is improved by introduc-
ing zig-zag functions in the three spatial directions. It was also
shown that these elements works fine for both thick and thin
plates. Versino et al.66 developed two C0 continuous finite ele-
ments with six and three nodes respectively based on a refined
zig-zag theory. These two elements provide a trade-off between
efficiency and accuracy. Shape functions of the elements are
interdependent so that elements give accurate results even if
thin plates are being analyzed. These elements were imple-
mented using commercial code ABAQUS through user-
element subroutine and the results showed that these elements
792 S. IRFAN, F. SIDDIQUI

Table 3 Summary of reviewed FE models based on zig-zag theories.59–66

Author Contribution
Icardi59 A C0 continuous element based on a zig-zag theory was developed. It was shown that it can reduce the computational
time by one-half as compared to the finite element models based on ESL theories.
Kulkarni and An element based on a third-order zig-zag theory was developed for dynamic analysis of sandwich plates. It was also
Kapuria60 shown that improved DKQ interpolation gives better results than simple DKQ for dynamic analysis of sandwich plates.
Ren et al.61 A C0 continuous six-node element with quadratic interpolation was developed for static analysis of sandwich plates. It
was shown that it can give accurate results for different materials and stacking sequences.
Sarangan and An efficient finite element based on non-polynomial zig-zag theory was constructed which showed a significant reduction
Singh62 in computational cost.
Barut et al.63 A C0 continuous triangular element was developed based on a refined zig-zag theory. It was compared with ANSYS and
it was shown that current element is significantly accurate and computationally far less expensive.
Eijo et al.64 A C0 continuous four-node element was developed, which uses a posteriori computational process to accurately predict
the shear stress distribution in thickness direction.
Polit et al.65 Three C0 continuous finite elements were developed for thick and thin smart sandwich plates and their accuracy was
improved by introducing zig-zag functions.
Versino et al.66 Two C0 continuous elements were developed based on a refined zig-zag theory and implemented using ABAQUS.
Comparison with FASDT based and zig-zag theories based elements showed that they are superior in terms of efficiency
and accuracy.

give superior results to FSDT based elements and other zig-zag
theory based elements.
Table 3 gives the summary of reviewed FE models based on
zig-zag theories.59–66
6. Mixed FE models based on solid and shell elements
There are many structures in the practical applications which
are a combination of 3D solid parts and 2D plates. This prob-
lem is consistently encountered in the laminated composites
where one layer maybe considerably thicker than the others.
A considerable amount of theoretical explanations have been
proposed by different researchers which model different layers
of these laminated composites as an equivalent layer. Then FE
formulations based on these theories are used to develop 2D
shell elements. On the other hand, some researchers have pro-
posed that these structures can be analyzed using mixed FE
formulations which solve the thicker layers using solid 3D ele-
ments and thinner layers using plate 2D elements. This section
is dedicated for the review of such FE formulations which are
commonly referred to as mixed FE formulations.
Ramtekkar et al.67 proposed an eighteen-node mixed finite
element. Each node had six degrees of freedom out of which
three were the displacements in each axis direction (i.e. x, y
and z) and three were the stress components in thickness direc-
tion (i.e. exz, eyz and ezz). Due to the inclusion of stresses as
nodal DOFs, the elasticity requirement of displacement and
shear stress continuity along the thickness of the laminated
plates was satisfied. Results obtained from this formulation
were compared with the elasticity solutions and it was found
that this formulation is capable of accurately predicting the
response of sandwich plates under the set of different bound-
ary conditions. Tan and Vu-Quoc68 developed a mixed FE for-
mulation for the sandwich plates composed of non-linear
materials. The element had eight nodes and there were three
DOFs at all nodes out of which none is the rotation. Further,
the assumed natural strain method was used to avoid shear
and curvature thickness locking. Authors also presented an
optimized number of enhancing assumed strain parameters
for accurately predicting the plate response. It was also
demonstrated that mixed FE formulations which do not pass
patch test for out of plane bending cannot predict the response
accurately. Further, it was also shown that current formula-
tion is very accurate for the implicit and explicit analyses of
multilayered shells experiencing large deformations.
