Composite Text Book

COMP OSI TE
MATERI ALS
By:
Dr . Mar k V. Bower , P. E.
Copyr ight 1992-2000
The Univer sit y of Alabama in Hunt sville
Hunt sville, Alabama

ii
Composit e Mat er ials
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 1
Int r oduct ion ................................................................................................................ 1
Definit ion of Ter ms..................................................................................................... 1
CONSTITUENTS AND FABRICATION TECHNIQUES............................................ 8
Const it uent s................................................................................................................ 8
Reinfor cement For ms ............................................................................................... 17
Fabr icat ion Techniques ............................................................................................ 21
Hazar ds ..................................................................................................................... 42
LAMINA MECHANICS ............................................................................................... 48
Pr eliminar ies ............................................................................................................ 48
Const it ut ive Relat ions .............................................................................................. 53
Engineer ing Pr oper t ies for Or t hot r opic Mat er ials.................................................. 57
Plane St r ess Or t hot r opic Const it ut ive Relat ion ..................................................... 58
Off-Axis pr oper t ies of or t hot r opic lamina................................................................ 60
STRENGTH OF LAMINA........................................................................................... 65
Tensor Polynomial Failur e Cr it er ion....................................................................... 65
Quadr at ic Failur e Cr it er ion ..................................................................................... 66
R-Fact or analysis ...................................................................................................... 73
CLASSICAL LAMINATION THEORY....................................................................... 75
Hist or y ...................................................................................................................... 75
Pr eliminar ies ............................................................................................................ 76
For ce -- Moment Result ant s ..................................................................................... 77
Equilibr ium of a Plat e Element ............................................................................... 79
Displacement Field Model........................................................................................ 83

iii
Or t hot r opic Const it ut ive Relat ion ........................................................................... 86
The Laminat ed Plat e Equat ions .............................................................................. 91
LAMINATES ................................................................................................................ 97
Int r oduct ion .............................................................................................................. 97
Alt er nat e Expr essions for Laminat e St iffnesses..................................................... 97
Simplifying Assumpt ions on Laminat e St r uct ur e .................................................. 99
St r ess Dist r ibut ion in a Laminat e ......................................................................... 112
Laminat e Failur e Theor ies .................................................................................... 113

iv
Preface
This document is a wor k in pr ogr ess, as ar e most books. Ever y effor t has
been made t o ensur e t he accur acy of t he infor mat ion cont ained in it . That does not ,
unfor t unat ely, guar ant ee t hat ever y equat ion is wit hout er r or . Having said t his,
t he r eader is encour aged t o consult ot her t ext s on composit e mat er ials. A few ar e
list ed on t his page. Fur t her , neit her t he aut hor nor The Univer sit y of Alabama in
Hunt sville is r esponsible for t he applicat ion of t he infor mat ion cont ained in t his
document . Good engineer ing pr act ice r equir es t he applicat ion of sound engineer ing
judgment .
The aut hor acknowledges t he suppor t of The Univer sit y of Alabama in
Hunt sville, t he Micr osoft Academic Suppor t Pr ogr am, and t he Dell Cor por at ion
Academic Suppor t Pr ogr am. I acknowledge t he suppor t and assist ance of my wife,
Peggy, and childr en, Renae, Amber , Elizabet h, and Mat t hew. Fur t her , I
acknowledge t he suppor t , inspir at ion, and anoint ing of J esus Chr ist . Wit hout His
help, I could not have come t his far .
References:
1. Mech a n i cs of Comp osi t e Ma t er i a ls, R. M. J ones, McGr aw-Hill Book
Company, Washingt on, D. C., 1975.
2. P r i me r on Comp osi t e Ma t e r i a l: An a lysi s, J . E. Asht on, J . C. Halpin, and
P. H. Pet it , Technomic Publishing Co., Inc., West por t , CT, 1969.
3. I n t r od u ct i on t o Comp osi t e Ma t e r i a ls, S. W. Tsai and H. T. Hahn,
Technomic Publishing Co., Inc., West por t , CT, 1980.
4. F u n d a men t a ls of Comp osi t es Ma n u fa ct u r i n g: Ma t er i a ls, Met h od s a n d
Ap p li ca t i on s, A. B. St r ong, Societ y of Manufact ur ing Engineer s Dear bor n,
MI, 1989.

Revised: 10 Febr uar y, 2000 Page 1
I NTRODUCTI ON
I NTRODUCTI ON
A composit e mat er ial is defined as a mat er ial composed of t wo or mor e
const it uent s combined on a macr oscopic scale by mechanical and chemical bonds.
Typical composit e mat er ials ar e composed of inclusions suspended in a mat r ix. The
const it uent s r et ain t heir ident it ies in t he composit e. Nor mally t he component s can
be physically ident ified and t her e is an int er face bet ween t hem. Composit e
mat er ials ar e classified based on t he shape and r elat ive dimensions of t he inclusion
and t he st r uct ur es. Composit e mat er ials ar e classified as:
P a r t i cu la t e
F i la me n t a r y
La mi n a t ed
In a par t iculat e composit e, t he major dimension of t he inclusion is small compar ed
t o t he st r uct ur al dimensions. Par t iculat e composit es may be made wit h small
par t icles, such as glass beads, or wit h chopped fiber s. In filament ar y composit es,
one dimension of t he inclusion is of t he same or der of magnit ude as t he st r uct ur al
dimensions. Filament ar y composit e mat er ials may be made fr om uni-dir ect ional
t ape or clot h. In laminat ed composit e mat er ials, t wo of t he major dimensions of t he
inclusions ar e of t he same or der of magnit ude as t he st r uct ur al dir ect ions.
Sandwich sect ions ar e examples of a laminat ed composit e mat er ial.
Two addit ional dist inct ions ar e made in t he classificat ion of composit e
mat er ials: advanced composit e mat er ials ar e t hose composit es which ar e made wit h
inclusions t hat have a modulus gr eat er t han t hat of st eel (30 Mpsi, 207 GPa) and
volume fr act ion of inclusions gr eat er t han fift y per cent , and hybrid composit e
mat er ials ar e t hose composit es which ar e made wit h t wo or mor e differ ent inclusion
mat er ials.
DEFI NI TI ON OF TERMS
ANGLEPLY LAMINATE
Cont aining plies alt er nat ely or ient ed at plus and minus a fixed angle ot her
t han 90 degr ees t o t he r efer ence dir ect ion.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS 2
INTRODUCTION
Revised: 10 Febr uar y, 2000 M. V. Bower
ANISOTROPIC
Not isot r opic; exhibit ing differ ent pr oper t ies when t est ed along axes in
differ ent dir ect ions.
AUTOCLAVE
A pr essur ized heat ed chamber used t o cur e composit e mat er ials. An
aut oclave is pr essur ized wit h gas, t ypically air or nit r ogen.
BALANCED LAMINATE
A composit e laminat e whose lay-up is symmet r ical wit h r elat ion t o t he mid-
plane of t he laminat e.
BLEEDER CLOTH
A nonst r uct ur al layer of mat er ial used in manufact ur e of composit e par t s t o
allow t he escape of excess gas and r esin dur ing cur e.
B-STAGE
An int er mediat e st age in t he polymer izat ion r eact ion of cer t ain
t her moset t ing r esins; t he st at e in which most pr epr egs ar e st or ed and
shipped.
CAUL PLATE
A smoot h met al plat e used in cont act wit h t he lay-up dur ing cur e t o t r ansmit
nor mal pr essur e and t o pr ovide a smoot h sur face t o t he finished laminat e.
COLLIMATED
Render ed par allel, applies t o filament s.
COUPLING AGENT
That par t of a sizing or finish, which is designed t o pr ovide a bonding link
bet ween t he r einfor cement and t he laminat ing r esin.
CRAZING
Fine r esin cr acks at or under t he sur face of a plast ic.
INTRODUCTION
CROSSPLY LAMINATE
Cont aining lamina alt er nat ely or ient ed at 0 degr ees and 90 degr ees.
CURE
To ir r ever sibly change t he pr oper t ies of a t her moset t ing r esin by chemical
r eact ion, i.e., condensat ion, r ing, closur e, or addit ion. Cur e may be
accomplished by addit ion of cur ing (cr oss-linking) agent s, wit h or wit hout
heat .
DELAMINATION
The separ at ion of t he layer s of mat er ial in a laminat e.
DRAPE
The abilit y of br oadgoods t o confor m t o an ir r egular shape.
ELONGATION
The amount of defor mat ion of t he fiber caused by t he br eaking t ensile for ce,
expr essed as t he per cent age of t he or iginal lengt h.
FIBER PLACEMENT
An aut omat ed fabr icat ion pr ocess in which t he machine places fiber bundles
along pr edet er mined pat hs t o build up t he st r uct ur e.
FILAMENT
A long, cont inuous lengt h of fiber , measur ed in yar ds.
FILAMENT WINDING
An aut omat ed fabr icat ion pr ocess t ypically used t o pr oduce cylindr ical or
spher ical shape. The machine winds fiber bundles ont o a mandr el t hat is
r emoved aft er t he cur e pr ocess.
FILL
Yar n r unning fr om selvage t o selvage at r ight angles t o t he war p in a woven
fabr ic.
INTRODUCTION
FILLER
A r elat ively iner t mat er ial added t o a plast ic t o modify it s st r engt h,
per manence, wor king pr oper t ies, or ot her qualit ies, or t o lower cost s.
FINISH
A mixt ur e of mat er ials for t r eat ing glass fiber s. It cont ains a coupling agent
t o impr ove t he bond of r esin t o glass; and usually includes a lubr icant t o
pr event abr asion and a binder t o pr omot e st r and int egr it y. Wit h gr aphit e or
ot her filament s, it may per for m eit her or all of t he above funct ions.
FLASH
Excess plast ic mat er ial which for ms at t he par t ing line of a mold or which is
ext r uded fr om a closed mold.
GEL COAT
A quick-set t ing r esin used in molding pr ocesses t o pr ovide an impr oved
sur face for composit es; it is t he fir st r esin applied t o t he mold aft er t he mold-
r elease agent .
HAND LAY-UP
The pr ocess of placing and wor king successive plies of t he r einfor cing
mat er ial or r esin impr egnat ed r einfor cement in posit ion on a mold by hand.
HYBRID COMPOSITE
A composit e st r uct ur e composed of mor e t han t wo differ ent mat er ials, for
example, a laminat e wit h out er laminae of glass/epoxy and inner laminae of
gr aphit e/epoxy.
HYDROCLAVE
Similar t o an aut oclave except t hat t he chamber is pr essur ized using heat ed
wat er or ot her liquid.
INTERLAMINAR SHEAR
The shear st r engt h at r upt ur e in which t he plane of fr act ur e is locat ed
bet ween t he layer s of r einfor cement of laminat e.
INTRODUCTION
ISOTROPIC
Having unifor m pr oper t ies in all dir ect ions. The measur ed pr oper t ies of an
isot r opic mat er ial ar e independent of t he axis of t est ing.
LAMINA
A single layer or ply of mat er ial. The fundament al building block of a
laminat e.
LAY-UP
A laminat e t hat has been assembled, but not cur ed; or a descr ipt ion of t he
component mat er ials and geomet r y of a laminat e.
NON-WOVEN FABRIC
A fabr ic, usually r esin-impr egnat ed, in which t he r einfor cement s ar e
cont inuous and unidir ect ional; layer s may be cr ossplied.
ORTHOTROPIC
Having t hr ee mut ually per pendicular planes of elast ic symmet r y.
PARALLEL LAMINATE
A laminat e of woven fabr ic in which t he plies ar e aligned in t he same
posit ion as or iginally aligned in t he fabr ic r oll.
PLASTICIZER
For epoxy, a lower molecular weight mat er ial added t o r educe st iffness and
br it t leness; it r esult s in a lower glass- t r ansit ion t emper at ur e for t he
polymer .
PULTRUSION
A fabr icat ion pr ocess used t o pr oduce a highly collimat ed composit e shape
(r od, bar , et c.).
POSTCURE
Addit ional elevat ed t emper at ur e cur e, usually wit hout pr essur e, t o impr ove
final pr oper t ies and/or complet e t he cur e. In cer t ain r esins, complet e cur e
and ult imat e mechanical pr oper t ies ar e at t ained only by exposur e of t he
cur ed r esin t o higher t emper at ur es t han t hose of cur ing.
INTRODUCTION
POT LIFE
The lengt h of t ime t hat a r esin syst em r et ains viscosit y low enough t o be used
in pr ocessing.
PREPREG; PREIMPREGNATED
A combinat ion of mat , fabr ic, non-woven mat er ial, or r oving wit h r esin,
usually in t he B-st age, r eady for molding.
QUASI-ISOTROPIC LAMINATE
A laminat e appr oximat ing isot r opy by or ient ing plies in sever al dir ect ions.
RESIN TRANSFER MOLDING (RTM)
A manufact ur ing pr ocess used t o pr oduce lar ge composit e st r uct ur es. In t his
pr ocess, a dr y lay-up is infused wit h r esin in a molding pr ocess. May be
found in var ious for ms such as vacuum assist ed r esin t r ansfer molding
(VARTM) or Seeman Composit e Resin Infusion Molding Pr ocess (SCRIMP).
Not in wide spr ead use for advanced composit es.
ROVING
A mult iplicit y of single ends of cont inuous filament wit h no applied t wist
dr awn t oget her as par allel st r ands.
STACKING SEQUENCE
The sequence of angles and possibly mat er ials t hat descr ibes t he or ient at ion
of t he individual lamina in a laminat e fr om t op t o bot t om, e. g.,
+45/-45/+45/-45, or 0/90/90/0, or 0/+60/-60/0/+60/-60/-60/+60/0/-60/+60/0.
Most laminat es ar e composed of a lar ge number of laminae, fr equent ly in
r epeat ed pat t er ns, which leads t o t he use of shor t hand not at ion. Using
shor t hand not at ion t he fir st example is wr it t en: 2[t45]. The second and t hir d
sequences ar e symmet r ic about t he mid-plane, and t hus can be wr it t en:
[0/90]S and 2[0/t60]S, wher e t he subscr ipt S indicat es symmet r y.
SIZING
On glass fiber s, t he compounds which, when applied t o filament s at for ming,
pr ovide a loose bond bet ween t he filament s, and pr ovide var ious desir ed
handling and pr ocessing pr oper t ies.
INTRODUCTION
SYMMETRIC LAMINATE
A laminat e t hat is symmet r ic in bot h geomet r y and mat er ial pr oper t ies about
t he mid-plane.
TACK
Wit h pr epr eg mat er ials, t he degr ee of st ickiness of t he r esin.
TAPE LAYING
An aut omat ed pr ocess in which t he machine lays a composit e t ape, eit her wet
or pr epr eg, on pr edet er mined pat hs.
TOW
A loose, unt wist ed bundle of filament s.
TRANSVERSELY ISOTROPIC
Having unifor m pr oper t ies in one plane. The measur ed pr oper t ies of a
t r ansver sely isot r opic mat er ial ar e independent of t he axis of t est ing wit hin
t he plane.
UNI-DIRECTIONAL LAMINATE
A laminat e wit h non-woven r einfor cement s t hat ar e all laid up in t he same
dir ect ion.
WARP
The yar n r unning lengt hwise in a woven fabr ic.
WET LAY-UP
A r einfor ced plast ic which has liquid r esin applied as t he r einfor cement is
being laid up.
CONSTI TUENTS AND
FABRI CATI ON TECHNI QUES
For t he pur pose of t his discussion, composit e mat er ials ar e defined as a
mar r iage of t wo or mor e const it uent mat er ials on a macr oscopic scale. To
under st and t he fabr icat ion t echniques associat ed wit h composit e mat er ials it is
impor t ant t o discuss t he t ypes of const it uent mat er ials and t he fabr icat ion
t echniques used t o pr oduce composit e st r uct ur es.
CONSTI TUENTS
MATRIX MATERIALS
Polyester Resins
Polyest er is a t her moset polymer t hat is for med fr om a condensat ion
polymer izat ion. Polyest er has been widely used in commer cial applicat ions wit h
fiber glass. Applicat ions include:
Boat hulls,
Shower st alls,
Bat h t ubs,
Car bodies,
Building and r oof panels,
Molded fur nit ur e, and
Pipes.
Advant ages for t he use of polyest er r esin include:
Low cost (gener ally lowest found in composit e mat er ials) and
A wide assor t ment of diacids and diols can be used t o give physical and
chemical pr oper t ies.
Disadvant ages for t he use of polyest er r esin include:
Poor t emper at ur e capabilit ies,
Poor weat her r esist ance,
Shelf life may be limit ed, and
Poor mechanical pr oper t ies (st iffness and st r engt h) as compar ed t o
advanced composit es.
CONSTITUENTS AND FABRICATION TECHNIQUES
Epoxy Resins
Epoxy is a t her moset polymer t hat for ms a st r ong r igidly cr osslinked net wor k
of polymer chains. Epoxy has been widely used in commer cial applicat ions wit h
fiber glass, gr aphit e, and ar omat ic fiber s. Applicat ions include:
Air cr aft component s,
Pr essur e vessels,
Rocket mot or cases, and
Car bodies.
Advant ages for t he use of epoxy r esin include:
Excellent adhesion
Excellent mechanical pr oper t ies (st r engt h and st iffness),
Excellent chemical r esist ance,
Excellent weat her r esist ance,
Low shr inkage,
Good fat igue st r engt h,
Good cor r osion pr ot ect ion, and
Ver sat ilit y in pr ocessing.
Disadvant ages for t he use of epoxy r esin include:
Poor high t emper at ur e capabilit ies,
Uncur ed r esin is t oxic,
Poor handling pr oper t ies (uncur ed), and
Relat ively expensive.
Epoxies ar e available in mult i-component and single component syst ems.
The cur e of epoxy may be t hr ough t he applicat ion of har dener s, a cat alyt ic agent
t hat act ivat es or facilit at es cr osslinking bet ween t he polymer chains, (a t wo-par t
syst em), or t hr ough t he applicat ion of heat or ult r a-violet light (a one-par t syst em).
Epoxies may be st or ed at fr eezer t emper at ur es, which pr ompt s long st or age/shelf
life. Wide r anges of cur e cycles ar e available.
Polyimide and Polybenzimidaole Resins
Polyimide and polybenzimidaole (PBI) ar e t her moplast ic polymer s wit h
excellent high t emper at ur e (600 t o 700) pr oper t ies. Polyimide and PBI has been
used in commer cial applicat ions wit h gr aphit e, and ar omat ic fiber s. Applicat ions
include:
Air cr aft component s.
Advant ages for t he use of polyimide and PBI r esin include:
Excellent t her mal pr oper t ies, and
Good pr ocessabilit y on convent ional molding equipment .
Disadvant ages for t he use of polyimide and PBI r esin include:
Var iable r esist ance t o solvent s depending on specific compound,
Difficult synt hesis pr ocess,
Difficult fabr icat ion met hods,
Resin is t oxic and should be handled wit h gr eat car e,
Expensive r aw mat er ials, and
Ver y expensive (mor e t han epoxies).
Use of Polyimide and PBI compounds is gr owing as t he knowledge base
incr eases.
Phenolic Resin
Phenolic is a t her moset polymer wit h good high t emper at ur e pr oper t ies.
Phenolic has had a long hist or y of commer cial applicat ions as a gener al
unr einfor ced plast ic and is now being used as a composit e r esin wit h gr aphit e, and
ar omat ic fiber s. Applicat ions include:
Rocket nose cones and nozzles, and
Aut omot ive applicat ions.
Advant ages for t he use of phenolic r esin include:
Good mechanical pr oper t ies (st r engt h and st iffness),
Good t her mal pr oper t ies wit h an ablat ive nat ur e, and
Good pr ocessabilit y.
Disadvant ages for t he use of phenolic r esin include:
Absor bs moist ur e easily,
Br it t le behavior , and
Relat ively expensive (mor e t han epoxies).
Carbon Matrices
Car bon mat r ices ar e pr oduced fr om polymer ic r esins t hat ar e car efully
char r ed in a pr ocessed called pyr olysis. Car bon mat r ices may also be pr oduced by
vapor deposit ion, but t he pr ocess is limit ed t o st r uct ur es less t hat 3/16 t hick.
Applicat ions include:
Rocket nose cones and nozzles, and
Aut omot ive applicat ions, especially br ake component s.
Advant ages for t he use of car bon mat r ices include:
Ver y high specific heat capacit y (highest known),
Good mechanical pr oper t ies (st iffness and st r engt h),
Good t oughness,
Good r esist ance t o shock,
Excellent t her mal pr oper t ies, and
Excellent t her mal st abilit y.
Disadvant ages for t he use of car bon mat r ices r esin include:
Absor bs moist ur e easily,
Poor wear r esist ance, and
Ver y expensive (mor e t han five t imes t he cost of a phenolic ablat ive
composit e).
Thermoplastics Matrices
Ther moplast ic polymer s have long chain molecules t hat ar e loosely
int er connect ed by weak chemical bonds and mechanical t angling. Because of t he
st r uct ur e of t her moplast ic polymer s t hey do not r equir e r eact ive cur e cycles or have
a dist inct melt ing t emper at ur e, displaying fluid like (viscoelast ic) behavior at even
r oom t emper at ur e. Consequent ly, t hese mat er ials lend t hemselves t o molding
pr ocesses. Ther moplast ics include:
Polyet hylene,
Nylon,
Polyst yr ene,
Polyest er ,
Polycar bonat e,
Polyvinylchlor ide (PVC),
Acr ylonit r ile but adiene st yr ene (ABS),
Acr ylic,
Polyet hylene t er epht halat e (PET),
Polyet her et her ket one (PEEK),
Polyphenylene oxide, et cet er a.
Advant ages for t he use of t her moplast ics r esin include:
Lar ge number of pr ocessing met hods,
Lower fabr icat ion t imes, (compar ed t o t her moset t ing polymer s),
Good compr ession st r engt h aft er impact ,
Good hot /wet compr ession st r engt h,
Resist ant t o moist ur e absor pt ion, and
Easy dyed or given special pr oper t ies (e.g. flame r et ar dant ).
Disadvant ages for t he use of t her moplast ic r esins include:
High viscosit y impair s wet -out of r einfor cement ,
High consolidat ion pr essur es ar e r equir ed, and
Mechanical, chemical, t her mal, and elect r ical pr oper t ies depend on
specific select ed.
Ceramic Matrices
Or ganic r esins ar e char act er ized by t he pr evasive pr esence of covalent bonds.
Cer amic mat r ices, by cont r ast , ar e char act er ized by t he pr edominance of ionic
bonds, however silicon-car bide (SiC) has covalent bonding. Cer amic solids may be
cr yst alline, vit r eous (glass-like), or mixed.
Advant ages for t he use of cer amic mat r ix include:
Dimensionally st able at high t emper at ur es,
High chemical st abilit y,
High t her mal st abilit y,
Applicable t o ext r eme t emper at ur es (2000 t o 4000).
Disadvant ages for t he use of cer amic mat r ix include:
Ver y br it t le,
Ver y high consolidat ion pr essur es ar e r equir ed, and
Ver y expensive t o pr oduce and maint ain.
Phenolic and car bon mat r ice ar e somet imes classified as cer amic mat r ices.
Metal Matrices
In compar ison t o or ganic r esins and cer amic mat r ices, met al mat r ix
composit es (MMCs) ar e char act er ized by t he pr edominance of met allic bonds. In
MMCs discont inous or cont inuous met al fiber s ar e suspended in a mat r ix of a
differ ing met al (e.g. aluminum, t it anium, magnesium, copper , et cet er a).
Advant ages for t he use of met al mat r ix include:
Out st anding mechanical pr oper t ies (st iffness and st r engt h) for
cont inuous fiber MMCs,
Good wear r esist ance,
Ther mally conduct ive,
Good fr act ur e t oughness for cont inuous fiber MMCs,
Good fat igue st r engt h for cont inuous fiber MMCs,
Applicable t o ext r eme t emper at ur es (2000 t o 4000).
Disadvant ages for t he use of met al mat r ix include:
Significant difficult ies associat ed wit h t he inher ent non-wet abilit y of
fiber s,
Ver y high consolidat ion pr essur es ar e r equir ed, and
Ver y expensive t o pr oduce.
REINFORCING MATERIALS
While t her e is no r est r ict ion as t o t he mat er ial used as t he r einfor cing
element for moder n composit es t her e ar e gener ally t hr ee mat er ials t hat ar e
commonly used: glass, gr aphit e, and or ganic. These mat er ials ar e discussed in t his
sect ion.
Glass Fibers
Glass fiber s have long been used as r einfor cing element s. Owens-Illinois and
Cor ning Glass developed a fiber glass manufact ur ing facilit y in 1937. Glass is
pr oduced fr om silica sand, limest one, bor ic acid, and ot her element s. Types of glass
include:
E-glass,
S-glass (and t he var iat ion S2-glass),
C-glass, and
Quar t z.
These ar e t he four pr imar y t ypes of glass used in composit e mat er ials. The
t ype of glass is defined by t he chemical composit ion
Advant ages for t he use of glass fiber s include:
Applicable t o wide r ange of geomet r ies and sizes,
Seamless const r uct ion,
Good st r engt h and dur abilit y,
Lower t ooling cost s,
Incr eased design flexibilit y,
Minimal maint enance, and
Cor r osion r esist ant .
Disadvant ages for t he use of glass fiber s include:
Mechanical pr oper t ies ar e not as good as met als or ot her r einfor cing
fiber s.
The fiber glass pr oduct ion pr ocesses ar e shown in t he following figur e. Not e
t hat t he pr ocess may begin fr om st ock (mar bles) or dir ect ly fr om melt . The use of
st ock has had bet t er cont r ol over t he pr oper t ies.

