Generalized effective stiffness theory for nonelastic laminated composites

Effective stiffness theory of the Nth order is derived for the modeling of the 3-dimensional dynamic motion of a laminated medium made of elastic-viscoplastic work-hardening constituents. The resulting theory represents the composite as a higher order homogeneous continuum with microstructure, whose motion is governed by higher order displacements and stresses. The derivation is systematic and can be applied to other types of nonelastic laminated media to the desired degree of accuracy.