Rah et al.69 presented a solid-shell eight-node element using
Fraejis de Veubeke-Hu-Washizu mixed variational principle
for the linear structural analysis of thick isotropic and sand-
wich composite plates. This formulation has three degrees of
freedom at a single node and all of them are the displacements.
Analysis of the multilayered shell using this formulation can be
done by stacking the elements on top of each other and fulfill-
ing the condition of stress continuity at interface of different
layers. It was shown that by optimizing the computer code this
formulation can be used for a greater range of plate problems.
The response of current FE formulation to convergence and
mesh distortion was also compared against available bench-
mark data and it was concluded that current element can be
effectively used for sandwich plates. Biscani et al.70 developed
a finite element by coupling a solid element and a higher-order
shell element using Arlequin method for the analysis of sand-
wich plates. None of nodes has been considered as a free
parameter in current formulation whereas degrees of freedom
at a single node are specified to be three displacements. Then,
the proposed element and the developed model were compared
with the performance of models which use only shell elements
and also with the commercial software ABAQUS. It has been
shown that mixed element based on coupling of solid and shell
can achieve accurate results for the sandwich plates and the
structures with both 2D and 3D parts.
Dozio and Alimonti71 presented an element for Fluid Struc-
ture Interaction (FSI) analysis involving thick or thin sand-
wich plates. Employing unified formulation, many FSI
elements and plate elements based on different theories were
integrated into a single mathematical model. This integration
provided the flexibility for choosing the right formulation
according to the accuracy requirements for different applica-
tions. It was also shown that this mathematical model can be
refined according to requirement where different structural ele-
ments fail to give accurate results for FSI. Current FE
A review of recent advancements in finite element formulation for sandwich plates 793

Table 4 Summary of reviewed mixed solid-shell FE models.67–73

Author Contribution
Ramtekkar et al.67 An eighteen-node mixed element with six DOFs (three displacements and three stresses) at each node. Comparison with
elasticity showed that it gives accurate results for wider range of boundary conditions.
Tan and Vu- An eight-node element for analysis of sandwich plates composed of non-linear materials was developed. It was shown that
Quoc68 elements which do not pass patch test for out of plane bending cannot predict the response accurately.
Rah et al.69 An effective eight-node mixed element was developed using Fraeijs de Veubeke-Hu-Washizu mixed variational principle.
It was shown that optimized code can be used to analyze a wider range of plate problems using this element.
Biscani et al.70 A mixed element based on coupling of shell and solid element was developed. It was shown that current element gives
better results than the computational models which use shell elements only.
Dozio and An integrated element was developed for analyzing thin or thick sandwich plates undergoing interaction with the fluids.
Alimonti71 Customizability of the element as per analysis requirement was also shown.
Carrazedo and A prismatic solid-shell element was developed for analysis of sandwich plates. Current FE model used an optimized
Coda72 kinematics field which gives accurate results for both thick and thin plates.
Caliri et al.73 A C1 continuous element was developed for static and dynamic analysis of sandwich plates. Comparison with benchmark
showed that error in static analysis was 0.05% while for dynamic analysis was 0.5%.

formulation was also validated against benchmark data avail-
able in the literature. Carrazedo and Coda72 developed a
mixed solid-shell triangular finite element for the analysis of
sandwich plates. Approximation order of the displacement
field is selected in such a way that this formulation can handle
thin and thick sandwich plates with equal capability. Accuracy
of model was evaluated against benchmark results and found
to be in good agreement. The standout features of this FE for-
mulation are (A) successful avoidance of shear locking, (B)
accurate stress distribution in the thickness co-ordinate, (C)
accurate prediction of non-linear behavior (large displace-
ments), and (D) insensitivity to mesh distortion
Caliri et al.73 developed a four-node mixed element using
unified formulation. The proposed element satisfied the C1
continuity requirement for displacement in the thickness direc-
tion. Efficiency of the element was evaluated against bench-
mark results available in the literature for both static and
dynamic analysis. Through comparison, it was found that
error percentage in case of static analysis was only 0.05%
and for dynamic analysis was only 0.5%.