F i ber gla ss p r od u ct i on p r ocesses,
(a ) ma r ble p r ocess a n d (b) d i r ect -melt p r ocess.
Carbon/Graphite Fibers
Car bon or gr aphit e fiber s for st r uct ur al applicat ions began pr oduct ion in
significant quant it ies in t he 1950s. Gr aphit e fiber s ar e among t he highest st iffness
and highest st r engt h mat er ial known t oday. Types of gr aphit e fiber s include:
Polyacr ylonit r ile (PAN)-Based Fiber s
Pit ch-Based Fiber s
Rayon-Based Fiber s
Advant ages for t he use of gr aphit e fiber s include:
Excellent st r engt h,
Excellent st iffness,
Excellent specific st r engt h and st iffness, and
Disadvant ages for t he use of gr aphit e fiber s include:
Significant ly mor e expensive t han glass fiber s, and
Br it t le behavior .
Two gr aphit e fiber pr oduct ion pr ocesses (PAN-based and pit ch-based) ar e
shown in t he following figur e. Not e t hat bot h pr ocesses use a t wo st ep
car bonizat ion/gr aphit izat ion pr ocess t o conver t t he r aw fiber int o gr aphit e.
Char act er ist ic pr oper t ies for gr aphit e fiber s fr om t he t hr ee pr ocesses is list ed in t he
following t able.

Gr a p h i t e fi ber p r od u ct i on p r ocesses,
(a ) P AN-ba sed p r ocess a n d (b) P i t ch -ba sed p r ocess.

Ca r b on F i b er Mech a n i ca l P r op er t i es
4

P AN-ba sed fi ber s
Low Modulus High Modulus
Tensile Modulus (Mpsi) 33 56
Tensile St r engt h (kpsi) 480 350
Elongat ion (%) 1.4 0.6
Densit y (g/cc) 1.8 1.9
Car bon Assay (%) 92-97 100
P i t ch -ba sed fi ber s
Low Modulus High Modulus
Tensile Modulus (Mpsi) 23 55
Tensile St r engt h (kpsi) 200 350
Elongat ion (%) 0.9 0.4
Densit y (g/cc) 1.9 2.0
Car bon Assay (%) 97 99
Ra yon -ba sed fi ber s
Ten si le Mod u lu s (Mp si ) 5.9
Ten si le St r en gt h (k p si ) 150
Elon ga t i on (%) 2.5
Den si t y (g/cc) 1.6
Ca r bon Assa y (%) 99
Organic Fibers
Or ganic fiber s for st r uct ur al applicat ions wer e int r oduced for commer cial
applicat ions in 1971. Gr aphit e fiber s ar e among t he highest st iffness and highest
st r engt h mat er ial known t oday. Types of or ganic fiber s include:
Kevlar Fiber s
Nomex Fiber s, and
Spect r a (ult r a highly or ient ed polyet hylene) Fiber s.
Advant ages for t he use of or ganic fiber s include:
Ver y high st r engt h,
Ver y high st iffness,
Ver y high specific st r engt h and st iffness,
Excellent impact r esist ance,
High t oughness, and
Disadvant ages for t he use of or ganic fiber s include:
Significant ly mor e expensive t han glass fiber s, and
Pr oper t ies may be affect ed by envir onment al fact or s (e.g. ult r a violet
r adiat ion).
Specialty Reinforcements
Specialt y r einfor cement s include:
Bor on,
Silicon Car bide, and
Ot her .
These r einfor cement s wer e or iginally developed in t he 1960s. Advances in
gr aphit e and or ganic r einfor cing mat er ials coupled wit h lower cost s associat ed wit h
t hem has impact ed t he gr owt h in applicat ions for specialt y r enifor cement s.
Advant ages for t he use of bor on and silicon car bide fiber s include:
Ver y high st r engt h, and
Ver y high st iffness.
Disadvant ages for t he use of bor on and silicon car bide fiber s include:
Ext r emely expensive.
REI NFORCEMENT FORMS
The for m of t he r einfor cement s used in composit e mat er ials spans a wide
r ange and has a dir ect impact on t he mechanical pr oper t ies of t he st r uct ur al
component . The for m of t he r einfor cing element s also impact s t he fabr icat ion
t echniques t hat can be used. As discussed in t he fir st chapt er , composit es ar e
classified based on t he geomet r y of t he r einfor cing element .
Fiber Terminology
Fiber ous r einfor cement s have sever al specific t er ms used t o descr ibe t he
make-up and geomet r y. These t er ms include:
Filament
Single fiber pr oduced fr om a single por t in t he spinning pr ocess.
Diamet er s for common filament s (glass and gr aphit e) r ange fr om
0.000015 inches t o 0.0005 inches.
Fibers
A gener al t er m commonly used t o r efer t o a collect ion of filaments.
S trand
Commonly a bundle or gr oup of unt wist ed, collimat ed filaments. Used
int er changeably wit h fiber and filament.
Tow
A bundle or gr oup of unt wist ed, collimat ed filaments usually wit h a
specific count .
Yarn
A t wist ed bundle of cont inuous filaments.
Roving
A number of tows or yarns collect ed int o a par allel bundle wit hout
t wist ing.
Tape
A collect ion of collimat ed (par allel) filaments usually made fr om tows
held t oget her by a binder , which is t ypically a B-st age r esin.
Woven Fabric
A t wo-dimensional mat er ial made by int er lacing yarns or tows in
var ious pat t er ns.
Braiding
A t hr ee-dimensional mat er ial made by int er lacing yarns or tows in
var ious pat t er ns.
Mat
A t wo-dimensional mat er ial made of r andomly or ient ed chopped fiber s
or swir led cont inuous fiber s t hat may be held t oget her loosely by a
binder .
Weave types
The t ext ile indust r y has developed a number of differ ent weaves t hat ar e
commonly used in applicat ions fr om clot hing and upholst er y t o composit e mat er ials.
The specific weave used in a st r uct ur e may impact t he dr ape in t he fabr icat ion
pr ocess and t he mechanical pr oper t ies of t he st r uct ur e. Typical weaves used in
composit e mat er ials include:
Plain weave
Basket weave
Crowfoot satin weave
Long-shaft satin or harness weave
Leno weave
The t ypical weaves ar e shown in t he following figur e wit h t he machine dir ect ions as
indicat ed in t he figur e.
The plain weave is t he simplest weave t hat has unifor m st r engt h in t wo
dir ect ions when t he yar n size and count ar e similar in t he war p and fill dir ect ions.
Plain weave fabr ics ar e commonly used for :
flat laminat es,
pr int ed cir cuit boar ds,
nar r ow fabr ics, and
t ooling.
The basket weave is similar t o plain weave except t hat war p yar ns ar e woven
as one over and under t ow fill yar ns. The weave is less st able t han plain weave.
Consequent ly t he weave is mor e pliable and dr ape is bet t er . Basket weave fabr ics
ar e st r onger t han an equivalent weight /count plane weave fabr ic. Applicat ions for
basket weave fabr ics ar e similar t o t hose for plain weave.
Crowfoot satin weave has impr oved unidir ect ional qualit y wit h mor e
st r engt h in t he fiber dir ect ions t han plain weave fabr ics. The crowfoot satin weave
is mor e pliable t han plain weave fabr ics and can comply t o complex cont our s and
spher ical shapes. Applicat ions include:
Fishing r ods,
Diving Boar ds,
Skis,
Air cr aft duct s,
Channel, and
Conduit .
Long-shaft satin or harness weave has a high degr ee of dr ape and st r et ch in
all dir ect ions. The weave is less st able t han in plain weave fabr ics. Applicat ions
include:
Air cr aft housings,
Radomes,
Duct s, and
Ot her cont our ed sur faces.
Leno weave pr oduces heavy fabr ics for r apid build-up of plies. Leno weave
fabr ics ar e used:
As inner cor es of t hin coat ings,
Tooling, and
Repair s.
The choice of weave for a par t icular applicat ion will gener ally be a
compr omise bet ween st r uct ur al and fabr icat ion r equir ement s. Unidr ect ional t ape
will pr oduce higher st r engt h plies but ar e mor e difficult t o fabr icat e. Dr ape of t he
clot h can be a major consider at ion in st r uct ur es wit h complex cont our s.

Common wea ves u sed i n comp osi t e ma t er i a ls.

Clot h Di r ect i on s a n d
Na me Con ven t i on s
P la i n We a ve

Ba sk et Wea ve Cr owfoot Sa t i n

Lon g-sh a ft Sa t i n Le n o We a ve
FABRI CATI ON TECHNI QUES
For t he pur poses of t his pr esent at ion t he fabr icat ion t echniques for composit e
mat er ials ar e ar bit r ar ily divided int o t hr ee cat agor ies t hey ar e: manual pr ocesses,
machine pr ocesses, and mass pr oduct ion pr ocesses. The t ype of t echnique used in a
par t icular applicat ion will depend on among ot her t hings:
t he number of par t s t o be pr oduced,
t he facilit ies available,
t he r epeat abilit y of t he par t s t o be pr oduced,
t he mechanical pr oper t ies r equir ed in t he finished par t s,
t he mat er ials (r esin and r einfor ecment ) t o be used, and
t he size of t he par t .
Unlike met al manufact ur ing pr ocesses, composit e fabr icat ion pr ocesses can
have significant impact on par t qualit y. Composit e mat er ials have r eceived undo
cr it icism in some ar enas due in par t t o inadequat e qualit y cont r ol in t he fabr icat ion
pr ocesses. Consequent ly, it is impor t ant for t he designer and analyst t o under st and
t he composit e fabr icat ion pr ocesses and t o develop an appr eciat ion for t he impact of
t he fabr icat ion pr ocesses on syst em behavior .
CURE PROCESSES
The major it y of composit e mat er ials in pr oduct ion t oday ar e made wit h
t her moset polymer ic r esins. Consequent ly, t he st r uct ur e r equir es some kind of a
cur e pr ocess t o pr oduce t he final par t . A gener ic cur e cycle is shown in t he
following figur e.
0
100
200
300
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
t (minutes)
T

(
F
)
0
50
100
150
p

(
p
s
i
)
2/min Heating
5/min Heating
Pressure
Three hour hold at 250F
with one hour at 150psi.

Gen er i c cu r e cycle wi t h t emp er a t u r e a n d p r essu r e r equ i r ed .
Vacuum Bag Processes
Whet her or not a cur e cycle r equir es addit ional pr essur e t o achieve
consolidat ion of par t t he vast major it y of all composit es pr oduced r equir e use of a
vacuum bag. In t he vacuum bag pr ocess t he par t is cover ed by a r elease ply, next a
bar r ier film, t hen t he appr opr iat e number of bleeder ply t o absor b t he excess r esin
fr om t he lay-up, a br eat her ply t o pr ovide a flow pat h for t r apped gasses and
volit ols r eleased dur ing t he cur e cycle, and finally a bag. The vacuum bag may be a
molded bag or sheet of polymer fit t ed t o t he par t . Molded bags ar e mor e expensive
but r equir e less manual labor t o inst all. They ar e commonly used in high
pr oduct ion applicat ions. A gener ic lay-up wit h t he var ious vacuum bag component s
is shown in t he following figur e.

Typical Vacuum Bag Component s.
Bagging is an impor t ant par t of pr ocessing t her moset composit e par t s. It has
a dir ect impact on par t qualit y. It is possible for a par t , car efully laid-up, t o be
scr apped due t o poor bagging. It is essent ial t hat a bag be t ight ly sealed and leak
fr ee and be in per fect cont act wit h t he wor kpiece. A leak fr ee bag is necessar y t o
achieve consolidat ion of t he lay-up and t o pr ovide t he necessar y pat h t o exhaust
evolved gasses t hat may be t r apped in t he lay-up dur ing t he fabr icat ion pr ocess or
t hose t hat ar e pr oduced by t he chemical r eact ions in t he cur e cycle. Pr oducing a
leak fr ee bag can be challenging, but is not in gener al impossible. Ther e may be
t imes t hat a bag loses it s seal dur ing t he cur e cycle. When t his happens it is
t ypically unr epair able, but t he par t may not be lost , depending on when t he leak
develops and what t ype of cur e cycle is in use.
Per fect cont act wit h t he par t must be est ablished in t he bagging pr ocesses.
Failur e t o est ablish per fect cont act will pr oduce a flawed par t t hat may or may not
have t o be scr apped due t o t he failur e. Per fect cont act appear s in t wo point s in t he
bagging pr ocess, br idges and dar t s. These pr oblems ar e shown in t he following
figur es. Dar t s ar e used in bag const r uct ion when flat bag mat er ial is used inst ead
of a molded bag. The seams pr oduced on t he finished par t s due t o use of dar t s is a
r esin r ich point t hat is not likely t o adver sly affect t he mechanical pr oper t ies of t he
par t . Br idges on t he ot her hand ar e mor e t han unsight ly belmishes. It is quit e
common t o have int er nal voids and delaminat ions in t he finished wor kpiece in t he
vicinit y of br idges. Rubbing t ools ar e used t o compact t he bag and r emove wr inkles.
Vacuum Bag
Mold
Lay-up
Gap due to bridging

Mold
Lay-up
Vacuum Bag
Gap due to dart
Dart

Br idging in a vacuum bag pr ocess. Dar t used in vacuum bag pr ocess.
Auto- and Hydroclave processes
Aut oclave and hydr oclave pr ocesses use addit ional pr essur e t o consolidat e
t he laminat e. Vacuum bags ar e used wit h bot h of t hese pr ocesses. The use of a
hydr oclave may pr oduce a super ior cur e cycle due t o t he impr oved heat t r ansfer
fr om t he liquid medium t o t he wor kpiece as compar ed t o t he gas used in an
aut oclave. Typically t he added pr essur es used in t hese pr ocesses r ange fr om 50 psi
t o 200 psi. Resear ch on t he applicat ion of pr essur e and dur at ion of t he vacuum
held on t he par t for phenolic composit es has indicat ed t hat par t qualit y can be
significant ly impact ed by t hese st eps.
MANUAL TECHNIQUES
Manual fabr icat ion t echniques for composit e mat er ials include manual
lay-up and manual spr ay-up. Of t hese pr ocesses, t he manual t echniques ar e
dominat ed by t he manual lay-up pr ocess. Advant ages and disadvant ages for t hese
pr ocesses ar e list ed in t he following t able.
Design consider at ions for manual t echniques include t he following:
Minimum inside r adius: 0.1875 t o 0.25 inches. Tight er r adii ar e
possible but not desir able.
Minimum dr aft r ecommended: 2. Split molds can have 0.
Under cut s: should be avioded but can be made by using split or r ubber
molds.
Molded in holes: lar eg diamet er only.
Minium pr act ical t hickness: 0.03 inches for manual lay-up, 0.06 inches
for manual spr ay-up.
Maximum pr act ical t hickness: unlimit ed t ot al, 0.25 inches per cur e.
Nor mal t hickness var iat ion: +0.03/-0.015 inches for manual lay-up.
t0.025 inches for manual spr ay-up.
Special const r uct ion possible: built -in cor es, met al inser t s, met al or
ot her edge st iffener s
Bosses: must be t aper ed.
Fins: special handling r equir ed.
Limit ing size fact or : none, ot her t han mold size, oven size (if r equir ed)
and handling consider at ions.
Shape limit at ions: none.
Ad va n t a ges a n d Di sa d va n t a ges of Ma n u a l F a b r i ca t i on Tech n i q u es
Ad va n t a ges* Di sa d va n t a ge s*
Design flexibilit y Labor -int ensive pr ocess
Lar ge and complex par t s can be
pr oduced
Only one good (molded) sur face is
obt ained
Pr oduct ion r at e r equir ement s ar e low Low-volume pr oduct ion pr ocess
Minimum equipment invest ment is
necessar y
Qualit y is r elat ed t o t he skill of t he
oper at or
Tooling cost is low Longer cur e t imes r equir ed
Any mat er ial t hat will hold it s shape can
be used as a mold for m
Pr oduct unifor mit y is difficult t o
maint ain wit h in a single par t and fr om
par t t o par t
St ar t -up lead t ime and cost ar e minimal Wast e fact or is high
Design changes ar e easily effect ed
Molded-in inser t s and st r uct ur al
r einfor cement s ar e possible
Sandwich const r uct ions ar e possible
Pr ot ot yping and pr e-pr oduct ion met hod
for high volume molding pr ocesses
Semi-skilled wor ker s ar e needed and ar e
easily t r ained
Hazar ds associat ed wit h handling t he
mat er ials ar e higher
* Not e: t he hor izont al alignment in t he t able is not int ended t o imply a r elat ionship
bet ween t he point s.

