In order to improve the accuracy of the shear deformationtheory of thick laminated plates, an improved higher order theory isdeveloped. The Legendre polynomials are introduced into the approximatedisplacement distributions across the plate thickness, and a finite elementmodel is suggested from the original equations.This theory has the same independent arguments as that in the second order shear deformation theory proposed by Whitney,Sun ,and Engblom,et al., but proposes the parabolic distribution of the transverse shear strains 'through the thickness of the plate.The accuracy of the present t...
