Nonlinear analysis of fibre-reinforced plastic poles

This paper deals with the nonlinear finite element analysis of fibre-reinforced plastic poles. Based on the principle of stationary potential energy and Novozhilov\'s derivations of nonlinear strains, the formulations for the geometric nonlinear analysis of general shells are derived. The formulations are applied to the fibre-reinforced plastic poles which are treated as conical shells. A semi-analytical finite element model based on the theory of shell of revolution is developed. Several aspects of the implementation of the geometric nonlinear analysis are discussed. Examples are presented to show the applicability of the nonlinear analysis to the post-buckling and large deformation of fibre-reinforced plastic poles.