Table 4 summarizes the reviewed mixed solid-shell FE mod-
els.67–73
7. FE models based on global–local theory
Most commonly used theoretical explanations to study the
behavior of sandwich/laminated plates are based on the ESL
model. This method provides a healthy compromise between
accuracy and computational cost. On the other hand, layer-
wise theories are also used, which are computationally expen-
sive. Li and Liu74 in 1997 found that a global–local superposi-
tion technique could be used for expressing the laminate
theories in an explicit manner, namely recursive equations, to
retain the advantage of numerical efficiency. This is relatively
a new concept according to which in-plane stresses of each dis-
crete layer and the shear stress in the thickness direction can be
studied. Theoretical explanations based on this concept are
commonly referred to as global–local theories. The first ever
global–local theory was also presented by them. This section
is dedicated to review of some of FE models which are based
on global–local theories.
Lezgy-Nazargah et al.75 developed an FE model based on a
refined higher-order global–local theory. Theory satisfies con-
tinuity requirements for both displacements and stresses at the
boundaries of the layers. Theoretical model superposed the
global displacement field on the local field. Based on this, an
element with C1 continuity and free of shear locking was suc-
cessfully developed. Accuracy of current element was checked
against available elasticity solutions and it was found that it
gave accurate results with rapid convergence and low compu-
tational cost. Lezgy-Nazargah76 developed an FE model for
dynamic analysis of sandwich beams with piezoelectric layers
in the core based on a refined global–local theory. The three-
node element was C1 continuous for transverse displacement
while was C0 continuous for rest of the degrees of freedom.
Current element was evaluated for different types of boundary
conditions which contained both electrical and mechanical
ones. It was found that it gives accurate results with low com-
putational cost. Zappino et al.77 developed a finite element for-
mulation which had different degrees of freedom at different
nodes in the same element. This concept of formulation gave
the flexibility to study the behavior of sandwich plates accord-
ing to requirement. Areas which are critical can use more
nodal degrees of freedom and vice versa. The accuracy of this
formulation was tested by studying the examples in which
layer-wise nodal DOFs were used at critical areas and ESL
nodal DOFs were used at less critical areas. Results were com-
pared with the 3D FE models and it was shown that for prob-
lems where local effects are to be analyzed, current FE
formulation gives much better results at less computational
cost.
Table 5 gives the summary of reviewed FE models based on
global–local theories.75–77
8. FE models for analysis of piezoelectric composite plates
There is a class of materials which can directly produce electric
current when subjected to the mechanical strain. Such materi-
als are called as piezoelectric materials and are properly
defined as ‘‘a type of smart materials exhibiting a direct piezo-
electric effect of the internal generation of electrical charge
resulting from an applied mechanical force and a reverse piezo-
electric effect of the internal generation of a mechanical strain
resulting from an applied electrical field”.78 Due to this unique
property of the piezoelectric materials, they have also found
their applications in the sensors and actuators other than the
794
Table 5 Summary of reviewed FE models based on global–local theories.75–77
Author Contribution
Lezgy-Nazargah A C1 continuous element based on a global–local theory was developed, which gives accurate results with faster
et al.75 convergence and low computational cost.
Lezgy-Nazargah76 A three-node finite element was presented with both C1 and C0 continuity for different primary variables, which is
accurate and computationally less expensive.