Finished sur faces: one (t wo wit h special t ooling).
Gel-coat sur face: only one smoot h sur face, r ever se can be coat ed aft er
molding
Molded in labels:
Manual Lay-up
In a manual lay-up pr ocess each ply of a laminat e is placed by hand. The
advant age t o t hese pr ocesses is t hat lit t le in t he way of equipment is r equir ed. The
disadvant ages t o t hese pr ocesses include: high degr ees of var iablit iy bet ween par t s,
even t hose pr oduced by a single t echnician and gener ally inconsist ent qualit y even
when per for med by a highly qualified t echnician. As always t he advant ages must
be weighed against t he disadvant ages in a given applicat ion.
Wet Processes
In wet lay-up pr ocesses t he lamina or ply must be sat ur at ed wit h r esin befor e
being laid-up in t he t ooling. Following sat ur at ion, excess r esin must be r emoved t o
avoid having a par t t hat is unaccept ably r esin r ich. The following ar e t he basic
st eps in a wet lay-up pr ocess:
1. Pr epar e pat t er ns for each ply of t he laminat e locat ing all dar t s and folds
r equir ed t o accur at ely follow t he mold. Minimize t he number of over laps and
never super impose over laps. If over lapping plies ar e r equir ed, keep t he
over lap widt h t o 0.75 inches, +0.25 inches/-0.0 inches. A pat t er n may be used
for mult iple ply when t he pat t er n is r epeat ed in t he st acking sequence.
2. Opt ional, pr epar e a laminat ion kit , cut t ing all plies t o t he r equir ed pat t er n,
mar king t heir or der in t he st acking sequence wit h Teflon t ape.
3. Coat t ooling wit h r elease film or place r elease ply on t ooling. If Gel-coat is
desir ed it should be applied at t his t ime.
4. Pr epar e t he r esin pot . Mix t he r esin component s as r equir ed and place in a
cont ainer t hat is sufficient ly lar ge t o lay t he individual plies for t he laminat e.
5. Sat ur at e t he fir st ply of mat er ial wit h r esin.
6. St r ip excess r esin fr om ply.
7. Place fir st ply on t ooling wit h t he or ient at ion specified in t he st acking
sequence, film side-up. Using a non-st ick (Teflon or st eel) t ool pr ess t he ply
ont o t he t ooling. Wor k out all air bubbles and wr inkles. Ensur e t hat t he ply
is in t ot al cont act wit h t he t ooling, wor king out all br idges t hat occur at
fillet s and gaps at cor ner s t hat occur at r ounds. Dr aw excess r esin fr om ply.
8. Remove Teflon t ape mar king lamina sequence. (This is ver y impor t ant .)
9. Sat ur at e t he next ply of mat er ial wit h r esin.
10. St r ip excess r esin fr om t he ply.
11. Apply t he next ply wit h t he or ient at ion specified in t he st acking sequence,
film side-up. Again, using a non-st ick (Teflon or st eel) t ool pr ess t he ply ont o
t he lay-up. Wor k out all air bubbles and wr inkles. Ensur e t hat t he ply is in
t ot al cont act wit h t he pr evious layer , wor king out all br idges t hat occur at
fillet s and gaps at cor ner s t hat occur at r ounds. Dr aw excess r esin fr om ply.
12. Repeat st eps 8-11 unt il t he specified st acking sequence is complet ed.
13. Depending on t he r esin syst em used, if t he fabr icat ion pr ocess cannot be
complet ed in a single oper at ion t he lay-up should be bagged wit h a vacuum
bag and held under a cont r olled envir onment (especially low humidit y) unt il
t he oper at ion can r esume.
14. Pr epar e t he par t for t he cur e pr ocess following t he bagging pr ocedur e.
Manual scissor s, power shear s, and semi-aut omat ic and aut omat ic machines
may be used t o cut t he plies for t he lay-up. When comput er numer ically cont r olled
aut omat ic cut t ing machines ar e used, pat t er ns ar e not necessar y.
Prepreg Processes
1. Pr epar e pat t er ns for each ply of t he laminat e locat ing all dar t s and folds
r equir ed t o accur at ely follow t he mold. Minimize t he number of over laps and
never super impose over laps. If over lapping plies ar e r equir ed, keep t he
over lap widt h t o 0.75 inches, +0.25 inches/-0.0 inches. A pat t er n may be used
for mult iple ply when t he pat t er n is r epeat ed in t he st acking sequence. As
wit h t he wet pr ocess, if aut omat ic cut t ing machines ar e used pat t er ns ar e not
r equir ed.
2. Coat t ooling wit h r elease film or place r elease ply on t ooling.
3. Opt ional, pr epar e a laminat ion kit , cut t ing all plies t o t he r equir ed pat t er n,
mar king t heir or der in t he st acking sequence on t he backing film. Ret ur n
t he kit t o st or age as quickly as possible t o maint ain qualit y.
4. Br ing t he pr epr eg t o r oom t emper at ur e for t he lay-up pr ocess.
5. Place fir st ply on t ooling wit h t he or ient at ion specified in t he st acking
sequence, film side-up. Using a non-st ick (Teflon or st eel) t ool pr ess t he ply
ont o t he t ooling. Wor k out all air bubbles and wr inkles. Ensur e t hat t he ply
is in t ot al cont act wit h t he t ooling, wor king out all br idges t hat occur at
fillet s and gaps at cor ner s t hat occur at r ounds. A hot air gun can be used t o
incr ease ply flexibilit y and t ack t o place t he ply.
6. Remove t he backing film fr om t he pr epr eg. (This is ver y impor t ant .)
7. Apply t he next ply wit h t he or ient at ion specified in t he st acking sequence,
film side-up. Again, using a non-st ick (Teflon or st eel) t ool pr ess t he ply ont o
t he lay-up. Wor k out all air bubbles and wr inkles. Ensur e t hat t he ply is in
t ot al cont act wit h t he pr evious layer , wor king out all br idges t hat occur at
fillet s and gaps at cor ner s t hat occur at r ounds.
8. Repeat st ep 7 unt il t he specified st acking sequence is complet ed.
9. If t he fabr icat ion pr ocess cannot be complet ed in a single oper at ion t he lay-up
should be bagged wit h a vacuum bag and placed in cold st or age under
vacuum unt il t he oper at ion can r esume or held under a cont r olled
envir onment (especially low humidit y). When lay-up r esumes, if t he par t
was placed in cold st or age, t he par t must be br ought t o r oom t emper at ur e
befor e fabr icat ion can cont inue.
10. Pr epar e t he par t for t he cur e pr ocess following t he bagging pr ocedur e.
Spray-up
In t he t ypical spr ay-up pr ocess chopped fiber s, usually glass, and r esin ar e
simult aneously spr ayed ont o or int o an open mold. Fiber r oving is fed t hr ough a
chopper and inject ed int o a r esin st r eam t hat is manually dir ect ed at t he mold. The
r esin syst em may be pr e-mixed or mixed in t he spr ay-up nozzle. Aft er t he
composit e is spr ayed int o t he mold it is hand r olled t o r emove air , compact t he
fiber s, and smoot h t he int er ior sur face. Because of t he nat ur e of t he pr ocess t he
fiber s ar e r andomly or ient ed wit hin t he laminat e and t he behavior is t r ansver sely
isot r opic. Depending on t he r esin syst em used t he wor kpiece will be bagged and
cur es in t he same manner as lay-up par t s.
MACHINE PROCESSES
Machine pr ocesses ar e t ypically super ior t o manual pr ocesses in qualit y,
quant it y, and pr oduct ion t ime. However , t hey ar e also significant ly mor e expensive
t han manual pr ocesses t o implement . Simple winding machines ar e in t he t ens of
t housands of dollar s, while t he most advanced, sophist icat ed fiber placement
machines ar e millions of dollar s. Wit h capit al equipment cost s of t his magnit ude
t he decision t o use machine pr ocesses is not a caviler decision.
At t his wr it ing t her e ar e four pr incipal t ypes of machines used for composit e
fabr icat ion. They ar e: filament winding, t ape placement or t ape laying, fiber
placement , and pult r usion. Of t hese four , only t he pult r usion pr ocess incor por at es
a cur e cycle in t he pr ocess. Par t s pr oduced by filament winding, t ape laying, and
fiber placement must be bagged and cur ed wit h t he specified cur e cycle.
Filament Winding
Filament winding is t he oldest of t he machine pr ocesses. The pr ocess is
r elat ed t o t he t ur ning pr ocesses used in machining oper at ions. Filament winding is
used t o pr oduce axisymmet r ic st r uct ur es. Par t s pr oduced by filament winding
include:
Tubes or pipes,
Cylindr ical pr essur e vessels (Rocket mot or cases), and
Spher ical pr essur e vessels.
Fundament ally t he pr ocess involves winding r oving or t ow ar ound a
mandr al. The winding angle r anges fr om near ly axial, or longit udinal (0, axial,
can be obt ained in special winding oper at ions) t o hoop, or cir cumfer ent ial (90). In
t he winding oper at ion dr y r oving is pulled t hr ough a r esin bat h wher e t he r oving is
sat ur at ed wit h r esin. The excess is st r ipped fr om t he r oving and t he r oving is
dr awn t hr ough a gener at ion r ing. The winding head wit h it s gener at ing r ing
t r aver ses t he longit udinal dir ect ion of t he wor kpiece r iding on a car r iage and laying
t he r oving on t he mandr al. The r oving follows a helical pat h ar ound t he mandr al,
see t he figur es below. As t he car r iage r eaches t he end of t he wor kpiece it r ever ses
dir ect ion and lays down anot her layer in t he opposit e dir ect ion. The pr ocess
cont inues unt il t he mandr al is complet ely cover ed and t hen t he machine moves t o
t he next ply. Because t he r oving does not complet ely cover t he wor kpiece in a
single pass (except in t he hoop dir ect ion) t he r oving is laid down in st r ipes t hat
alt er nat e in dir ect ion (t). The r esult is somet hing appr oaching a woven clot h,
similar t o a plain weave fabr ic, except t hat t he fiber (r oving) dir ect ions ar e not
per pendicular . A t ypical filament winding machine is shown in t he figur e.

Fundament al component s in a filament winding pr ocess.

Hoop or cir cumfer ent ial winding. Typical polar winding.

Mult i-cir cuit helical winding. Not e t he over lap of windings.

Typical filament winding machine.
One of t he most impor t ant component s in successful filament winding is t he
det er minat ion of t he r elat ive speed bet ween t he mandr al and winding head. These
mot ions det er mine t he wr apping angle and over lap of t he r oving. The winding
angle may be appr oximat ed fr om:
arctan
R
v
_

,
,
wher e is t he winding angle, R is t he r adius of t he wor kpiece, is t he r ot at ion r at e
of t he wor kpiece, and v is t he longit udinal speed of t he winding head. Fr om t his
equat ion you can obser ve t hat if t he wor kpiece has a change in diamet er along t he
lengt h t he r ot at ion r at e of t he wor kpiece and/or t he speed of t he car r iage must be
adjust ed t o hold t he winding angle const ant . The complexit y of t he pr oblem is
fur t her complicat ed by polar winding at t he dome of pr essur e vessels.
Anot her impor t ant component in successful filament winding is t ension
cont r ol. Tension affect s r esin cont ent , void cont ent , and st r uct ur al pr oper t ies.
Roving t ension r anges fr om 0.25 lbs. t o 1 lb. per bundle or t ow. Tension is pr ovided
by guide eyes in line, cent er r ot at ing guide eye, r ot at ing scissor bar s, dr um-t ype
br akes (which may be elect r omagnet ically cont r olled), and/or dr ag t hr ough t he
r esin bat h. The fir st t hr ee of t hese t ensioner s ar e shown in a figur e below.

Guide eyes in line. Cent er r ot at ing guide eye Rot at ing Scissor bar s.
Advances in filament winding t echnology include spher ical winding
machines and mult i-head winder s. Spher ical winding machines can pr oduce
vessels t hat ar e cylindr ical or spher ical wit h a single opening. Mult i-head winding
machines can pr oduce vessels wit h a quasi-br aided st r uct ur e. A spher ical winding
machine is shown in t he following figur e.
Ad va n t a ges a n d Di sa d va n t a ges for F i la men t Wi n d i n g P r ocesses.
Ad va n t a ges Di sa d va n t a ge s or Li mi t a t i on s
Applicable t o par t s of widely var ying
size.
Resin viscosit y and pot life must be car efully
chosen and monit or ed.
Par t s wit h st r engt h in sever al
dir ect ions can be easily made.
Pr ogr amming of t he winding can be difficult .
Excellent mat er ial usage. Not all shapes can r easonably be made by
filament winding.
For ming aft er winding and ot her
t echniques allow noncylindr ical
shapes t o be made.
Oper at ional cont r ol of sever al key
par amet er s is impor t ant .
Flexible mandr els can be r et ained in
t he st r uct ur e t o ser ve as liner s for
t anks.
Abilit y t o analyze (design) impair ed due t o
invalidat ion of key assumpt ions in
laminat ion t heor y.
Panels and fit t ings for r einfor cement
or at t achment can be easily
included dur ing t he winding pr ocess.

Par t s wit h high pr essur e r at ings can
be made.


A spher ical winder .
Tape Lay-up
Semi-aut omat ic and aut omat ic t ape laying machines have been developed t o
r educe pr oduct ion t imes, impr ove consist ency wit hin par t s and bet ween par t s, and
impr ove par t qualit y. Tape lay-up machines use pr epr eg t ape, unidir ect ional and
clot h, and ar e comput er numer ically cont r olled. Thr ough appr opr iat e pr ogr amming
it is possible t o eliminat e t he pat t er ns use in t he manual lay-up pr ocesses.
Semi-aut omat ic and aut omat ic t ape laying machines ar e used t o pr oduce flat and
cont our ed laminat es. Tape laying machines ar e limit ed in t heir capabilit ies t o
sur faces wit h lar ge r adii of cur vat ur e. Tape laying machines cannot pr oduce highly
geomet r ically complex par t s.
Typical aut omat ic t ape laying machines ar e descr ibed by t he number of
degr ees of fr eedom (DOF) or axes of t he t ape laying head, for example, a head may
have t hr ee t r anslat ional degr ees of fr eedom, t wo r ot at ional degr ees of fr eedom, t he
abilit y t o st ar t a t ape, and t he abilit y t o cut t he t ape. This machine is descr ibed as
a seven-DOF machine. Figur es below show a t ape laying head, a flat aut omat ic
t ape laying machine, a cout our ed laminat e in a t ape laying machine, and a
mult i-axis t ape laying machine.

Gr umman t ape laying head.

Flat aut omat ic lay-up machine.

A cont our ed laminat e on an aut omat ic lay-up machine.

A t en DOF aut omat ic lay-up machine.
Fiber Placement
Aut omat ic fiber placement machines combine and ext end t he capabilit y of
filament winding and t ape laying machines. Fiber placement machines place
individual fiber bundles ont o a mold. This is r eminescent of t he filament winding
pr ocess and in cont r ast t o t he laying of a t ape wit h a t ape laying machine.
However , t he fiber placement machine places t he fiber bundles in par allel
t hr oughout a layer , wit hout t he over lapping in a helical winding pr ocess. Because
of t he abilit y t o place fiber bundles t he fiber placement pr ocess can pr oduce highly
geomet r ically complex shapes wit h small r adii of cur vat ur e. Int er nal r adii ar e
limit ed by t he size of t he placement head, appr oximat ely 6 inches on a Viper
Placement Machine and ext er nal r adii ar e limit ed t o t he minimum bending r adius
of t he fiber bundles, appr oximat ely 0.1875 t o 0.25 inches. A fiber placement
machine is shown in t he figur e below.
Tape
Laying
Car r iage

NASA Viper fiber placement machine.
Fiber placement is a compar ably r apid pr ocess. Fiber placement machines
can place up t o 700 inches of fiber per minut e. Fur t her , t he complexit y of t he par t s
pr oduced by fiber placement is ext r or dinar y. For example, t he int ake duct for t he
F-16 is a geomet r ically complex par t wit h mult iple compound cur ves is pr oduced by
fiber placement wit h r elat ive ease.
Pultrusion
Pult r usion is an adapt at ion of t he dr awing pr ocess t o composit es fabr icat ion.
This pr ocess pr oduces long r elat ively nar r ow cr oss sect ion wit h highly or der ed and
compact ed r einfor cement s. Cr oss sect ions pr oduced by pult r usion r ange fr om
cir cular t o L-channel t o hat sect ions. The r einfor cing fiber s, which may be glass,
gr aphit e, or ar imid, ar e gener ally all or ient ed along t he major dir ect ion of t he
pult r usion.
In gener al t he pr ocess begins wit h dr y r oving t hat is dr awn t hr ough a r esin
bat h and int o a compact ion die. Fr om t he compact ion die t he mat er ial is dr awn int o
a cur ing die wher e t he excess r esin is st r iped and t he par t is cur ed wit h significant
pr essur es. It is possible t o dr aw t he wor kpiece over a bench befor e t he final cur e t o
pr oduce cur ved (inst ead of st r aight ) sect ions. Aut omot ive composit e leaf spr ings ar e
an example of cur ved pult r uded par t s, a pult r usion for ming oper at ion and
aut omobile spr ings ar e shown in t he figur es. A micr owave cur ing pr epr eg based
pult r usion syst em is shown in t he figur e below.

Schemat ic of a Pult r usion for ming syst em.

Aut omobile leaf spr ings pr oduced by Pult r usion for ming.

Schemat ic of a Pult r usion syst em using micr owave ener gy t o cur e t he r esin syst em.
MASS PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
Manual pr oduct ion t echniques by t heir ver y nat ur e ar e limit ed in t heir
pr oduct ion r at es. The machine pr ocesses ar e t ypically mor e expensive and do not
lend t hemselves t o high pr oduct ion volumes. Pr oduct ion of composit e par t s for
applicat ions such as t hose found in t he aut omot ive indust r y necessit at e pr oduct ion
pr ocesses t hat have ver y high pr oduct ion r at es. Molding pr ocesses ar e able t o meet
t hese demands.
Molding
Molding of composit e mat er ials has it s foundat ion in t he met als cast ing and
for ming pr ocesses. These pr ocesses include: sheet molding, bulk molding, t hick
molding, and liquid molding (r esin t r ansfer molding). The advant ages of t hese
pr ocesses include lower per par t t ooling cost s and higher pr oduct ion r at es.
S h eet Mol d i n g
Sheet molding pr ocesses wer e developed in r esponse t o a r equest fr om t he
aut omot ive indust r y. Their desir e was for a composit e mat er ial pr ocess t hat
allowed t hem t o use t he met al bending and st amping equipment and t echniques
wit h which t hey wer e familiar . The mat er ial used in sheet molding is called sheet
molding compound (SMC).
In t he sheet molding pr ocess chopped r oving, usually glass fiber s, is mixed
wit h r esin and deposit ed bet ween plast ic films, usually polyet hylene. The mat er ial
is t hen used in a st amping like pr ocess. The schemat ic below shows a t ypical SMC
machine.
P u lt r u si on
High mat er ial usage compar ed wit h
lay-up
Par t cr oss-sect ions must gener ally be
unifor m.
High t hr oughput r at e Pr oblems can ar ise when r esin or fiber s
accumulat e and build up at t he die opening
Can give high r esin cont ent s When dies r un r esin r ich t o account for fiber
anomalies, st r engt h is sacr ificed.
Close t o fiber t ow pr oper t ies Voids can r esult if dies ar e r un wit h t oo
much opening for t he fiber volume.
When quick cur ing syst ems ar e used,
mechanical pr oper t ies ar e oft en sacr ificed.

