A large variety of plate theories are described and assessed in the present work to evaluate the bending and vibration of sandwich structures. A brief survey of available works is first given. Such a survey includes significant review papers and latest developments on sandwich structure modelings. The kinematics of classical, higher order, zigzag, layerwise, and mixed theories is described. An exhaustive numerical assessment of the whole theories is provided in the case of closed form solutions of simply supported panels made of orthotropic layers. Reference is made to the unified formulation that has recently been introduced by the first author for a plate/shell analysis. Attention has been given to displacements, stresses (both in-plane and out-of-plane components), and the free vibration response. Only simply supported orthotropic panels loaded by a transverse distribution of bisinusoidal pressure have been analyzed. Five benchmark problems are treated. The accuracy of the plate theories is established with respect to the length-to-thickness-ratio (LTR) geometrical parameters and to the face-to-core-stiffness-ratio (FCSR) mechanical parameters. Two main sources of error are outlined, which are related to LTR and FCSR, respectively. It has been concluded that higher order theories (HOTs) can be conveniently used to reduce the error due to LTR in thick plate cases. But HOTs are not effective in increasing the accuracy of the classical theory analysis whenever the error is caused by increasing FCSR values; layerwise analysis becomes mandatory in this case.

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A 3D free vibration analysis of multilayered structures is proposed. An exact solution is developed for the differential equations of equilibrium written in general orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. The equations consider a geometry for shells without simplifications and allow the analysis of spherical shell panels, cylindrical shell panels, cylindrical closed shells and plates. The method is based on a layer-wise approach, the continuity of displacements and transverse shear/normal stresses is imposed at the interfaces between the layers of the structures. Results are given for multilayered composite and sandwich plates and shells. A free vibration analysis is proposed for a number of vibration modes, thickness ratios, imposed wave numbers, geometries and multilayer configurations embedding isotropic and orthotropic composite materials. These results can also be used as reference solutions for plate and shell 2D models developed for the analysis of multilayered structures.

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The paper proposes a three-dimensional elastic analysis of the free vibration problem of one-layered spherical, cylindrical, and flat panels. The exact solution is developed for the differential equations of equilibrium written in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates for the free vibrations of simply supported structures. These equations consider an exact geometry for shells without simplifications. The main novelty is the possibility of a general formulation for different geometries. The equations written in general orthogonal curvilinear coordinates allow the analysis of spherical shell panels and they automatically degenerate into cylindrical shell panel, cylindrical closed shell, and plate cases. Results are proposed for isotropic and orthotropic structures. An exhaustive overview is given of the vibration modes for a number of thickness ratios, imposed wave numbers, geometries, embedded materials, and angles of orthotropy. These results can also be used as reference solutions to validate two-dimensional models for plates and shells in both analytical and numerical form (e.g., closed solutions, finite element method, differential quadrature method, and global collocation method).

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