Zappino et al.77 An FE model with different unknowns at different nodes of the same element was presented, which can give accurate
results at less computational cost.
direct electricity generation. Further, these materials are being
used extensively in the aerospace sector to power subsystems
as a redundant measure. The success of these materials has
been possible because of the continuous size reduction and
increasing efficiency in power consumption of the modern elec-
tronic devices.78 Piezoelectric materials are broadly catego-
rized into piezo-crystals, piezo-ceramics, piezo-polymers and
the naturally occurring materials. This section is dedicated to
review of some FE models which have been developed to ana-
lyze piezoelectric sandwich plates.
Gorge et al.79 presented an FE model which was based on a
layer-wise model of first-order shear deformation theory. The
element was developed for free-vibration dynamic analysis of
axisymmetric piezoelectric shells. Element had two nodes with
two displacements as the mechanical DOF at each node. Pri-
mary variables were interpolated using Lagrangian interpola-
tion. Derivative of any primary variable is not included as
degree of freedom at any node. Current finite element was
evaluated against the available results in the literature and
was found effective. It was also shown that current element
would also be suitable for analysis of structural–acoustic prob-
lems. Kapuria and Kulkarni80 developed a five-node element
(four physical and one electric) for analysis of plates with
piezoelectric sensor and actuator as electrodes. Element was
based on an improved zig-zag theory for dynamic analysis of
the piezoelectric plates. The evaluation of element was done
by comparing the results with a 3D FE model of commercial
software ABAQUS and it was found that current element gives
accurate results. Further, it was shown that developed element
is computationally very efficient as it reduced the computa-
tional time by almost 300 times as compared to ABAQUS.
Moita et al.81 presented a finite element for dynamic anal-
ysis of sandwich plates having piezoelectric and viscoelastic
cores. Face sheets were modeled using CPT while core was
modeled using a third-order shear deformation theory. Cur-
rent element was a three-node triangular element with eight
degrees of freedom per node. It was shown that current FE
model could be an effective tool for handling the optimization
problems due to its computational efficiency. Beheshti-Aval
and Lezgy-Nazargah82 developed a three-node quadratic ele-
ment free of shear locking for sandwich panels containing
piezoelectric layers. It was based on a higher-order global–lo-
cal theory in which in-plane displacements were presented
using a higher order term, an exponential term and a term con-
taining first-order derivatives of the electric DOFs. Element
contained relatively lesser number of mechanical DOFs at each
node as compared to previous models due to which this model
was computationally efficient. To verify the element, compar-
isons were made with 3D FE models built using commercial
S. IRFAN, F. SIDDIQUI
software ABAQUS and piezoelastic solutions. Comparisons
showed that current model is not only accurate but also com-
putationally inexpensive. Plagianakos and Papadopoulos83
presented an element based on a higher-order layer-wise theory
with a focus to analyze the delamination of layers in case of
piezoelectric plates. For this, prediction of shear and trans-
verse stresses at interface of different layers was emphasized.
This FE formulation proved to be computationally efficient
because each layer is analyzed discretely in order to capture
the stresses accurately in the thickness direction at layer inter-
face. It was also shown that transverse stress obtained at outer
face of laminates form this formulation becomes slightly inac-
curate because of imposition of shear stress compatibility at
the layer interface. Cinefra et al.84 developed a nine-node ele-
ment for dynamic analysis of plates with piezoelectric patches
over it. Shear locking was eliminated from element using
MITC method because of which it was also referred to as
MITC9 element. Element was evaluated under different sets
of mechanical and electrical boundary conditions and it was
found that this element is superior to classical models when
plates having piezoelectric patches are to be analyzed. Kpeky
et al85 presented two hexahedral mixed solid-shell elements
with linear and quadratic interpolation functions respectively.