Schemat ic of t he SMC fabr icat ion pr ocess. Not e t hat t he flow is fr om left t o r ight .
Th i ck a n d Bu l k Mol d i n g
Thick and bulk molding oper at ions ar e r elat ed t o t he closed die or
mat ched-die cast ing and for ming pr ocesses. In t hese pr ocesses t he bulk molding
compound (BMC) or t he t hick molding compound (TMC) is pr epar ed similar t o t he
SMC compound, however it is mixed in buld r at her t han sheet . Advant ages and
disadvant ages of t he pr ocess ar e list ed below. The TMC pr ocess is shown in t he
figur e.
Ma t ch ed -d i e Mold i n g
Bot h int er ior and ext er ior sur faces
ar e finished.
Mor e equipment is needed t han for lay-up.
Complex shapes including r ibs and
t hin det ails ar e possible.
Molds and t ooling ar e cost ly compar ed t o
lay-up molds.
High pr oduct ion r at es ar e possible. Tr anspar ent pr oduct s ar e not possible wit h
SMC and BMC.
Labor cost s ar e low. Molding pr oblems (t r apped wat er , et c.) may
cause sur face imper fect ions such as pit t ing
or waviness.
Minimum t r imming of par t s in
needed.
Pr oduct s have good mechanical
pr oper t ies and close par t t oler ances.
Good consolidat ion of par t s.
SMC and BMC have limit ed shelf-lives.

Schemat ic of t he TMC fabr icat ion pr ocess.
R esi n Tr a n sf er Mol d i n g
Resin t r ansfer molding is used in a number of var iat ions wit h a number of
differ ent names t o ident ify t he var iat ions. Among t hese pr ocesses ar e: Resin
Tr ansfer Molding (RTM), St r uct ur al React ion Inject ion Molding (SRIM) Resin
Inject ion Molding (RIM), Vacuum-Assist ed Resin Inject ion (VARI), Ther mal
Expansion Resin Tr ansfer Molding (TERTM), Vacuum Assist ed Resin Tr ansfer
Molding (VARTM), and Seamans Composit es Resin Inject ion Molding Pr ocess
(SCRIMP) t o name a few. All of t hese pr ocesses involvet he same basic st eps. The
basic st eps in RTM ar e:
Place preform in mold.
Close mold.
Infuse/ inject liquid resin into mold.
Cure part in mold.
Open mold.
Remove part from mold.
Clean up part.
One of t he significant pr oblems in t he use of t hese liquid molding pr ocesses is
adequat e set t ing of t he st r uct ur al pr efor m by t he liquid r esin. To pr oduce a high
qualit y composit e par t it is essent ial t hat t he r einfor cing fiber st r uct ur es be
t hr oughly impr egnat ed wit h t he r esin. The r esin or mat r ix in a composit e t r ansfer s
t he load fr om one fiber t o t he next . If t her e is no r esin pr esent , t he loads do not get
t r ansfer r ed fr om fiber t o fiber , which r esult s in an inadequat e st r uct ur e. Pr oper
infusion or impr egnat ion of t he fiber pr efor m r equir es a low viscosit y r esin and an
ext ended pot life (t wo hour s or mor e depending on t he size of t he par t ). In addit ion
it is ver y impor t ant t o pr ovide a leak pat h for all gasses t hat ar e nat ive t o t he
pr efor m as t he r esin is inject ed. Advant ages and disadvant ages for t he RTM
pr ocess ar e list ed below.
Schemat ics for t he r esin t r ansfer molding pr ocess and t he r esin infusion
pr ocess ar e shown in t he following figur es. Not e in t he RTM pr ocess t hat a pump is
used t o for ce t he r esin int o t he mold and a pr ess is used t o hold t he mold closed. It
may be advant ageous t o use pumps t o for ce t he r esin int o t he mold. However , high
r esin flowr at es may cause t he pr efor m t o be dislocat ed fr om t he desir ed posit ion.
Resi n Tr a n sfer Mold i n g
Ver y lar ge and complex shapes can
be made efficient ly and
inexpensively.
The mold design is cr it ical and r equir es
gr eat skill
Pr oduct ion t imes ar e much shor t er
t han lay-up.
Pr oper t ies ar e equivalent t o mat ched-die
molding (assuming pr oper fiber wet -out ) but
ar e not gener ally as good as wit h vacuum
bagging, filament winding, or Pult r usion.
Clamping pr essur e is low compar ed
t o mat ched-die molding.
Cont r ol of r esin unifor mit y is difficult .
Radii and edges t end t o be r esin r ich.
Sur face definit ion is super ior t o
lay-up.
Reinfor cement movement dur ing r esin
inject ion is somet imes a pr oblem.
Inser t s and special r einfor cement s
can be added easily.
The sill level r equir ed for t he
oper at or is low.
Many mold mat er ials can be used.
Par t s can be made wit h bet t er
r epr oducibilit y t hat wit h lay-up.
Wor ker s ar e not exposed t o chemicals
and vapor s as wit h lay-up.


Schemat ic of t he Resin Tr ansfer Molding Pr ocess.

Schemat ic of t he Resin Infusion Pr ocess.
Automated Spray-up
The aut omat ed spr ay-up pr ocesses ar e simply an aut omat ion of t he manual
spr ay-up pr ocesses. In some ways t he pr ocess is r elat ed t o t he aut omat ed paint ing
pr ocesses used in indust r ies such as t he aut omot ive indust r y. In t his applicat ion a
r obot ic ar m is pr ogr ammed t o spr ay chopped r einfor cement and r esin int o a mold.
A schemat ic of t he aut omat ed spr ay-up pr ocess is shown in t he following figur e.
The var ious let t er s in t he figur e designat e component s of t he spr ay-up machine.

Schemat ic of an aut omat ed spr ay-up machine.
HAZARDS
The hazar ds associat ed wit h t he pr oduct ion and fabr icat ion of composit e
mat er ials is higher t han in t he pr oduct ion of par t s fr om convent ional mat er ials.
Some of t he mor e exot ic convent ional mat er ials, such as t it anium, magnesium, and
ber elium, have significant healt hazar ds associat ed wit h t heir pr oduct ion and/or
fabr icat ion pr ocesses. Composit e mat er ials in gener al ar e pr oduced fr om or ganic
chemical compounds t hat in t heir uncur ed st at e may pose significant healt h
hazar ds unless handled wit h gr eat car e.
HEALTH INFORMATION TERMINOLOGY
To begin t he discussion we must again define some t er ms in t he field. Fir st
of all we must define t he differ ence bet ween t oxicit y and hazar d. Toxicity is an
inher ent har mful effect of a chemical. It is a physical pr oper t y of t he chemical.
Hazard is cont r olled by exposur e. Exposur e t o a t oxic chemical r equir ed for a
hazar d t o exist . A chemical wit h Acute Toxicity has a har mful effect aft er single
and/or shor t t er m exposur e.
Toxicit y is measur ed in let hal doses and let hal concent r at ions. The Mean
Lethal Dose LD50 is expr essed as a r at io in mg of chemical t o kg of body weight . It
is t he amount of chemical administ er ed by a specific r out e t hat is expect ed t o kill
50% of a gr oup of exper iment al animals. The Mean Lethal Concentration LC50 is
expr essed in mg/m
3
or par t s per million (ppm) in air . It is t he concent r at ion of
chemical in air t hat is expect ed t o kill 50% of a gr oup of exper iment al animals.
Ther e ar e for some chemicals levels below which t her e is no obser vable effect . This
level is defined as t he No Obser vable Effect Level, NOEL.
The t oxicit y of a chemical is fur t her char act er ized by t he local effect s it
causes. These effect s include:
Irritation
Localized r eact ion r esult ing fr om eit her single or mult iple exposur es t o
a physical or chemical ent it y at t he same sit e.
Corrosion
Tissue dest r uct ion in such a way t hat nor mal healing is not possible.
S ensitization
Aller gic r eact ion t o a subst ance t hat develops upon r epeat ed exposur e.
Chronic Toxicity
Char act er ized by adver se healt h effect s in an animal or per son, which
has been caused by exposur e t o a subst ance of over a significant
por t ion of t hat animals or per sons life, or by long-t er m effect s
r esult ing fr om a single or a few doses.
Two ot her healt h t er ms t hat ar e used t o descr ibe t he t oxicit y of chemicals ar e
used commonly t oday but have specific definit ions in t he healt h field. The fir st is
carcinogenicity. This is t he abilit y of a subst ance t o cause t umor s. Long t er m
t est ing r equir ed t o det er mine if a subst ance is car cinogenic. The r esult s of t hese
t est s ar e conclusive. The second is mutagenicity. This is t he abilit y of subst ance t o
cause changes in t he genet ic mat er ials of cells. Shor t t er m t est ing can be used t o
det er mine if a subst ance is mut agenic. The r esult s of t hese shor t t er m t est s ar e
speculat ive (non-conclusive).
To minimize t he hazar ds associat ed wit h wor king wit h t oxic subst ances
exposure limits ar e defined. Exposur e limit s t hat ar e defined in t er ms of Thr eshold
Limit Values (TLV). TLVs assume t hat t he exposed populat ion is composed of
nor mal, healt hy adult s, and does not addr ess aggr avat ion of pr e-exist ing condit ions
of illnesses. These limit s ar e not fine lines bet ween safe and danger ous
concent r at ions and should not be used by anyone unt r ained in t he discipline of
indust r ial hygiene. Four impor t ant TLVs ar e:
Threshold Limit Value Time Weighted Average (TLV-TWA)
The t ime weight ed aver age for a nor mal 8 hour wor kday and 40 hour
wor k week, t o which near ly all wor ker s may be exposed, day aft er day
wit hout adver se effect .
Threshold Limit Value S hort Term Exposure Limit (TLV-S TEL)
The concent r at ion t o which wor ker s can be exposed cont inuously for a
shor t per iod of t ime (15 minut es) wit hout suffer ing fr om (1) ir r it at ion,
(2) chr onic or ir r ever sible t issue damage, or (3) nar cosis of sufficient
degr ee t o incr ease t he likelihood of accident al injur y, impair
self-r escue, or mat er ially r educe wor k efficiency, and pr ovided t hat t he
daily TLV-TWA is not exceeded.
Threshold Limit Value Ceiling (TLV-C)
The concent r at ion t hat should not be exceeded dur ing any par t of t he
wor kday.
Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL)
PELs ar e legal binding air bor ne exposur e limit s, which ar e issued by
t he Occupat ional Safet y and Healt h Administ r at ion (OSHA).
Pr oper indust r ial hygiene is essent ial t o minimize t he hazar ds of wor king
wit h t oxic subst ances and t o ensur e t hat t he TLVs ar e not exceeded. Pr oper
indust r ial hygiene r equir es cont r olling t he r out es of exposur e t o t he t oxic
subst ances. Rout es of cont act include:
S kin and Eye Contact
At r isk t hr ough skin and eye cont act ar e: Hands, Lower Ar ms, and
Face. Cont act wit h liquids, gases, vapor s, or par t iculat es should be
minimized t o r educe t he r isk of cont act .
Inhalation
Inhalat ion can be a significant r out e of exposur e t o t oxic subst ances in
composit e fabr icat ion. Solvent s and ot her volat iles may be r eleased
fr om t he r esin syst ems dur ing t he manufact ur ing and cur ing of
composit es. Fur t her , dust s may be gener at ed in t he machining of
cur ed composit e mat er ials.
Ingestion
Ingest ion is not t ypically not a major pr oblem in t he fabr icat ion of
composit e mat er ials pr ovided t hat t her e is sufficient cont r ol.
Pr oper indust r ial hygiene r equir es cont r ol of t he pr ocesses in five ar eas:
Administ r at ive, Engineer ing, Oper at ions/Pr ocess, Safet y, and per sonal.
Administ r at ive Cont r ols include pr oper : handling of mat er ials, t r aining, isolat ion of
oper at ions, per sonal pr ot ect ive equipment , per sonal hygiene, war nings and labels,
housekeeping, dispensing and st or age of chemicals, and emer gency inst r uct ions.
The Engineer ing Cont r ols include pr oper : plant layout , design and use of
equipment , and exhaust vent ilat ion. Oper at ions/Pr ocess Cont r ols include pr oper :
mixing of r esins (per sonal pr ot ect ive equipment as appr opr iat e, and specific mixing
inst r uct ions -- available and followed), cur ing oper at ions (use pr oduct specific cur e
cycle), and handling of cur ed r esin syst ems (as appr opr iat e). Safet y Cont r ols ar e as
appr opr iat e. Per sonal Cont r ols include pr oper t r aining of all per sonnel and a
commit ment by all per sonnel t o maint ain a safe, hazar d fr ee wor kplace. This
includes a commit ment by employer s t o effect ively inst r uct t he employees on sit e
hazar ds, war ning labels, and mat er ial safet y dat a sheet s. Fur t her , management
and employee ar e r esponsible for knowing about hazar ds and t aking measur es for
minimizing exposur e.
TOXICOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPONENTS
The following sect ion list s some of t he t oxicological pr oper t ies of component s
of composit e mat er ials. The infor mat ion pr esent ed below is gener ic and fur t her
specific infor mat ion should be obt ained r egar ding t he specific compounds wit h
which you ar e dealing.
Epoxy Resins
Epoxy r esins ar e always used wit h cur ing agent s and commonly wit h a
ser ies of ot her addit ives. Gener ally, mor e demanding handling
pr ocedur es and cont r ols ar e r ecommended for t he cur ing agent or ot her
addit ives. Epoxies ar e pr imar y skin and mucous membr ane ir r it ant s.
Some epoxies have sensit izing effect s.
Ha r d en i n g a n d Cu r i n g Agen t s
Aromatic Amine Hardeners
These har dener s have slight ir r it at ing effect on skin and mucous
membr anes. They have been shown t o cause damage t o liver and
may decr ease abilit y of blood t o t r anspor t oxygen t o t issues.
Exposur e should be minimized or avoided.
Aliphatic and Cycloaliphatic Amine Hardeners
These har dener s ar e st r ong bases. It is a sever ir r it ant and is
cor r osive. Exposur e should be avoided.
Polyaminoamide Hardeners
This har dener pr oduces mild ir r it at ion of skin and mucous
membr anes. It may cause sensit izat ion. Exposur e should be
minimized or avoided.
Amide Hardeners
This har dener has a slight ir r it ant effect . Avoid inhaling dust .
Anhydride Curing Agents
This har dener is a sever eye ir r it ant and a st r ong skin ir r it ant .
Exposur e should be minimized or avoided.
P olyu r et h a n e Resi n s
Isocyanates
Most commer cial isocyanat es ar e highly t oxic due t o skin and
r espir at or y sensit izat ion, or skin absor pt ion and syst emic t oxicit y.
They pr oduce st r ong ir r it at ion of skin and mucous membr anes of
eyes and r espir at or y t r act . Ext r eme car e is necessar y! Good
vent ilat ion is r equir ed!
Toluene diisocyanate (TDI)
Toluene is a mut agen. TLVs for t oluene ar e: TLV-TWA of 0.005
ppm and TLV-STEL of 0.02 ppm. Toluene has no odor below TLV
levels. At t his t ime t her e is no car cinogenic dat a. It is, however ,
classified as pot ent ially car cinogenic.
Polyols
These ar e cur e agent s. At t his t ime no par t icular healt h hazar d is
indicat ed.
Phenolic and Amino Resins
Phenol-Formaldehyde Resins
These r esins have low hazar d levels. Phenol and for maldehyde
may be absor bed t hr ough skin. Good vent ilat ion is r ecommended
and skin sensit izat ion is possible.
Urea- and Melamine-Formaldehyde Resins
These r esins have acut e t oxicit y similar t o t he phenol-for maldehyde
r esins. Skin sensit izat ion is possible.
Bismaleimides
No ext ensive st udies have been per for med on bismaleimides at t his
t ime. They may cause skin ir r it at ion or sensit izat ion. Dust or vapor s
may ir r it at e eyes, nose, and t hr oat .
Thermoplastics
Gener ally t her moplast ics ar e not consider ed har mful t o wor ker s
healt h. Skin ir r it at ion is not obser ved and no t oxic effect s ar e known
t o be associat ed wit h inhalat ion of dust s. Bur ns may pr esent sever
hazar d wit h t her moplast ics.
S tyrene Monomer
St yr ene vapor s can cause eye ir r it at ion. The liquid will cause eye,
skin, and mucous membr ane ir r it at ion. St yr ene has syst emic effect s
on cent r al ner vous syst em, liver , and kidneys have been obser ved. It
is possibly car cinogenic t o humans.
Reinforcing Materials
Most r einfor cing mat er ials in and of t hemselves ar e non-t oxic.
However , inhalat ion of filler may be det r iment al t o healt h. Inhalat ion
may pr oduce effect s similar t o asbest osis.
Carbon and Graphite Fibers
Thr eshold limit s have been est ablished for car bon and gr aphit e
fiber s. The limit s ar e: (TLV-TWA) 10mg/m
3
(OSHA) and 3
fiber s/cm
3
(U. S. Navy).
Aramid Fibers
The exposur e limit (TLV-TWA) is set by manufact ur er s at 5
fiber s/cm
3
. No appar ent effect s fr om inhalat ion ar e obser ved.
Fiber Glass
The exposur e limit (TLV-TWA) for fibr ous glass is 10mg/m
3
.
NIOSH r ecommends 3 fiber s/ cm
3
. Exposur e may cause
mechanical ir r it at ion of eyes, nose, and t hr oat . It is classified as
possible human car cinogen.
Solven t s
Cont act wit h most or ganic solvent s causes dr ying and defat t ing of skin
and der mat it is. Some solvent s ar e dir ect ly absor bed t hr ough int act
skin; absor pt ion is enhanced if skin abr aded or ir r it at ed. An
addit ional concer n is t he abilit y of a solvent t o car r y ot her subst ances
t hough skin wit h it .
Acetone
Acet one is a common labor at or y solvent . It was placed on t he
hazar dous list . However , it has been mor e r ecent ly r emoved.
The t hr eshold limit s ar e: a TLV-TWA of 750ppm and a TLV-
STEL of 1000ppm.
Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)
In addit ion t o being a solvent , MEK is also used as an
acceler at or for Gel-coat . It causes eye, nose, and t hr oat
ir r it at ion. The t hr eshold limit s ar e: a TLV-TWA of 200 ppm and
a TLV-STEL = 300 ppm.