Both elements had four DOFs each with four mechanical
(translational dis-placements) and one electric degree of free-
dom. Results obtained from these elements were compared
with the elements of commercial software ABAQUS and other
reference results in literature. It was shown that results of
currently developed elements were better than the ABAQUS
elements. It was also shown that in case of very intense non-
linear behavior these elements might give slightly inaccurate
results but overall accuracy and convergence rate of developed
elements were better than ABAQUS elements. Moita et al.86
developed a finite element model for analyzing sandwich plates
with viscous damping. Plates consist of viscoelastic core which
has been modeled using first-order shear deformation theory
while elastic and piezoelectric layers are modeled using classi-
cal plate theory. It was also shown that the proposed FE model
can be applied for analysis of sandwich plates consisting of
materials whose properties are dependent on frequency.
Table 6 gives the summary of reviewed FE models based on
global–local theories.79–86
9. FE models for buckling/stability analysis of sandwich plates
Sandwich plates have one dimension considerably smaller than
the other two. In case of in-plane compressive loading, these
plates tend to buckle, which is a very critical mode of failure
A review of recent advancements in finite element formulation for sandwich plates 795

Table 6 Summary of reviewed FE models for analyzing piezoelectric sandwich plates.79–86

Author Contribution
Gorge et al.79 A conical adaptive element based on layer-wise FSDT was developed for dynamic analysis of axisymmetric
piezoelectric shells.
Kapuria and Kulkarni80 A five-node element was developed for dynamic analysis of piezoelectric sandwich plates. It reduced the
computational time by almost 300 times as compared to ABAQUS software.
Moita et al.81 A triangular element was developed for dynamic analysis of sandwich plates with piezoelectric and viscoelastic
core. It was recommended that optimization problems could be efficiently solved using this element.
Beheshti-Aval and Lezgy- A three-node quadratic element for piezoelectric panels was presented. Computational efficiency of element was
Nazargah82 shown by comparing it with ABAQUS and piezoelasticity.
Plagianakos and An element with a focus on delamination of layers in piezoelectric plates was developed. This element showed
Pandopoulos83 overall good results with a slight inaccuracy in predicting transverse stress at outer faces of laminates.
Cinefra et al.84 A nine-node element was presented and it was shown that performance of this element is superior to previous
models when plates with piezoelectric patches are to be analyzed for free vibrations.
Kpeky et al.85 Two mixed solid-shell elements for piezoelectric analysis were presented and it was shown that accuracy and
convergence rate of these elements were better than those of ABAQUS elements.
Moita et al.86 A finite element was developed for the analysis of plates with piezoelectric layers and viscous damping. It was
shown that developed model gave very accurate results for the plates whose properties are frequency dependent.

Table 7 Summary of reviewed FE models developed for buckling analysis of sandwich plates.87–92
Author Contribution
Sarath Babu and Two C0 continuous elements were developed for thermal buckling analysis of sandwich plates. It was shown that for this
Kant87 type of analysis effect of transverse deformation can be neglected to save computational effort.
Grover et al.88 A generic finite element formulation was developed, which can use any shear deformation theory using shear strain
function to analyze the buckling of a sandwich plate.
Ren and Wu89 An FE model based on a zig-zag theory was presented. It was shown that FE models which considered transverse normal
strain gave less accurate results as compared to current model which neglected it.
Ji and Waas90 Limitations of the commercial FE software were presented when they are used to analyze the buckling of sandwich
plates.
Yu et al.91 A computationally efficient finite element was developed, which can be further improved by using reduced order
technique to enhance the efficiency.
Ho-Huu et al.92 An optimization technique based on smoothed finite element method was presented and it was shown that overall
thickness of plate has insignificant impact on critical buckling load.

and thus requires special attention. This section is dedicated to
the review of some selected publications which focus on the FE
models built for buckling and stability analysis of sandwich
plates. Sarath Babu and Kant 87 developed two elements based
on refined higher-order theories for thermal buckling analysis
of sandwich plates. Difference in the two was based on the
effect of transverse deformation. FE model based on the one
that neglected the effect and had nine degrees of freedom per
node (HOST9) while other which took the effect into account
had eleven degrees of freedom per node (HOST11). Compar-
ison of the results showed that, for sandwich plates, results
of HOST9 are more accurate than those of HOST11. Both ele-
ments were C0 continuous. This comparison showed that in
case of thermal buckling analysis of sandwich plates, trans-
verse deformation (mechanical or thermal) in thickness direc-
tion can be neglected to save the computational effort.
Grover et al.88 presented a C0 continuous element based on
an inverse hyperbolic shear deformation theory for buckling
analysis of sandwich plates. Element had eight nodes with
seven degrees of freedom per node. Element was used to study
the critical buckling loads and buckling mode shapes for differ-
ent laminate configurations. Current element was constructed
in such a way that it can be used for all existing shear deforma-
tion theories which use shear strain function. Hence, making
this FE formulation as a generic tool can be readily used to
study the buckling behavior of sandwich plates.
Ren and Wu89 developed a C0 continuous element based
on a zig-zag theory to analyze buckling behavior of sand-
wich plates with soft cores in the middle. To avoid C1 con-
tinuity, no artificial constraint was added in the model and
first derivatives of transverse displacements were neglected
in displacement field. A quadrilateral element with eight
nodes was developed. It was shown that prediction of criti-
cal buckling loads for sandwich plates with angle-ply face
sheets is more difficult than that for the plates with cross-
ply face sheets. It was also shown that computational mod-
els which consider transverse normal strain give less accurate
results than the current model which neglected transverse
strain. Ji and Waas90 presented a finite element formulation
for buckling analysis of thick orthotropic plates. This paper
also highlighted the terms which have considerable impact
on buckling of plates but are neglected in popular commer-
cial FE software. Two ratios were highlighted, which consid-
erably influence the induced error in results of commercial
FE software while analyzing the buckling of plates. These
ratios are the ratio of material properties between face
sheets and core and ratio of thickness between core and face
sheets.
796
Yu et al.91 presented a 2D finite element to analyze the
instability in sandwich plates. Element is built on a theoretical
model which applies CPT to face sheets and assumes higher-
order displacement field for the core. Element had fifteen
degrees of freedom at each node. It was also shown that cur-
rent element is computationally more efficient than the previ-
ous models. It was also recommended that reduced order
technique such as Fourier related analysis can be used to fur-
ther enhance the efficiency of current model. Ho-Huu et al.92
presented an optimization technique based on a smoothed
finite element method for increasing the critical buckling load
of sandwich plates. As obvious, objective function was to max-
imize the critical buckling load and variables were fiber orien-
tation angles and thickness of different layers. Total thickness
of the plate was set as a constraint. It was shown that thickness
of the plate did not significantly influence the critical buckling
load as compared to fiber orientation.
Table 7 gives the summary of reviewed FE models devel-
oped to study buckling in sandwich plates.87–92
10. Conclusions
A comprehensive overview of the recent research trends in
finite element formulations for analyzing sandwich plates car-
ried out in last 15 years has been presented. Reviewed formu-
lations are based on first-order shear deformation theory,
higher-order shear deformation theories, mixed solid-shell ele-
ments, global–local theories and zig-zag theories. It is observed
that major portion of research effort is being employed to
develop the finite element formulations based on different
higher-order shear deformation theories which are equivalent
single layer theories. Reason for this trend is obvious, that
is, zig-zag theories involve a large number of unknowns due
to which finite element formulation of such theories is not fea-
sible from the computational point of view, and on the other
hand, FSDT is not very accurate. It is also noted that a delib-
erate effort is being made by different researchers to develop
plate elements which exhibit C0 continuity at the element
boundaries due to the simple reason that C1 continuous ele-
ments impose the additional continuity requirement for rota-
tions as well.
Based on the review, it is concluded that zig-zag theories are
relatively more accurate than equivalent single layer models
but are computationally expensive. Therefore, efforts could
be dedicated in future to developing such finite element formu-
lations which are based on zig-zag theories and computation-
ally inexpensive.
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