LAMI NA MECHANI CS
PRELI MI NARI ES
A lamina is a flat or near ly flat t hin layer of mat er ial. In t his applicat ion t he
mat er ial is a composit e mat er ial eit her t ape or clot h. In pr act ical engineer ing
applicat ions t he lamina is t he fundament al building block of t he st r uct ur e. To
under st and t he mechanics of laminat ed st r uct ur es it is necessar y t o under st and t he
mechanics of t he individual lamina.
NOTATION
Recall fr om solid mechanics t hat t her e ar e six unique st r esses at each point
in a body. The dr awing in Figur e 1 shows t he nine st r esses act ing on t he faces of
an infinit esimal cube at t he point in quest ion. The st r esses, , shown ar e given
wit h t wo indices, t he fir st index indicat es t he dir ect ion of t he nor mal t o t he sur face
on which t he st r ess act s and t he second index indicat es t he dir ect ion of t he st r ess
component . This is indicial or t ensor ial not at ion,
ij
, wher e t he indices, i and j
r ange for m 1 t o 3.
The nine st r esses shown in Figur e 1 r educe t o six unique st r esses as a r esult
of t he applicat ion of t he pr inciple of conser vat ion of angular moment um and
assumpt ions r egar ding t he abilit y of t he mat er ial t o suppor t an int er nal couple.
The consequence is t hat t he shear st r ess appear in pair s,
21 12
,
31 13
, and
32 23
, or
ji ij
.
x
1

x
3

x
2

11

12

22

23

33

13

21

31

32

Figur e 1. St r esses at a point .
LAMINA MECHANICS
Compact or cont r act ed not at ion is an alt er nat e met hod for ident ifying t he six
unique st r esses at a point . In compact not at ion a single index is used t o ident ify
t he individual st r ess. The r elat ionship bet ween t he st r ess t er ms in t ensor ial
not at ion and compact not at ion is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Relat ionship Bet ween St r ess Ter ms Expr essed
In Tensor ial Not at ion And Compact Not at ion.
Tensor ial Not at ion Compact Not at ion
11

1
22

2

33

3

23

4

13

5

12

6

COORDINATE SYSTEMS
In analysis of t he mechanics of a composit e lamina t her e ar e four differ ent
coor dinat e syst ems t hat may need t o be consider ed. They ar e:
Pr incipal Mat er ial Dir ect ions
St r uct ur al Dir ect ions
Pr incipal St r ess Dir ect ions
Pr incipal St r ain Dir ect ions
The pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions ar e defined fr om symmet r ies of t he mat er ial. For
a filament ar y mat er ial or clot h t he fir st and second pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions
ar e defined by t he pr imar y fiber dir ect ion. The t hir d dir ect ion is t aken
per pendicular t o t he lamina. The st r uct ur al dir ect ions ar e t hose t hat ar e defined by
t he par t icular applicat ion of t he composit e mat er ial. The pr incipal st r ess and
pr incipal st r ain dir ect ions ar e calculat ed fr om t he loading and t he associat ed
mat er ial behavior . To dist inguish bet ween t hese t er ms t he following convent ion
will be used:
Pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ion st r esses and st r ains ar e indicat ed by
numer ical subscr ipt s, i. e., 1, 2, ..., and 6, as not ed above.
St r uct ur al dir ect ion st r esses and st r ains ar e indicat ed by let t er
subscr ipt s, i. e., x, y, z, s. This not at ion scheme is adapt ed fr om J ones, and
Tsai and Hahn. In t his applicat ion t he subscr ipt s, x, y, and z, indicat e
nor mal st r esses or st r ains in t he cor r esponding dir ect ion and s indicat es
LAMINA MECHANICS
t he in-plane, xy, shear st r ess or st r ain. The out -of-plane st r esses ar e zer o
as a r esult of t he plane st r ess assumpt ion.
Pr incipal st r ess dir ect ion st r esses and st r ains ar e indicat ed by upper -case
Roman numer al subscr ipt s, i. e., I, II, and III.
Pr incipal st r ain dir ect ion st r esses and st r ains ar e indicat ed by a
super scr ipt , i. e.,
, and upper -case Roman numer al subscr ipt s, i. e., I, II,

and III.
This syst em is r elat ively common wit hin t he indust r y. However , you should pay
car eful at t ent ion t o t he convent ion used by any soft war e package in use or when
dealing wit h ot her or ganizat ions.
TRANSFORMATION OF STRESSES FROM ONE COORDINATE SYSTEM TO
ANOTHER
In analysis of t he mechanics of a composit e lamina it is necessar y t o
t r ansfor m t he st r esses fr om one coor dinat e syst em t o anot her . In t his pr ocess it is
impor t ant t o define t he sense of t he coor dinat e r ot at ion. A posit ive coor dinat e
r ot at ion angle is defined as posit ive in t he posit ive z-dir ect ion. Figur e 2 shows t he
r elat ionship bet ween t he st r uct ur al axes and t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions of a
lamina. In t his figur e, t he posit ive angle, , is shown as a count er clockwise r ot at ion
about t he z-axis.
It is easily shown and well document ed in numer ous solid mechanics t ext s
t hat t he st r esses in t he st r uct ur al dir ect ions ar e t r ansfor med t o t he pr incipal
mat er ial dir ect ions by:
Figur e 2. Relat ionship bet ween t he st r uct ur al coor dinat e syst em
and t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions.
x
y
x
2

x
1

x
3
= z
+
LAMINA MECHANICS
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
n m mn mn
mn m n
mn n m
2 2
2 2
2 2
6
2
1
2
2
, 1
wher e cos m and sin n .
STRAIN
For t he analysis of most common engineer ing st r uct ur es t he defor mat ion is
measur ed in t er ms of t he change in lengt h t o t he or iginal lengt h and is t er med
st r ain. The t ensor ial definit ion of st r ain,
ij
, is:
,
_

i
j
j
i
ij
x
u
x
u
2
1
, 2
wher e
i
u ar e t he displacement s in t he it h coor dinat e dir ect ion. Not e t hat t her e ar e
only six unique st r ains since t he st r ain t ensor is symmet r ic, i. e.,
ji ij
.
Engineer ing st r ain is an alt er nat ive measur e of t he defor mat ion. The definit ion of
engineer ing st r ain,
ij
e , is:
'
j i
x
u
x
u
j i
x
u
e
i
j
j
i
j
i
ij
. 3
The shear st r ains, i. e., j i e
ij
, ar e also commonly pr esent ed as
ij
.
As wit h st r ess, compact or cont r act ed not at ion is an alt er nat e met hod for
ident ifying t he six unique st r ains. In compact not at ion a single index is used t o
ident ify t he individual st r ess. The r elat ionship bet ween t ensor ial st r ain,
engineer ing st r ain, and engineer ing st r ain expr essed in compact not at ion is shown
in Table 2.
LAMINA MECHANICS
TRANSFORMATION OF STRAINS FROM ONE COORDINATE SYSTEM TO
ANOTHER
The differ ences in t he definit ion of t ensor ial and engineer ing st r ains, t hough
seemingly small, ar e significant . The nor mal st r ains in bot h definit ions ar e equal.
However , t he shear st r ains differ by a fact or of
2
1
. The consequence of t his
differ ence is t hat engineer ing st r ains ar e not dir ect ly t r ansfor mable fr om one
coor dinat e syst em t o anot her ; t hey must fir st be conver t ed t o t ensor ial st r ains
befor e t he coor dinat e t r ansfor mat ion and t hen conver t ed back t o engineer ing st r ain.
The end r esult is t hat t he t r ansfor mat ion of t he st r ains measur ed along t he
st r uct ur al dir ect ions int o t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions is
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
n m mn mn
mn m n
mn n m
2 2
2 2
2 2
6
2
1
2 2
, 4
wher e cos m and sin n , as defined pr eviously.
PLANE STRESS ASSUMPTION
Ther e ar e t wo assumpt ions t hat ar e commonly made in t he analysis of solids
and st r uct ur es t o simplify t he gover ning syst em of equat ions. They ar e:
Plane St r ess, and
Table 2. Relat ionship Bet ween Tensor ial St r ain,
Engineer ing St r ain, And Engineer ing St r ain Expr essed
In Compact Not at ion.
Tensor ial St r ain Engineer ing St r ain
Engineer ing St r ain
Expr essed in Compact
Not at ion
11

11
e
1

22

22
e
2

33

33
e
3

23
2
1

23 23
e
4

13
2
1

13 13
e
5

12
2
1

12 12
e
6

LAMINA MECHANICS
Plane St r ain.
The assumpt ion of plane st r esses is t hat t he out -of-plane st r esses ar e much much
less t han t he in-plane st r esses. In t his applicat ion assume t hat t he out -of-plane
dir ect ion is t he z- or x
3
-dir ect ion, t hen 0
23 13 33
. The plane st r ess
assumpt ion is commonly applied t o st r uct ur es t hat ar e ver y t hin in one dir ect ion,
such as a composit e lamina. The assumpt ion of plane st r ain is t hat t he out -of-plane
st r ains ar e zer o, or much much less t han t he in-plane st r esses. If t he out -of-plane
dir ect ion is t he z- or x
3
-dir ect ion, t hen 0
23 13 33
. The plane st r ain
assumpt ion is commonly applied t o st r uct ur es t hat ar e ver y t hick in t he out -of-
plane dir ect ion. These assumpt ions have similar impact on t he gover ning syst em of
equat ions, but t hey ar e ver y differ ent assumpt ions and t hey have dist inct ly
differ ent meanings. The plane st r ess assumpt ion is used in t he analysis of
composit e lamina.
CONSTI TUTI VE RELATI ONS
Hooke or iginally post ulat ed a linear r elat ionship bet ween st r ess and st r ain,
i. e.,
E ,
wher e E is t he const ant of pr opor t ionalit y. This r elat ionship has been gener alized
t o t he full t hr ee dimensional st r ess st at e at a point . The gener alized for m of
Hookes Law in t er ms of t ensor ial st r esses and st r ains is:

3
1
3
1 k l
kl ijkl ij
C ,
wher e
ijkl
C is t he st iffness t ensor . The st iffness t ensor is a four t h or der t ensor
which r epr esent s, 3
4
or 81 independent const ant s. When t he symmet r ies of t he
st r ess and st r ain t ensor s, and assumpt ions about t he int er nal st r ain ener gy ar e
applied t hese 81 independent const ant s ar e r educed t o 21 and t he Gener alized
Hookes Law can be expr essed as a mat r ix expr ession. It is:
{ } [ ]{ } C ,
wher e { } is t he 6 1 st r ess vect or , { } is t he 6 1 st r ain vect or , and [ ] C is t he
symmet r ic 6 6 st iffness mat r ix. If all of t he t er ms ar e shown and compact not at ion
is used, t he gener al const it ut ive r elat ion for any mat er ial is:
LAMINA MECHANICS
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
66 56 46 36 26 16
56 55 45 35 25 15
46 45 44 34 24 14
36 35 34 33 23 13
26 25 24 23 22 12
16 15 14 13 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
C C C C C C
C C C C C C
C C C C C C
C C C C C C
C C C C C C
C C C C C C
. 5
Alt er nat ely, t he const it ut ive r elat ion may be wr it t en in t he compliance for m
wher e st r ains ar e expr essed in t er ms of st r esses. This for m is:
{ } [ ]{ } S ,
wher e [ ] S is t he symmet r ic 6 6 compliance mat r ix, which is t he inver se of t he
st iffness mat r ix. If all of t he t er ms ar e shown and compact not at ion is used, t he
gener al compliance for m of t he const it ut ive r elat ion for any mat er ial is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
66 56 46 36 26 16
56 55 45 35 25 15
46 45 44 34 24 14
36 35 34 33 23 13
26 25 24 23 22 12
16 15 14 13 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
S S S S S S
S S S S S S
S S S S S S
S S S S S S
S S S S S S
S S S S S S
. 6
When obser vat ions of or assumpt ions about mat er ial behavior ar e made
conclusions may be made r egar ding physical planes of symmet r y in t he mat er ial
and consequent ly r educe t he number of independent t er ms in t he st iffness mat r ix.
ANISOTROPIC MATERIALS
Mat er ials which display no axes of symmet r y in r esponse t o mechanical loads
ar e defined as anisot r opic, lit er ally not isot r opic. These mat er ials have 21
independent mat er ial const ant s as shown in t he equat ions above. For t he analyst
t his is t he wor st possible sit uat ion. The implicat ions of a full st iffness mat r ix is
t hat a nor mal st r ain will pr oduce nor mal and shear st r esses and, conver sely, t hat
shear st r ains will pr oduce shear and nor mal st r esses.
ORTHOTROPIC MATERIALS
Mat er ials which display t hr ee per pendicular axes of symmet r y in r esponse t o
mechanical loads ar e defined as or t hot r opic. These mat er ials have 9 independent
mat er ial const ant s and t he st iffness for m of t he const it ut ive r elat ion is:
LAMINA MECHANICS
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
66
55
44
33 23 13
23 22 12
13 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
C
C
C
C C C
C C C
C C C
7
and t he compliance for m of t he const it ut ive r elat ion is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
66
55
44
33 23 13
23 22 12
13 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
S
S
S
S S S
S S S
S S S
. 8
For an or t hot r opic mat er ial it is easily shown t hr ough simple linear algebr a t hat :
[ ]
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
66
55
44
2
12 22 11 11 23 13 12 22 13 23 12
11 23 13 12
2
13 33 11 33 12 23 13
22 13 23 12 33 12 23 13
2
23 33 22
1
0 0 0 0 0
0
1
0 0 0 0
0 0
1
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
S
S
S
S S S S S S S S S S S
C
S S S
S S S
S S S
, 9
wher e
13 23 12
2
12 33
2
13 22
2
23 11 33 22 11
2 S S S S S S S S S S S S + S .
This is t he most common symmet r y found in composit e lamina, par t icular ly
filament ar y lamina. These expr essions ar e also r efer r ed t o as t he on-axis
pr oper t ies.
LAMINA MECHANICS
TRANSVERSELY ISOTROPIC MATERIALS
Mat er ials which display an infinit e number of axes of symmet r y in one plane
in r esponse t o mechanical loads ar e defined as t r ansver sely isot r opic. These
mat er ials have 5 independent mat er ial const ant s and t he const it ut ive r elat ion is:
( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
12 11 2
1
44
44
33 13 13
13 11 12
13 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
C C
C
C
C C C
C C C
C C C
10
( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
12 11
44
44
33 13 13
13 11 12
13 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
2 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
S S
S
S
S S S
S S S
S S S
. 11
ISOTROPIC MATERIALS
Mat er ials which display an infinit e number of axes of symmet r y in r esponse
t o mechanical loads ar e defined as isot r opic. These mat er ials have 2 independent
mat er ial const ant s and t he const it ut ive r elat ion is:
( )
( )
( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
12 11 2
1
12 11 2
1
12 11 2
1
11 12 12
12 11 12
12 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
C C
C C
C C
C C C
C C C
C C C
12
LAMINA MECHANICS
( )
( )
( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
12 11
12 11
12 11
11 12 12
12 11 12
12 12 11
6
5
4
3
2
1
2 0 0 0 0 0
0 2 0 0 0 0
0 0 2 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
S S
S S
S S
S S S
S S S
S S S
. 13
ENGI NEERI NG PROPERTI ES FOR ORTHOTROPI C MATERI ALS
Engineer ing pr oper t ies ar e mor e commonly used t o descr ibe t he mechanical
behavior of mat er ials t han st iffnesses or compliances. The engineer ing pr oper t ies
t hat you ar e familiar wit h ar e Youngs modulus (also known as modulus of
elast icit y, or elast ic modulus), Shear modulus (also known as modulus of r igidit y),
and Poissons r at io. For an or t hot r opic mat er ial t her e ar e t hr ee pr incipal
dir ect ions, associat ed wit h t he t hr ee dir ect ions of mat er ial symmet r y. Associat ed
wit h each of t hese dir ect ions ar e a Youngs modulus,
i
E , a shear modulus,
ij
G and a
Poissons r at io,
ij
. The pr oper t ies ar e easily shown t o be r elat ed t o t he
compliances. The r esult is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
5
4
3
2
1
12
13
23
3 2
23
1
13
3
32
2 1
12
3
31
2
21
1
6
5
4
3
2
1
1
0 0 0 0 0
0
1
0 0 0 0
0 0
1
0 0 0
0 0 0
1
0 0 0
1
0 0 0
1
G
G
G
E E E
E E E
E E E
. 14
Not e in t his expr ession t hat t her e ar e t hr ee Youngs moduli, one in each of t he
pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions, t hr ee shear moduli, one for each pr incipal mat er ial
dir ect ion pair s, and six Poissons r at ios. Because t he compliance mat r ix must be
symmet r ic, as discussed ear lier , t her e ar e only t hr ee unique Poissons r at ios. The
Poissons r at ions ar e int er r elat ed by t he expr ession:
ji
j
i
ij
E
E
. 15
LAMINA MECHANICS
Thr ough linear algebr aic manipulat ions t he st iffness mat r ix can be expr essed
in t er ms of t he nine engineer ing pr oper t ies. This r elat ionship is:
[ ]
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
+ +
+ +
+ +
12
13
23
2
2
1
2
12 2 1
2
2
1
13 12 23 1
2 1
23 12 13
2
2
1
13 12 23 1
3
2
1
2
13 3 1
3 2 1
23 13 3 12 2
2 1
23 12 13
3 2 1
23 13 3 12 2
3
2
2
2
23 3 2
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
G
G
G
E E
E E
E E
E
E E
E E
E
E E
E E
E E E
E E
E E E E E
E E
E E
E E
C
C C C
C C C
C C C
, 16
wher e
3 2
2
1
13 23 12 2 1
2
12
2
2
2
13 3 2
2
23 3 1 3 2 1
2
E E E
E E E E E E E E E E
2
C

.
PLANE STRESS ORTHOTROPI C CONSTI TUTI VE RELATI ON
The plane st r ess assumpt ion can be applied t o analysis of or t hot r opic lamina.
When t he plane st r ess assumpt ion is applied t he const it ut ive r elat ion is simplified
fr om a 6 6 mat r ix expr ession t o a 3 3 expr ession. For t he compliance expr ession
a simple st at ic condensat ion is per for med t o r educe t he syst em t o a syst em of t hr ee
equat ions. The plane st r ess compliance equat ion is:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
2
1
66
22 12
12 11
6
2
1
0 0
0
0
S
S S
S S
. 17
Not e in t his expr ession t hat t her e is no change t o t he compliances, t hat is r educed
compliance t er ms ar e t he same as t hose in t he t hr ee dimensional compliance
expr ession.
Reduct ion of t he st iffness expr ession is not as simple as t he compliance
equat ion. To simplify t he st iffness expr ession one must solve for t he out -of-plane
nor mal st r ain in t er ms of t he in-plane st r esses and st iffnesses and subst it ut e t he
r esult s back int o t he st iffness expr ession, i. e.,
LAMINA MECHANICS
{ } [ ]{ }
( )
0
0
5
4
33
2 23 1 13
3

+

C
C C
C
,
( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
33
2 23 1 13
2
1
66
55
44
33 23 13
23 22 12
13 12 11
6
2
1
0
0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0
0
0
C
C C
C
C
C
C C C
C C C
C C C
,
which gives:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
2
1
66
33
13
22
33
23
12
33
23
12
33
13
11
6
2
1
0 0
0
0
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C

This expr ession is also wr it t en as:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
6
2
1
66
22 12
12 11
6
2
1
0 0
0
0
Q
Q Q
Q Q
, 18
wher e [ ] Q is t he so-called r educed st iffness mat r ix.
REDUCED STIFFNESSES IN TERMS OF ENGINEERING PROPERTIES
The r educed st iffnesses can also be wr it t en in t er ms of t he engineer ing
pr oper t ies. This r elat ionship is:
[ ]
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
12
2
12 2 1
2 1
2
12 2 1
2 1 12
2
12 2 1
2 1 12
2
12 2 1
2
1
0 0
0
0
G
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E E
E
Q . 19
LAMINA MECHANICS
The r educed compliances ar e t he same as t he compliance t er ms.
OFF-AXI S PROPERTI ES OF ORTHOTROPI C LAMI NA
As discussed ear lier t her e ar e four coor dinat e syst ems t hat ar e used in t he
analysis of or t hot r opic lamina. The st r ess-st r ain r elat ionship in t he pr incipal
mat er ial dir ect ions is r efer r ed t o as on-axis. The behavior in t he st r uct ur al
dir ect ions is r efer r ed t o as off-axis behavior . Shown ear lier wer e t he
t r ansfor mat ions of st r ess and st r ain fr om t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions t o t he
st r uct ur al dir ect ions. Wr it ing:
{ } [ ]{ }
xy
T
12

wher e { }
12
ar e t he st r esses in t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions, { }
xy
ar e t he
st r esses in t he st r uct ur al dir ect ions, and [ ] T is t he st r ess t r ansfor mat ion mat r ix,
t hen we can wr it e t he inver se r elat ion,
{ } [ ] { }
12
1

T
xy

wher e [ ]
1
T is t he inver se of t he st r ess t r ansfor mat ion mat r ix. Not ing t hat
{ } [ ]{ }
xy
T
12
,
wher e { }
12
ar e t he st r ains in t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions, { }
xy
ar e t he st r ains
in t he st r uct ur al dir ect ions, and [ ] T is t he st r ain t r ansfor mat ion mat r ix, and
{ } [ ]{ }
12 12
Q ,
t hen we can wr it e
{ } [ ] { } [ ] [ ]{ } [ ] [ ][ ]{ } [ ]{ }
xy xy xy
Q T Q T Q T T
1
12
1
12
1
,
or
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
s
y
x
Q Q Q
Q Q Q
Q Q Q
, 20
wher e [ ] Q is t he off-axis r educed st iffness mat r ix. When t he mat r ix mult iplicat ions
ar e car r ied out t he off-axis r educed st iffnesses ar e found t o be:
LAMINA MECHANICS
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
66
12
22
11
2 2 2 2 3 3
2 2 2 2 3 3
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2
2
2
4
4 2
4 2
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m mn n m mn n m mn
n m mn n m mn mn n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
, 21
again, m and n ar e defined as befor e.
Thr ough a similar pr ocess t he off-axis compliance r elat ion can be shown t o be:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
s
y
x
S S S
S S S
S S S
, 22
wher e [ ] S is t he off-axis r educed compliance mat r ix. When t he mat r ix
mult iplicat ions ar e car r ied out t he off-axis r educed compliances ar e found t o be:
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
66
12
22
11
2 2 2 2 3 3
2 2 2 2 3 3
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2
2 2 2
8 4 4
2
2
S
S
S
S
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
S
S
S
S
S
S
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
, 23
INVARIANT PROPERTIES OF ORTHOTROPIC LAMINA
When t he power s of t he t r igonomet r ic funct ions in t he t r ansfor mat ion
equat ion for t he st iffnesses above ar e conver t ed t o t he mult iple angle for m a set of
combinat ions of t he lamina pr oper t ies ar e discover ed. These combinat ions ar e
defined as invar iant st iffness pr oper t ies of t he lamina. The invar iant s,
Q
i
U , ar e:
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
66 12 22 11 3
22 11 2
66 12 22 11 1
4 2
8
1
2
1
4 2 3 3
8
1
Q Q Q Q U
Q Q U
Q Q Q Q U
Q
Q
Q
+

+ + +
24
LAMINA MECHANICS
[ ]
[ ]
66 12 22 11 5
66 12 22 11 4
4 2
2
1
4 6
8
1
Q Q Q Q U
Q Q Q Q U
Q
Q
+ +
+ +

and t he off-axis st iffness pr oper t ies ar e r elat ed t o t he invar iant pr oper t ies by:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
3
2
2
1
2
1
5
4
1
1
1
4 sin - 2 sin 0
4 sin 2 sin 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
. 25
Similar ly, invar iant compliance pr oper t ies,
S
i
U , ar e found t o be:
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
66 12 22 11 5
66 12 22 11 4
66 12 22 11 3
22 11 2
66 12 22 11 1
2
2
1
6
8
1
2
8
1
2
1
2 3 3
8
1
S S S S U
S S S S U
S S S S U
S S U
S S S S U
S
S
S
S
S
+ +
+ +
+

+ + +
26
and t he off-axis compliances ar e r elat ed t o t he invar iant pr oper t ies by:
1
1
4
2
5
3
cos2 cos4
-cos2 cos4
1
0 -cos4
0 -4cos4
0 sin2 2sin4
0 sin2 -2sin4
S
xx
S
yy
S
xy
S
S
ss
S
xs
ys
S
U
S
U
S
U
U
S
U
U
S
S
1
1

1

1
1 ' ; ' ;
1

1

1
1
]
. 27
OFF-AXIS ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF ORTHOTROPIC LAMINA
J ust as wit h t he on-axis pr oper t ies, t he off-axis pr oper t ies can be expr essed
in t er ms off-axis engineer ing pr oper t ies. Associat ed wit h t he st r uct ur al dir ect ions
is a Youngs modulus,
y x
E E , , a shear modulus,
s
G a Poissons r at io,
xy
, and
LAMINA MECHANICS
coefficient s of mut ual influence,
y s x s s y s x , , , ,
, , , . The pr oper t ies ar e easily shown
t o be r elat ed t o t he compliances. The r esult is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
s y
y s
x
x s
s
s y
y x
xy
s
s x
x
xy
x
s
y
x
G E E
G E E
G E E
1
1
1
, ,
,
,
. 28
The coefficient s of mut ual influence, as defined by Lekhnit ski, char act er ize t he
st r et ching due t o shear , fir st kind, and t he shear ing due t o st r et ching, second kind.
Specifically, t he coefficient s of mut ual influence of t he fir st kind ar e defined as:
y x i
s
i
s i
, ,
,

and t he coefficient s of mut ual influence of t he second kind ar e defined as:
y x i
i
s
i s
, ,
,

.
Symmet r y of t he compliance mat r ix applies, t her efor e,
x
x s
s
s x
E G
, ,

.
and
y
y s
s
s y
E G
, ,

.
The off-axis engineer ing pr oper t ies can be wr it t en in t er ms of t he on-axis
engineer ing pr oper t ies. These r elat ions ar e:
4
2
2 2
1
12
12
4
1
1 2 1 1 1
n
E
n m
E G
m
E E
x
+
,
_

+ ,
4
2
2 2
1
12
12
4
1
1 2 1 1 1
m
E
n m
E G
n
E E
y
+
,
_

+ ,
LAMINA MECHANICS
( )
4 4
12
2 2
12 1
12
2 1
1 1 4 2 2
2
1
n m
G
n m
G E E E G
s
+ +
,
_
+ + ,
( )
1
]
1
,
_
+ +

2 2
12 2 1
4 4
1
12
1 1 1
n m
G E E
n m
E
E
x xy
,
1
]
1
,
_
,
_
+
2
12 1
12
2
2
12 1
12
1
,
1 2 2 1 2 2
n
G E E
m
G E E
mn E
x x s
,
1
]
1
,
_
,
_
+
2
12 1
12
2
2
12 1
12
1
,
1 2 2 1 2 2
m
G E E
n
G E E
mn E
y y s
,
wher e m and n ar e as defined befor e.
STRENGTH OF LAMI NA
TENSOR POLYNOMI AL FAI LURE CRI TERI ON
The pr inciple t hat under lies a failur e cr it er ion is t hat a funct ion of mat er ial
pr oper t ies and cur r ent load values can be defined t hat separ at es t he domain of safe
r esponse fr om t he failed domain. Figur e 3 shows a t ypical failur e sur face in t he
pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ion st r ess space. Not e t hat t he plot in t he figur e is a
t wo-dimensional slice out of t he t hr ee-dimensional failur e sur face. Also not e t hat
t he hor izont al and ver t ical scales ar e not equal. The r egion inside t he cur ve is t he
safe r egion while t he r egion out side t he sur face is failed. Ther efor e failur e is
defined t o occur on t he sur face. The funct ion t hat defines t he sur face is defined as
t he failur e cr it er ion funct ion. The funct ion may be der ived phenomenologically or
empir ically. For met als t he yield cr it er ia pr oposed by Tr esca and Henke and Von
Mises have t heor et ical basis in t he mechanics of mat er ials and ar e suppor t ed by
exper iment al evidence. The applicat ion of a failur e cr it er ion t o composit e mat er ials
is much mor e pr oblemat ic. Ther e is minimal t heor et ical basis t hat just ifies t he use
of a failur e cr it er ion. However , t her e is ample exper iment al evidence t hat t he
applicat ion of a failur e cr it er ion t o composit e mat er ials.
Current State
- 5 0
- 4 0
- 3 0
- 2 0
- 1 0
0
1 0
- 6 0 0 - 5 0 0 - 4 0 0 - 3 0 0 - 2 0 0 - 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0

1 1
kpsi

2 2

k
p
s
i
0 . 8 3 5 f =
1 . 1 7 0 R =
Figur e 3. Failur e Envelop in t he St r ess Domain.
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
The t ensor polynomial in it s most gener al for m was pr esent ed fir st by
Goldenblat ' and Knoppov as an expansion involving t he cur r ent st r ess st at e and
var ious st r engt h t ensor s. At failur e t his t ensor polynomial is expr essed as
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) L + + + +

op mn kl ij ijklmnop mn kl ij ijklmn kl ij ijkl ij ij
F F F F f 1 ,
wher e
ij
is t he st r ess t ensor expr essed as a r ank t wo t ensor wit h indices fr om 1 t o
3, and
ij
F ,
ijkl
F ,
ijklmn
F , and
ijklmnop
F ar e t he st r engt h t ensor s. Following t he st andar d
not at ion for t ensor mat hemat ics, t her e is an implicit summat ion fr om 1 t o 3 for each
r epeat ed index in t he expr ession. Fr om t his expr ession, when failur e occur s t he
polynomial expansion equals one, by definit ion.
Tsai and Wu pr esent ed t he t ensor polynomial in t he for m in which all
exponent s ar e one. They showed t hat t her e is no loss in gener alit y fr om t he for m of
Goldenblat ' and Knoppov. Thus, t he Tsai-Wu for m of t he t ensor polynomial is
( ) L + + + +
op mn kl ij ijklmnop mn kl ij ijklmn kl ij ijkl ij ij
F F F F f 1 .
Alt er nat ely, using cont r act ed or compact not at ion t he t ensor polynomial is
( ) L + + + +
l k j i ijkl k j i ijk j i ij i i
F F F F f 1 ,
wher e
i
is t he st r ess t ensor expr essed as a r ank one t ensor wit h indices fr om 1 t o
6, and
i
F ,
ij
F ,
ijk
F , and
ijkl
F ar e t he st r engt h t ensor s. Not e in t his expr ession t he
convent ion used in t ensor mat hemat ics is used wit h t he except ion t hat t he implicit
summat ion over r epeat ed indices is fr om 1 t o 6. The st r esses used in t his
expr ession may be in t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions, t he pr incipal st r ess
dir ect ions, or some st r uct ur al dir ect ion. If st r esses ot her t hat t hose fr om t he
pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions ar e used, t he st r engt h t ensor s must be t r ansfor med
appr opr iat ely. When t he t ensor polynomial, ( ) f , equals one failur e occur s. When
t he funct ion is less t han one t he lamina is not failed and conver sely when t he
funct ion is gr eat er t han one t he lamina is failed.
QUADRATI C FAI LURE CRI TERI ON
In t he or iginal development of Tsai and Wu, t he gener al t ensor polynomial
failur e cr it er ion was simplified t o a quadr at ic polynomial. If one consider s t he on-
axis, or pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ion, st r engt h behavior of t he mat er ial loaded in
plane st r ess, t he quadr at ic for m of t he t ensor polynomial is
( )
6 2 62 6 2 26 6 1 61 6 1 16 2 1 21 2 1 12
2
6 66
2
2 22
2
1 11
6 6 2 2 1 1
+ + + + +
+ + +
+ + +
F F F F F F
F F F
F F F f
,
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
or
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
6 2 62 26 6 1 61 16 2 1 21 12
2
6 66
2
2 22
2
1 11
6 6 2 2 1 1
+ + + + +
+ + +
+ + +
F F F F F F
F F F
F F F f
.
Not e t hat t he effect of t he plane st r ess assumpt ion is t o eliminat e t he t er ms
55 14 13 5 4 3
, , , , , F F F F F F K , t hus r educing t he expr ession t o t he for m shown. Now
assume, wit hout loss of gener alit y, t hat t he st r engt h t ensor is a symmet r ic t ensor .
Thus,
ji ij
F F . Ther efor e, t he failur e cr it er ion can be expr essed as
( )
6 2 26 6 1 16 2 1 12
2
6 66
2
2 22
2
1 11
6 6 2 2 1 1
2 2 2 + + + + +
+ + +
F F F F F F
F F F f
.
Consider t wo st r ess st at es ( )
T
6 2 1
, , , and ( )
T
6 2 1
, , t hat ar e bot h found t o
cause failur e. Thus,
6 2 26 6 1 16 2 1 12
2
6 66
2
2 22
2
1 11
6 6 2 2 1 1
2 2 2
1
+ + + + +
+ + +
F F F F F F
F F F

and
6 2 26 6 1 16 2 1 12
2
6 66
2
2 22
2
1 11
6 6 2 2 1 1
2 2 2
1
+ + +
+ +
F F F F F F
F F F
.
Taking t he differ ence bet ween t hese equat ions one finds t hat
6 2 26 6 1 16 6 6
4 4 2 0 F F F ,
or
( )
6 2 26 1 16 6
2 2 2 0 F F F .
In t hese load st at es 0
6
by definit ion, t hus, t he t er m in t he br acket s,
2 26 1 16 6
2 2 F F F , must be zer o. However , t he applied st r esses,
2 1
, , ar e
independent var iables, t hat is t his expr ession must hold t r ue for all st r ess st at es.
Ther efor e, t his expr ession can be zer o if and only if, 0
26 16 6
F F F . Consequent ly,
t he quadr at ic for m of t he t ensor polynomial failur e cr it er ion simplifies t o:
( )
2 1 12
2
6 66
2
2 22
2
1 11 2 2 1 1
2 + + + + + F F F F F F f .
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
The element s of t he st r engt h t ensor s can be r elat ed t o t he st r engt hs
measur ed in st andar d t ensile t est s. These r elat ions yield:
2 66 22 11 2 1
1
and ,
1
,
1
,
1 1
,
1 1
S
F
Y Y
F
X X
F
Y Y
F
X X
F
C T C T C T C T
,
wher e
T
X and
T
Y ar e t he t ensile st r engt hs in t he fir st and second pr incipal
mat er ial dir ect ions, r espect ively,
C
X and
C
Y ar e t he compr essive st r engt hs in t he
fir st and second pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions, r espect ively, and S is t he pr incipal
mat er ial dir ect ion shear st r engt h. Unfor t unat ely, t he int er act ion t er m,
12
F , cannot
be det er mined fr om a simple uniaxial t ensile t est . Var ious int er act ion t er ms ar e
pr esent ed in t he lit er at ur e. In t he Tsai-Hill failur e cr it er ion, t he t ensile and
compr essive st r engt hs ar e assumed t o be equal and t he int er act ion t er m is given as
2
2
1
X
. Hahn pr esent ed t he int er act ion t er m for unequal t ensile and compr essive
st r engt hs as
C T C T
Y Y X X 2
1
. Fundament al const r aint s on t he for m of t he quadr at ic
t ensor polynomial r equir e t hat
2
12 22 11
F F F . Hahns int er act ion t er m sat isfies t his
r equir ement .
The plot shown in Figur e 3 is a plot of a quadr at ic t ensor polynomial failur e
cr it er ion. Not e t he char act er ist ically ellipsoidal shape of t he failur e sur face, t his is
dir ect ly r elat ed t o t he quadr at ic for m of t he failur e funct ion. Fur t her not e, t hat t he
failur e sur face is concave, t his also is dir ect ly r elat ed t o t he for m of t he failur e
funct ion. In t hr ee-dimensional st r ess space t he failur e sur face r esembles a cigar or
t hin r ugby ball (a foot ball is t oo point ed at t he ends). The funct ion value shown in
t he figur e r epr esent s t he cr it er ion value at t he cur r ent st r ess point .
QUADRATIC TENSOR POLYNOMIAL TRANSFORMATION TO OFF-AXIS FORM
Not ing t hat a st r ess st at e can be t r ansfor med fr om one coor dinat e syst em t o
anot her t hr ough t he or t hogonal t r ansfor mat ion
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
n m mn mn
mn m n
mn n m
2 2
2 2
2 2
6
2
1
2
2
,
wher e cos m and sin n , t he r esult of t he t ensor polynomial failur e cr it er ion
must be invar iant wit h r espect t o coor dinat e t r ansfor mat ion. Anot her way t o st at e
t his pr inciple is: any st r ess st at e t hat causes failur e in one coor dinat e syst em must
also cause failur e in any ot her st r ess st at e obt ained t hr ough simple coor dinat e
syst em r ot at ion. Subst it ut ing st r uct ur al dir ect ion st r esses for t he pr incipal
mat er ial dir ect ion st r esses in t he quadr at ic t ensor polynomial yields:
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
( )
s y ys s x xs y x xy s ss y yy x xx
s s y y x x
F F F F F F
F F F f
+ + + + +
+ + +
2 2 2
2 2 2
,
wher e
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
2
1 2 2
2 2
2 2
F
F
mn mn
m n
n m
F
F
F
s
y
x

and
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
66
12
22
11
2 2 2 2 3 3
2 2 2 2 3 3
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2
2 2 2
8 4 4
2
2
F
F
F
F
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
F
F
F
F
F
F
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
,
As wit h t he st iffness pr oper t ies t he st r engt h t ensor s can be expr essed in
t er ms of invar iant pr oper t ies. For t he st r engt h t ensor s t he invar iant s ar e
[ ]
[ ]
2 1 2
2 1 1
2
1
2
1
F F u
F F u
f
f

+

[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
66 12 22 11 5
66 12 22 11 4
66 12 22 11 3
22 11 2
66 12 22 11 1
2
2
1
6
8
1
2
8
1
2
1
2 3 3
8
1
F F F F U
F F F F U
F F F F U
F F U
F F F F U
f
f
f
f
f
+ +
+ +
+

+ + +
.
The st r engt h t ensor s in t er ms of t he st r engt h invar iant s ar e:
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
f
f
s
y
x
u
u
F
F
F
2
1
2 sin 2 0
2 cos 1
2 cos 1

'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
f
f
f
f
f
f
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
F
F
F
F
F
F
3
2
5
4
1
1
1
4 sin 2 - 2 sin 0
4 sin 2 2 sin 0
4 cos 4 - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
.
It should be not ed her e t hat t he st r esses in t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions ar e not
invar iant wit h r espect t o r ot at ion. Ther efor e, t he failur e cr it er ion for mulat ed in
t er ms of t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ion st r esses is not necessar ily invar iant wit h
r espect t o coor dinat e r ot at ion, a pr imar y r equir ement for a failur e cr it er ion.
However , Bower and Koedam developed a pr oof t o est ablish t hat t he failur e
cr it er ion for mulat ed in t er ms of t he pr incipal st r esses is invar iant . Ther efor e, t he
analyst is fr ee t o use whichever for mulat ion is most convenient , pr ovided of cour se
t he appr opr iat e applicat ion of t he r equir ed t r ansfor mat ions.
STRAIN FORMULATION OF THE TENSOR POLYNOMIAL FAILURE CRITERION
Given t he Tsai-Wu second or der for m of t he t ensor polynomial failur e
cr it er ion in t er ms of st r ess and t he plane st r ess const it ut ive r elat ion
j ij i
Q ,
wher e t he
ij
Q ar e t he so-called r educed st iffnesses, wit h 6 ,& 2 , 1 , j i , t he cr it er ion,
( ) g , can be expr essed in t er ms of st r ain such t hat
( )
l k jl ik ij j ij i
Q Q F Q F g + 1
or
( )
j i ij i i
G G g + 1 ,
wher e
ij i j
Q F G and
jl ik ij kl
Q Q F G . Given a st at e of plane st r ess, t he failur e
cr it er ion is r ewr it t en as:
( )
2 1 12
2
6 66
2
2 22
2
1 11 2 2 1 1
2 1 + + + + + G G G G G G g .
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
The same ar gument s ar e used in t his development r egar ding symmet r y wit h
r espect t o shear as in t he pr eceding development . In t his expr ession t he coefficient s
ar e:
( )
22 2 12 1 2
12 2 11 1 1
2
66 66 66
22 12 22
2
12 22 11 12 12 11 11 12
2
22 22 22 12 12
2
12 11 22
2
12 22 12 11 12
2
11 11 11
2
2
Q F Q F G
Q F Q F G
Q F G
Q Q F Q Q Q F Q Q F G
Q F Q Q F Q F G
Q F Q Q F Q F G
+
+
+ + +
+ +
+ +
.
OFF-AXIS FORM OF THE STRAIN FORMULATION OF THE TENSOR POLYNOMIAL
FAILURE CRITERION
As wit h t he pr evious development , not e t hat a st r ain st at e can be
t r ansfor med fr om one coor dinat e syst em t o anot her t hr ough t he or t hogonal
t r ansfor mat ion:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
n m mn mn
mn m n
mn n m
2 2
2 2
2 2
6
2
1
2 2
,
wher e m and n ar e as defined pr eviously. Subst it ut ing st r uct ur al dir ect ion st r ains
for t he pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ion st r ains in t he st r ain for m of t he quadr at ic t ensor
polynomial yields:
( )
s s y y x x
G G G G G G
G G G g
+ + + + +
+ + +
2 2 2
2 2 2
,
wher e
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
2
1 2 2
2 2
G
G
mn mn
m n
n m
G
G
G
s
y
x

and
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
66
12
22
11
2 2 2 2 3 3
2 2 2 2 3 3
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2
2
2
4
4 2
4 2
G
G
G
G
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
G
G
G
G
G
G
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
,
As wit h t he st iffness pr oper t ies and st r engt h t ensor s can be expr essed in
t er ms of invar iant pr oper t ies. For t he st r engt h t ensor s t he invar iant s ar e
[ ]
[ ]
2 1 2
2 1 1
2
1
2
1
G G u
G G u
g
g

+

[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
66 12 22 11 5
66 12 22 11 4
66 12 22 11 3
22 11 2
66 12 22 11 1
4 2
2
1
4 6
8
1
4 2
8
1
2
1
4 2 3 3
8
1
G G G G U
G G G G U
G G G G U
G G U
G G G G U
g
g
g
g
g
+ +
+ +
+

+ + +
.
The st r ain for m of t he st r engt h t ensor s in t er ms of t he invar iant s ar e:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
g
g
s
y
x
u
u
G
G
G
2
1
2 sin 0
2 cos 1
2 cos 1

'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
g
g
g
g
g
g
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
G
G
G
G
G
G
3
2
2
1
2
1
5
4
1
1
1
4 sin - 2 sin 0
4 sin 2 sin 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
.
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
R-FACTOR ANALYSI S
In t he analysis of t r adit ional engineer ing mat er ials it is common pr act ice t o
det er mine a fact or of safet y. For t he t r adit ional engineer ing mat er ials one met hod
of det er mining t he fact or of safet y is t o t ake t he r at io of t he Von Mises-Henke st r ess
for t he load t o t he t ensile yield st r ess for t he mat er ial. In t he analysis of composit e
mat er ials an analogous pr ocess is used, t he R-fact or analysis. An R-fact or is not a
safet y fact or . An R-fact or is t he fact or t hat scales t he init ial st r ess st at e t o failur e.
St r ict ly speaking a fact or of safet y would descr ibe how far away fr om failur e t he
syst em is at t he pr escr ibed load. For a composit e mat er ial t his would r equir e
finding t he shor t est dist ance t o t he failur e sur face fr om t he pr escr ibed st r ess st at e
in st r ess space. An R-fact or scales t he st r ess st at e along a r adial in st r ess space,
which in most cases is not t he shor t est dist ance t o t he failur e sur face.
Based on t he pr evious discussion define a new st r ess st at e, { } , t hat is a
mult iple, R, of t he init ial st r ess st at e:
'
'
s
y
x
s
y
x
R .
This st r ess st at e is defined t o be a st r ess st at e t hat causes failur e. Ther efor e:
( )
s s y y x x
F F F F F F
F F F
f
+ + + + +
+ + +

2 2 2
1
2 2 2
,
not e t he above is t he off-axis for m of t he failur e funct ion, by appr opr iat e exchange
of indices it can also be used t o show t he on-axis for m. In t his case t he init ial st r ess
st at e is known. Ther efor e, t he unknown scale fact or , R, can be found t hr ough t he
solut ion of t he quadr at ic equat ion:
( )
( )
s s y y x x
F F F F F F R
F F F R
+ + + + +
+ + + +
2 2 2
1 0
2 2 2 2
.
For t uit ously, t he for m of t his equat ion is such t hat we ar e guar ant eed t o get a r eal
solut ion. Thus, t he R-fact or is:
a
a b b
R
2
4
2
2 , 1
+ t
,
wher e
STRENGTH OF LAMINA
( )
( )
s s y y x x
F F F b
F F F F F F a
+ +
+ + + + + 2 2 2
2 2 2
.
Not e t his pr oduces t wo r eal values. One should be posit ive and t he ot her negat ive.
The fact or of int er est is t he posit ive value. The negat ive value cor r esponds t o t he
fact or needed t o int er sect t he failur e sur face along t he opposit e r adial in st r ess
space. An analogous for m exist s for t he st r ain for m of t he failur e funct ion. It is:
a
a b b
R
2
4
2
2 , 1
+ t
,
wher e
( )
( )
s s y y x x
G G G b
G G G G G G a
+ +
+ + + + + 2 2 2
2 2 2
.

CLASSI CAL LAMI NATI ON THEORY
HI STORY
The hist or y of plat e analysis began wit h Leonar d Euler (1707-1783). In his
appr oach he pr esent ed t wo met hods: a dir ect met hod, which is an applicat ion of t he
equilibr ium pr inciple; and t he met hod of final causes, which is a var iat ional
pr inciple. In t his wor k, t he plat e was t r eat ed as a membr ane made up of st r ings.
J acque Ber noulli (1759-1789) was t he next t o cont r ibut e t o t he development
of t he plat e t heor y. In his at t empt , he assumed t hat a plat e is made up of beams.
This caused him t o miss t he t wist t er m and have an incor r ect st iffness const ant due
t o missing t he Poisson st iffening. Next , Er nst Flor ens Fr edr ic Chadni (1756-1827)
appr oached t he development of a plat e t heor y by using acoust ical vibr at ion wit h
sand.
In 1809, at t he dir ect ion of Napoleon, t he Fr ench Academy of Science
announced a compet it ion t o develop a mor e accur at e plat e t heor y. Oct ober 1811
was est ablished as t he closing dat e for submission of t he t heor ies. The cont est was
won by Mlle. Sophie Ger main (1776-1831). In t his t heor y, she pr oposed t hat t he
ener gy in t he plat e was
A A d
1 1
2
2 1
'
.
This t heor y was t he best t o dat e and only missed by failur e t o include t he t wist
ener gy.
LaGr ange t hen pr oposed a plat e t heor y in which
0 2
2
2
4
4
2 2
4
4
4
'
t
w
y
w
y x
w
x
w
k .
The Fr ench Academy of Science r ecognized t he available plat e t heor y was
inadequat e and announced a second closur e dat e of Oct ober 1813. No bet t er t heor y
was put for war d and so t he Academy announced a t hir d closur e dat e, Oct ober 1816.
CLASSICAL LAMINATION THEORY
S. D. Poisson (1781-1840) put for t h a t heor y in which t he ener gy in t he plat e
was
A m A d
1 1 1 1
2
2
2
1
2
2 1
'
1
]
1
+
1
]
1
.
The for m of t he ener gy is cor r ect . However , Poisson had t he wr ong values for A and
m.
On August 14, 1820, Navier (1785-1836) r ecognized t hat plane sect ions
r emain plane in a plat e in bending. This fundament al obser vat ion was published
in 1823. Navier was r esponsible for t he fir st successful solut ions for plat e bending.
PRELI MI NARI ES
A laminat e is an engineer ing st r uct ur e for med by bonding t wo or mor e
laminae t oget her . The laminae ar e assumed t o be per fect ly bonded at t heir
int er faces. Thus, t he displacement s, and hence t he st r ains, ar e cont inuous
t hr oughout t he laminat e. The laminae of t he st r uct ur e may have isot r opic,
t r ansver sely isot r opic, or t hot r opic, anisot r opic pr oper t ies, differ ing t hicknesses, or
differ ing pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ion or ient at ions.

h/2
h/2
x y
z
Mid-plane

Figur e 4. Schemat ic dr awing of a laminat ed plat e element showing
coor dinat e syst em and plat e t hickness.
Figur e 4 shows a schemat ic dr awing of a t ypical laminat ed plat e element .
The t hickness of t he plat e shown is h and t he or igin of t he coor dinat e syst em is on
t he mid-plane of t he plat e. The coor dinat e syst em used is a t ypical aer ospace
coor dinat e syst em wit h x- and y-dir ect ions or ient ed in t he plane of t he plat e and t he
z-dir ect ion per pendicular t o t he plane in a downwar d dir ect ion.
FORCE -- MOMENT RESULTANTS
The int er nal for ce and moment r esult ant s ar e der ived fr om t he st r esses in
t he plat e element . These r esult ant s ar e expr essed in unit s of for ce per unit lengt h
and for ce t imes lengt h per unit lengt h, r espect ively. The nor mal for ce r esult ant in
t he x-dir ect ion on an int er nal face wit h nor mal in t he x-dir ect ion is ( ) y x N
x
, and is
an int egr al t hr ough t he t hickness of t he plat e of t he x-dir ect ion nor mal st r ess,
( ) z y x
x
, , , on t hat face. Ther efor e,
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
x x x
z z y x y x N N . 29
The nor mal for ce r esult ant in t he y-dir ect ion is similar ly defined as an int egr al of
t he y-dir ect ion nor mal st r ess, ( ) z y x
y
, , . It is
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
y y y
Ther e is no nor mal for ce r esult ant in t he z-dir ect ion due t o t he consider at ion of an
element t hat includes t he t ot al plat e t hickness.
The shear for ce r esult ant in t he y-dir ect ion on an int er nal face wit h nor mal
in t he x-dir ect ion is ( ) y x N
xy
, . This for ce r esult ant is defined as an int egr al t hr ough
t he t hickness of t he x-y shear st r ess, ( ) z y x
s
, , , on t hat face. Ther efor e,
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
s xy xy
The shear for ce r esult ant in t he x-dir ect ion on an int er nal face wit h nor mal in t he
y-dir ect ion is ( ) y x N
yx
, . This for ce r esult ant is defined as an int egr al t hr ough t he
t hickness of t he y-x shear st r ess, ( ) z y x
yx
, , , on t hat face. Not ing t hat t he x-y and y-x
shear st r esses ar e equal, i.e., ( ) ( ) ( ) z y x z y x z y x
yx xy s
, , , , , , , t hen t he x-y and y-x
shear r esult ant for ces must also be equal, i.e., ( ) ( ) y x N y x N
yx xy
, , .
The shear for ce r esult ant s in t he z-dir ect ion on t he int er nal faces wit h
nor mals in t he x- and y-dir ect ions ar e ( ) y x N
xz
, and ( ) y x N
yz
, , r espect ively. They ar e
defined as
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
xz xz xz
z z y x y x N N 32
and
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
yz yz yz
The moment r esult ant in t he x-dir ect ion on an int er nal face wit h nor mal in
t he x-dir ect ion is defined t o be ( ) y x M
xx
, . This r esult ant is found by int egr at ing t he
differ ent ial moment in t he x-dir ect ion t hr ough t he t hickness of t he plat e. To
develop t he differ ent ial moment in t he x-dir ect ion consider t he dr awing shown in
Figur e 5. A differ ent ial element locat ed at (y,z) is indicat ed by t he shaded ar ea in
t he figur e. The st r esses on t his element ar e also shown in t he figur e. The nor mal
st r ess in t he x-dir ect ion does not cont r ibut e t o t he moment about t he x-axis while
t he shear st r esses ( ) z y x
xy
, , and ( ) z y x
xz
, , have moment ar ms z and y, r espect ively.
Ther efor e, t he moment r esult ant ( ) y x M
xx
, is
( ) ( ) ( ) { }

2 /
/2 -
d , , , , ,
h
h
xz s xx xx
z z y x y z y x z y x M M . 34

xy
x
x
z
y
z
xz
y

Figur e 5. Schemat ic showing t he st r esses on a face wit h nor mal in t he x-dir ect ion.
Similar ly, t he moment r esult ant y-dir ect ion on an int er nal face wit h a nor mal in t he
x-dir ect ion is
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
x xy xy
z z z y x y x M M 35
and t he moment r esult ant z-dir ect ion on an int er nal face wit h a nor mal in t he
x-dir ect ion is
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
x xz xz
z y z y x y x M M . 36
The moment r esult ant s on an int er nal face wit h a nor mal in t he y-dir ect ion ar e
developed in t he same manner as above. The moment r esult ant s on a face wit h
nor mal in t he y-dir ect ion ar e
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
y yx yx
z z z y x y x M M , 37
( ) ( ) ( ) { }

2 /
/2 -
d , , , , ,
h
h
yz s yy yy
z z y x x z y x z y x M M , 38
and
( ) ( )

2 /
/2 -
d , , ,
h
h
y yz yz
z x z y x y x M M . 39
EQUI LI BRI UM OF A PLATE ELEMENT
Consider an infinit esimal plat e element as shown in Figur es 6 and 7.
Figur e 6 shows t he int er nal for ce r esult ant s act ing on t he element along wit h t he
ext er nally applied for ce, y x p , due t o a dist r ibut ed load over t he element . Not e
t hat t he infinit esimal element is shown in t he undefor med configur at ion. Thus, t he
var ious int er nal for ce r esult ant s lie in t heir r espect ive coor dinat e dir ect ions.
Figur e 7 shows t he int er nal moment r esult ant s act ing on t he element . The
moment s ar e indicat ed wit h t wo-headed ar r ows following t he r ight -hand r ule.
Again, t he element is shown in t he undefor med configur at ion. The for ces and
moment s shown in t he figur es ar e as defined pr eviously.
Now assume t hat t he in-plane acceler at ions of t he plat e ar e small when
compar ed t o t he out of plane acceler at ions. Applying t he equilibr ium condit ions t o
t he element , summat ion of t he for ces in t he x-dir ect ion yields:
( ) ( ) 0 + + + + x N N x N y N N y N
yx yx yx x x x
,
or
0 + x N y N
yx x
.
Then not ing, x
x
N
N
x
x

and y
y
N
N
x
xy

, t he sum of t he for ces in t he

x-dir ect ion r educes t o
0
y x
y
N
y x
x
N
yx
x
,
which fur t her r educes t o
0
y
N
x
N
yx
x
. 40
z
x y

Figur e 6. Schemat ic dr awing of an infinit esimal element showing t he int er nal for ce
r esult ant s act ing on t he element .

y x p
y N
x

y N
xz
x N
yx
y N
xy

x N
yz
x N
y

x
y
( ) y N N
xz xz
+
( ) x N N
yz yz
+
( ) y N N
xy xy
+
( ) x N N
yx yx
+
( ) x N N
y y
+ ( ) y N N
x x
+
The summat ion of for ces in t he y-dir ect ion r educes t o
0
y
N
x
N
y xy
. 41
As dr awn in Figur e 6 t he summat ion of t he for ces in t he z-dir ect ion is
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
2
, , ,
t
w
y x h y x y x t y x p x N N x N y N N y N
yz yz yz xz xz xz
+ + + + + . 42
However , t his equat ion does not allow for t he inclusion of buckling effect s. To
develop t he buckling t er ms one must apply equilibr ium in t he defor med
configur at ion. When t he effect of defor mat ion is consider ed, t he nor mal for ce in t he
x-dir ect ion will have a component in t he z-dir ect ion equal t o
y x
x
w
x
N
y x
x
w
N
x
x

2
2
, 43
wher e
x
N is t he applied buckling for ce in t he x-dir ect ion on t he x-face. Similar ly,
t he nor mal for ce in t he y-dir ect ion will have a component in t he z-dir ect ion equal t o
y x
y
w
y
N
y x
y
w
N
y
y

2
2
, 44
wher e
y
N is t he applied buckling for ce in t he y-dir ect ion on t he y-face, and t he
in-plane shear for ces have a component in t he z-dir ect ion equal t o
y x
x
w
x
N
y x
y
w
y
N
y x
y x
w
N
xy yx
xy

2
2 , 45
wher e
xy
N is t he applied buckling for ce in t he y-dir ect ion on t he x-face, and
yx
N is
t he applied buckling for ce in t he x-dir ect ion on t he y-face. Then, combining t he
z-dir ect ion t er ms in equat ions 43, 44, and 45, including t he r esult s fr om equat ions
40 and 41 yields an addit ional z-dir ect ion t er m, which is
y x
y
w
N
y x
w
N
x
w
N
y xy x

'
2
2 2
2
2
2 . 46
Thus, t he summat ion of t he for ces in t he z-dir ect ion, including effect s of buckling is
obt ained by combining 42 and 46. The r esult on simplificat ion is
( ) ( )
2
2
2
2 2
2
2
, , , 2
t
w
h y x t y x p
y
w
N
y x
w
N
x
w
N
x
N
y
N
y xy x
xz
yz
. 47
z
x y

Figur e 7. Schemat ic dr awing of infinit esimal element showing int er nal moment
r esult ant s act ing on t he element .
Equilibr ium of a body r equir es t hat t he summat ion of t he moment s about t he
cent er of mass be equal t o t he r at e of change of t he moment of moment um.
Assuming t hat t he r ot ar y iner t ia of t he plat e element is small in all dir ect ions, t he
sum of t he moment s about t he cent er of mass must be zer o. The summat ion of t he
moment s in t he x-dir ect ion about t he mid-point of t he element yields
0
+
y
M
x
M
N
yx
xx
yz
. 48
Summat ion of t he moment s in t he y-dir ect ion about t he mid-point of t he element
yields
0
+
x
M
y
M
N
xy yy
xz
. 49
y M
xx

y M
xz
x M
yx
y M
xy
x M
yz

x M
yy

x
y
( ) y M M
xz xz
+

( ) x M M
yz yz
+

( ) y M M
xy xy
+

( ) x M M
yx yx
+

( ) x M M
yy yy
+
( ) y M M
xx xx
+

Finally, summat ion of t he moment s in t he z-dir ect ion about t he mid-point of t he
element yields
0 +
yx xy
yz
xz
N N
y
M
x
M
. 50
Subst it ut ing for t he shear for ce r esult ant s,
xz
N and
yz
N , fr om equat ions 48 and 49
int o equat ion 47 yields
( ) ( )
2
2
2
2 2
2
2
2
2 2
2
2
, , , 2 2
t
w
h y x t y x p
y
w
N
y x
w
N
x
w
N
y
M
y x
M
x
M
y xy x
yx yy xy
, 51
which is analogous t o t he mor e familiar moment -- dist r ibut ed load equat ion for
beams. This equat ion is complet e for classical plat e t heor y. It cont ains four
sub-cases:
Comp let e -- Bu ck li n g wi t h d yn a mi c effect s,
Dyn a mi c -- Neglect bu ck li n g effect s,
Bu ck li n g -- Neglect d yn a mi c effect s,
St a t i c -- Neglect bu ck li n g a n d d yn a mi c effect s.
DI SPLACEMENT FI ELD MODEL
The next st ep in development of a complet e plat e t heor y for laminat ed plat es
is t he assumpt ion of a displacement field. The Kir choff-Love model for t he
displacement of a plat e element is based on obser vat ion of simple bending of a
plat e. In t his model, t he fir st assumpt ion is
t h e n or ma l st r a i n t h r ou gh t h e p la t e t h i ck n ess i s mu ch mu ch less
t h a n t h e n or ma l st r a i n s i n t h e p la n e of t h e p la t e,
i.e.,
y x z
>> , . The second assumpt ion in t his model is based on Navier 's
obser vat ion. This assumpt ion is
sect i on s p la n e b efor e loa d i n g r ema i n p la n e a ft er loa d i n g.
The t hir d assumpt ion is
p la n e sect i on s i n i t i a lly p er p en d i cu la r t o t h e mi d -p la n e of t h e p la t e
befor e loa d i n g r ema i n p er p en d i cu la r t o t h e mi d -p la n e a ft er loa d i n g.
The impact of t hese assumpt ions on t he defor mat ion is shown in Figur e 8.
The consequences of t he second and t hir d assumpt ions on t he t hr ough t hickness
shear st r ains ar e
0
xz
, 52
and
0
yz
. 53
Figur e 9 cont ains a schemat ic of t he displacement in t he x and z plane of an
element of t he plat e in t he undefor med and defor med configur at ions. Fr om t his
figur e we det er mine t hat t he displacement in t he x-dir ect ion of point Q is:
( ) ( ) sin z R u Q u .

x
z
z
R
Q
z
R'
Q'
u(R)
w(R)
w(Q)
u(Q)
zsin
zcos

Figur e 9. Movement of a plat e element fr om t he undefor med configur at ion t o t he
defor med posit ion.
x-z Plane y-z Plane
Befor e
Defor mat ion
Aft er
Defor mat ion
Befor e
Defor mat ion
Aft er
Defor mat ion
x
z

x
z

and
y
z

y
z

Figur e 8. Sect ions per pendicular befor e and aft er defor mat ion.
If we assume t hat t he angles ar e small, t hen
( )
x
y x w

,
sin
0
and t he above
expr ession becomes:
( ) ( )
( )
x
y x w
z y x u Q u

,
,
0
0
. 54
The t ensile st r ain in t he x-dir ect ion is:
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
0
2
0
, ,
x
y x w
z
x
y x u
x
Q u
Q
x
,
or
( ) ( ) ( ) y x z y x z y x
x x x
, , , ,
0 0
+ , 55
wher e ( ) y x
x
,
0
is t he mid-plane cur vat ur e. Similar ly, for t he y and z plane t he
displacement in t he y-dir ect ion of point Q is:
( ) ( )

sin z R v Q v .
Again, applying t he assumpt ion t hat t he angles ar e small, t hen
( )
y
y x w
sin
0
and
t he above expr ession becomes:
( ) ( )
( )
y
y x w
z y x v Q v

,
,
0
0
. 56
The t ensile st r ain in t he y-dir ect ion is:
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
2
0
2
0
, ,
y
y x w
z
y
y x v
y
Q v
Q
y
,
or
( ) ( ) ( ) y x z y x z y x
y y y
, , , ,
0 0
+ , 57
wher e ( ) y x
y
,
0
is t he mid-plane cur vat ur e.
Now r ecall t hat t he x-y shear st r ain,
s
, is defined as:
x
v
y
u
s
,
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
,
_
+
,
_

y
y x w
z y x v
x x
y x w
z y x u
y
z y x
s
,
,
,
, , ,
0
0
0
0
,
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
y x
y x w
z
x
y x v
y
y x u
z y x
s

,
2
, ,
, ,
0
2
0 0
,
( ) ( ) ( ) y x z y x z y x
xy s s
, , , ,
0 0
, 58
wher e ( ) y x
xy
,
0
is t he mid-plane cr oss cur vat ur e. Equat ions 55, 57, and 58, can be
combined int o vect or for m as:
'
'
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
xy
y
x
s
y
x
s
y
x
z . 59
Applying t he t hr ee dimensional or t hot r opic const it ut ive r elat ion t o equat ions
52 and 53 yields:
0
xz
, 60
and
0
yz
, 61
which fit s wit h pr evious r esult s. Now if one assumes t hat t he plat e is t hin, t hen
0
z
, 62
which effect ively assumes a plane st r ess st at e.
ORTHOTROPI C CONSTI TUTI VE RELATI ON
As discussed in t he development of t he mechanics of an or t hot r opic lamina,
t he off-axis st r ess-st r ain r elat ionship for an or t hot r opic lamina is:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
s
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
s
y
x
Q Q Q
Q Q Q
Q Q Q
, 63
wher e s y x j i Q
ij
& , , , , ar e t he off-axis pr oper t ies of t he lamina. For a laminat ed
st r uct ur e t he mechanical pr oper t ies ar e assumed t o be const ant t hr oughout each
individual lamina. Ther efor e, t he mechanical pr oper t ies of t he st r uct ur e var y
t hr ough t he t hickness of t he plat e, but ar e const ant t hr ough t he t hickness of t he
individual lamina. Not e t hat use of t he off-axis pr oper t ies does not pr eclude a
lamina fr om being or ient ed wit h pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions aligned wit h t he
st r uct ur al dir ect ions. The off-axis const it ut ive r elat ion is used as it is mor e gener al
t han t he on-axis r elat ionship.
Figur e 10 shows a schemat ic dr awing of a laminat ed plat e wit h N plies, t he
ply number ing syst em, ply coor dinat es, and ply t hicknesses. The ply number s
r ange fr om 1 t o N, wit h ply 1 locat ed on t he t op sur face of t he laminat e (minimum
z-coor dinat e) and ply N locat ed on t he bot t om sur face of t he laminat e (maximum
z-coor dinat e). The it h ply has t hickness t
i
, wit h t op coor dinat e z
i-1
and bot t om
coor dinat e z
i
. The t ot al laminat e t hickness is h. Consequent ly,
2
0
h
z

and
2
h
z
N
.

1
2
i
N
N-1
x
z
-h/2 z
1
z
2
h/2
z
0
z
i
z
i+1
z
N
z
N-1
t
i
t
2
t
N-1

Figur e 10. Schemat ic of a Laminat e wit h N ply showing t he ply number s,
cor r esponding coor dinat es and t hicknesses.
For t he pur poses of t his development we wr it e equat ion 63 wit h a second
subscr ipt , k, t hat indicat es t he lamina number . This expr ession is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
k
s
k
y
k
x
k
ss
k
ys
k
xs
k
ys
k
yy
k
xy
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx
k
s
k
y
k
x
Q Q Q
Q Q Q
Q Q Q
, 64
wher e N k s y x j i Q
k
ij
K , 2 , 1 , & , , , , ar e t he off-axis pr oper t ies of t he kt h lamina and
k
ij
and
k
ij
ar e t he associat ed st r esses and st r ains. Now, consider ing t hat t he
st r esses in each lamina ar e dependent on t he pr oper t ies in t hat layer and t he
pr oper t ies fr om one layer t o t he next ar e not necessar ily t he same, equat ion 29
becomes:
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

+ + +
N
N
z
z
N
x
z
z
x
z
z
x
h
h
x x
z z y x z z y x z z y x z z y x N
1
2
1
1
0
d , , d , , d , , d , ,
2 1
2 /
/2 -
L
( )

N
k
z
z
k
x x
k
k
z z y x N
1
1
d , , . 65
Now, subst it ut ing equat ions 59 and 64 int o 65 yields:
'
'
N
k
z
z
k
s
k
y
k
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx x
k
k
z Q Q Q N
1
1
d ,
,
_
'
'
'
N
k
z
z
xy
y
x
s
y
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx x
k
k
z z Q Q Q N
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
d ,
,
_
'
'
,
_
'
'

N
k
z
z
xy
y
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx
N
k
z
z
s
y
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx x
k
k
k
k
z z Q Q Q z Q Q Q N
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1 1
d d . 66
Now define t he in-plane laminat e st iffnesses, s y x j i A
ij
& , , , , as
( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xx
N
k
z
z
k
xx xx
z z Q z Q A
k
k
1
1
1
1
d
( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xy
N
k
z
z
k
xy xy
z z Q z Q A
k
k
1
1
1
1
d
( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xs
N
k
z
z
k
xs xs
z z Q z Q A
k
k
1
1
1
1
d
or in gener al
( )

N
k
k k
k
ij ij
z z Q A
1
1
67
and t he coupling st iffnesses, s y x j i B
ij
& , , , , as
( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xx
N
k
z
z
k
xx xx
z z Q z Q B
k
k
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
zd
1

( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xy
N
k
z
z
k
xy xy
z z Q z Q B
k
k
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
zd
1

( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xs
N
k
z
z
k
xs xs
z z Q z Q B
k
k
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
zd
1

or in gener al
( )

N
k
k k
k
ij ij
z z Q B
1
2
1
2
2
1
. 68
Then N
x
becomes:
{ } { }
'
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
xy
y
x
xs xy xx
s
y
x
xs xy xx x
B B B A A A N . 69
By a similar pr ocess t he r elat ionship bet ween t he ot her in-plane for ces and
t he st r ains and cur vat ur es ar e der ived t o be:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
xy
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
s
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
xy
y
x
B B B
B B B
B B B
A A A
A A A
A A A
N
N
N
, 70
wher e
ij
A and
ij
B ar e as defined pr eviously.
The r elat ionship bet ween t he moment s and t he st r ains and cur vat ur es is
der ived by applying t he same consider at ions of t he laminat e behavior used t o
der ive t he for ce-st r ain cur vat ur e r elat ionship t o equat ion 35. This gives:
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

+ + +
N
N
z
z
N
x
z
z
x
z
z
x
h
h
x xy
z z y x z z y x z z y x z z y x M
1
2
1
1
0
zd , , zd , , zd , , zd , ,
2 1
2 /
/2 -
L
( )

N
k
z
z
k
x xy
k
k
z z y x M
1
1
zd , , . 71
Now, subst it ut ing equat ions 59 and 64 int o 71 yields:
'
'
N
k
z
z
k
s
k
y
k
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx xy
k
k
z Q Q Q M
1
1
zd ,
,
_
'
'
'
N
k
z
z
xy
y
x
s
y
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx xy
k
k
z z z Q Q Q M
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
d ,
,
_
'
'
,
_
'
'

N
k
z
z
xy
y
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx
N
k
z
z
s
y
x
k
xs
k
xy
k
xx xy
k
k
k
k
z z Q Q Q z Q Q Q M
1
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1 1
d zd . 72
Not e in t he above expr ession t he pr esence of t he coupling st iffnesses,
s y x j i B
ij
& , , , , . Now define t he out -of-plane laminat e st iffnesses,
s y x j i D
ij
& , , , , as
( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xx
N
k
z
z
k
xx xx
z z Q z Q D
k
k
1
3
1
3
1
2
3
1
d z
1

( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xy
N
k
z
z
k
xy xy
z z Q z Q D
k
k
1
3
1
3
1
2
3
1
d z
1

( )

,
_
N
k
k k
k
xs
N
k
z
z
k
xs xs
z z Q z Q D
k
k
1
3
1
3
1
2
3
1
d z
1

or in gener al
( )

N
k
k k
k
ij ij
z z Q D
1
3
1
3
3
1
. 73
Then M
xy
becomes:
{ } { }
'
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
xy
y
x
xs xy xx
s
y
x
xs xy xx xy
D D D B B B M . 74
By a similar pr ocess t he r elat ionship bet ween t he moment s and t he st r ains
and cur vat ur es ar e der ived t o be:
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
1
1
1
]
1
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
xy
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
s
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
yy
yx
xy
D D D
D D D
D D D
B B B
B B B
B B B
M
M
M
, 75
wher e
ij
B and
ij
D ar e as defined pr eviously. A const it ut ive r elat ion bet ween t he
for ces and moment s and t he st r ains and cur vat ur es is wr it t en by combining
equat ions 70 and 75. The const it ut ive r elat ionship for a laminat e is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
xy
y
x
s
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
yy
yx
xy
xy
y
x
D D D
D D D
D D D
B B B
B B B
B B B
B B B
B B B
B B B
A A A
A A A
A A A
M
M
M
N
N
N
, 76
or
[ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ]

;
'
1
]
1
'
0
0
D B
B A
M
N
. 77
Not e t hat t he A, B, D, mat r ix, t he laminat e st iffness, is a par t it ioned mat r ix t hat is
also symmet r ic.
THE LAMI NATED PLATE EQUATI ONS
The t hr ee for ce balance equat ions, equat ions 40, 41, and 51, ar e t he
foundat ion for t he gover ning syst em of equat ions for t he displacement of t he plat e.
THE IN-PLANE EQUATIONS
The gover ning in-plane for ce balance equat ions for t he laminat ed plat e in
t er ms of t he deflect ions ar e der ived by subst it ut ing t he const it ut ive equat ion int o
t he in-plane for ce balance equat ions; equat ion 76 and equat ions 40 and 41. Using
equat ion 76 or 69 t o wr it e
x
N
x
, and assuming t hat t he laminat e is homogeneous in

t he x- and y-dir ect ions gives:
{ } { }
'
'
x
x
x
B B B
x
x
x
A A A
x
N
xy
y
x
xs xy xx
s
y
x
xs xy xx
x
0
0
0
0
0
0
.
Now subst it ut ing t he definit ions of t he st r ains and cur vat ur es of t he mid-plane int o
t he equat ion above yields:
{ } { }
'
'
y x
w
y x
w
x
w
B B B
x
v
y x
u
y x
v
x
u
A A A
x
N
xs xy xx xs xy xx
x
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
. 78
Similar ly, using equat ion 76 t o wr it e
x
N
xy
, and again assuming t hat t he laminat e

is homogeneous in t he x- and y-dir ect ions gives:
{ } { }
'
'
y
y
y
B B B
y
y
y
A A A
y
N
xy
y
x
ss ys xs
s
y
x
ss ys xs
xy
0
0
0
0
0
0
.
Then subst it ut ing t he definit ions of t he st r ains and cur vat ur es of t he mid-plane
int o t he equat ion above yields:
{ } { }
'
'
2
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
3
0
2
2
0
2
2
0
2
0
2
2
y x
w
y
w
y x
w
B B B
y x
v
y
u
y
v
y x
u
A A A
y
N
ss ys xs ss ys xs
xy
. 79
Subst it ut ing equat ions 78 and 79 int o equat ion 40 gives:
( )
( ) 0 2 3
2
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
+ +
y
w
B
y x
w
B B
y x
w
B
x
w
B
y
v
A
y x
v
A A
x
v
A
y
u
A
y x
u
A
x
u
A
ys ss xy xs xx
ys ss xy xs ss xs xx
. 80
Similar ly for t he y-dir ect ion sum of for ces
y
N
y
and
x
N
xy
ar e:
{ } { }
'
'
2
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
3
0
2
2
0
2
2
0
2
0
2
2
y x
w
y
w
y x
w
B B B
y x
v
y
u
y
v
y x
u
A A A
y
N
ys yy xy ys yy xy
y
. 81
and
{ } { }
'
'
y x
w
y x
w
x
w
B B B
x
v
y x
u
y x
v
x
u
A A A
x
N
ss ys xs ss ys xs
xy
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
. 82
Subst it ut ing equat ions 81 and 82 int o equat ion 41 gives:
( )
( ) 0 3 2
2
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
+ +
y
w
B
y x
w
B
y x
w
B B
x
w
B
y
v
A
y x
v
A
x
v
A
y
u
A
y x
u
A A
x
u
A
yy ys ss xy xs
yy ys ss ys ss xy xs
. 83
Equat ions 80 and 83 ar e t he in-plane for ce balance equat ions expr essed in t er ms of
t he displacement s. They r epr esent t wo simult aneous coupled par t ial differ ent ial
equat ions in
0
u ,
0
v , and
0
w . Not e t hat if t he coupling st iffnesses,
ij
B , ar e zer o, t hen
t he out -of-plane displacement ,
0
w , is decoupled fr om t he in-plane for ce balance
equat ions.
Not e t hat t he buckling loads,
x
N ,
y
N , and
xy
N , ar e const ant t hr oughout t he
plat e. Consequent ly, t hey do not appear in t he in-plane for ce balance equat ions.
THE OUT-OF-PLANE EQUATION
The out -of-plane for ce balance equat ion for t he laminat ed plat e in t er ms of
t he deflect ions is der ived by subst it ut ing t he const it ut ive equat ion int o t he out -of-
plane for ce balance equat ion; equat ion 76 and equat ion 51. Using equat ion 76 t o
wr it e
2
2
x
M
xy
,
2
2
y
M
yx
, and
y x
M
yy

2
, as was done pr eviously for t he for ces, leads t o:
{ } { }
'
'
y x
w
y x
w
x
w
D D D
x
v
y x
u
y x
v
x
u
B B B
x
M
xs xy xx xs xy xx
xy
3
0
4
2 2
0
4
4
0
4
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
2
2
2
, 84
{ } { }
'
'
3
0
4
4
0
4
2 2
0
4
2
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
2
2
y x
w
y
w
y x
w
D D D
y x
v
y
u
y
v
y x
u
B B B
y
M
ys yy xy ys yy xy
yx
, 85
and
{ } { }
'
'
2 2
0
4
3
0
4
3
0
4
2
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
2
2
y x
w
y x
w
y x
w
D D D
y x
v
y x
u
y x
v
y x
u
B B B
y x
M
ss ys xs ss ys xs
yy
. 86
Subst it ut ion of t he r esult s in equat ions 84, 85, and 86 int o equat ion 51 yields t he
full out -of-plane plat e displacement equat ion wit h dynamic and buckling effect s:
( )
( )
( )
( ) t y x p
t
w
h
y
w
N
y x
w
N
x
w
N
y
w
D
y x
w
D
y x
w
D D
y x
w
D
x
w
D
y
v
B
y x
v
B
y x
v
B B
x
v
B
y
u
B
y x
u
B B
y x
u
B
x
u
B
y xy x
yy ys ss xy xs xx
yy ys xy ss xs
ys xy ss xs xx
, , 2
4 4 2 4
3 2
2 3
2
0
2
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
4
0
4
3
0
4
2 2
0
4
3
0
4
4
0
4
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
+ +
+ +

. 87
Equat ions 80, 83, and 87 for m t he complet e syst em of coupled simult aneous par t ial
differ ent ial equat ions t hat descr ibe t he displacement of t he mid-plane of t he
laminat e wit h dynamic and buckling loads included.
SIMPLIFICATIONS OF THE PLATE EQUATION
As not ed ear lier , t her e ar e four loading cases t hat can be analyzed wit h
equat ions 80, 83, and 87. They ar e:
Comp let e -- Bu ck li n g wi t h d yn a mi c effect s,
Dyn a mi c -- Neglect bu ck li n g effect s,
Bu ck li n g -- Neglect d yn a mi c effect s,
St a t i c -- Neglect bu ck li n g a n d d yn a mi c effect s.
These assumpt ions do not dir ect ly impact equat ions 80 and 83. The complet e
syst em of equat ions is equat ions 80, 83, and 87.
Dynamic Plate Equation
Applying t he assumpt ion of no buckling loads t o equat ion 87 yields:
( )
( )
( )
( ) t y x p
t
w
h
y
w
D
y x
w
D
y x
w
D D
y x
w
D
x
w
D
y
v
B
y x
v
B
y x
v
B B
x
v
B
y
u
B
y x
u
B B
y x
u
B
x
u
B
yy ys ss xy xs xx
yy ys xy ss xs
ys xy ss xs xx
, ,
4 4 2 4
3 2
2 3
2
0
2
4
0
4
3
0
4
2 2
0
4
3
0
4
4
0
4
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
+ +
+ +

. 88
Buckling Plate Equation
Applying t he assumpt ion of no dynamic effect s t o equat ion 87 yields:
( )
( )
( )
( ) y x p
y
w
N
y x
w
N
x
w
N
y
w
D
y x
w
D
y x
w
D D
y x
w
D
x
w
D
y
v
B
y x
v
B
y x
v
B B
x
v
B
y
u
B
y x
u
B B
y x
u
B
x
u
B
y xy x
yy ys ss xy xs xx
yy ys xy ss xs
ys xy ss xs xx
, 2
4 4 2 4
3 2
2 3
2
0
2
0
2
2
0
2
4
0
4
3
0
4
2 2
0
4
3
0
4
4
0
4
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3

+ +
+ +

. 89
Static Plate Equation
Applying t he assumpt ion of no buckling and no dynamic effect s t o equat ion
87 yields:
( )
( )
( ) ( ) y x p
y
w
D
y x
w
D
y x
w
D D
y x
w
D
x
w
D
y
v
B
y x
v
B
y x
v
B B
x
v
B
y
u
B
y x
u
B B
y x
u
B
x
u
B
yy ys ss xy xs xx
yy ys xy ss xs
ys xy ss xs xx
, 4 4 2 4
3 2
2 3
4
0
4
3
0
4
2 2
0
4
3
0
4
4
0
4
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
3
2
0
3
2
0
3
3
0
3

+ +
+ +

. 90

LAMI NATES
I NTRODUCTI ON
In t he pr evious sect ion t he laminat e st iffnesses
ij
A ,
ij
B , and
ij
D and t he
gover ning syst em of equat ions for a laminat ed plat e wer e der ived. In t his sect ion,
alt er nat e expr essions for t he laminat e st iffnesses ar e pr esent ed, t he impact of
var ious simplifying assumpt ions, t he dist r ibut ion of st r ess t hr ough a laminat e, and
laminat e failur e t heor ies ar e discussed.
ALTERNATE EXPRESSI ONS FOR LAMI NATE STI FFNESSES
Figur e 10 shows a schemat ic dr awing of a laminat e cr oss-sect ion. In t his
figur e, t he laminat e is shown as const r uct ed of N laminae of t hicknesses
k
t . The
laminae t hicknesses ar e dir ect ly r elat ed t o t he laminae coor dinat es. This
r elat ionship is:
1

k k k
z z t . 91
Recognizing t his r elat ionship, t he in-plane ext ensional st iffnesses,
ij
A , can be
wr it t en in t er ms of t he individual laminae t hicknesses:
N
k
k
k
ij ij
t Q A
1
. 92
This expr ession is an alt er nat ive t o t hat pr esent ed pr eviously and is, at t imes, mor e
convenient t o use.
The lamina cent r oid,
k
z , is defined as:
2
1
+
k k
k
z z
z . 93
Now using t he laminae cent r oids and t hicknesses t he coupling st iffnesses,
ij
B , can
be wr it t en as:
( ) ( )( ) ( )
( )
2 2
1
2
1
1
1
1 1
1
1
1
2
1
2

+
+

k k
N
k
k k
k
ij k k
N
k
k k
k
ij
N
k
k k
k
ij ij
z z
z z Q z z z z Q z z Q B ,
or
LAMINATES
k
N
k
k
k
ij ij
z t Q B

1
. 94
It is ar guable whet her t he alt er nat e expr ession is simpler t han t he or iginal for m of
t he coupling st iffnesses. The alt er nat e for m does demonst r at e t he r elat ionship
bet ween t he coupling st iffnesses and t he individual laminae t hicknesses and t heir
r elat ive locat ion wit hin t he laminat e.
The bending st iffnesses,
ij
D , can also be expr essed in t er ms of t he laminae cent r oids
and t hicknesses. This alt er nat e expr ession is:
,
_
+
N
k
k k k
k
ij ij
t z t Q D
1
3 2
12
1
. 95
Again, t he r elat ive simplicit y of t he alt er nat e expr ession t o t hat of t he or iginal for m
of t he bending st iffnesses is ar guable. Never t heless, t his expr ession is impor t ant
because of it s inst r uct ive nat ur e. Recall fr om classical isot r opic plat e t heor y t hat
t he plat e st iffness, D, is
( )
2
3
1 12
Et
, wher e E is t he modulus of elast icit y, is t he
Poissons r at io, and t is t he plat e t hickness. Fur t her r ecall t hat t he plat e st iffness is
analogous t o t he bending st iffness of a beam,
yy
EI , wher e
yy
I is t he second ar ea
moment of iner t ia about t he y-axis. Next , not e t hat t he second ar ea moment of
iner t ia of a r ect angular beam, wit h height t and widt h b, about t he cent r oid is
12
3
bt
.
Ther efor e, t he beam bending st iffness is
12
3
Ebt
. Compar ing t he beam bending
st iffness and t he isot r opic plat e bending st iffness, t he plat e bending st iffness
appear s t o be a beam bending st iffness per unit widt h and including Poissons
effect s. Now r emember t he Par allel Axis Theor em for t he second ar ea moment of
iner t ia is A d I I
OC
z
C
yy
O
yy
2
+ , wher e point C is t he cent r oid of t he cr oss-sect ion, point O
is t he point wher e t he moment is being calculat ed,
2
OC
z
d is t he dist ance along t he
z-axis bet ween point O and point C, and A is t he ar ea of t he cr oss-sect ion. Now
examine equat ion 95, we obser ve t he bending st iffness of each lamina,
12
3
k
k
ij
t Q
, and
t he shift ing fact or of each lamina,
2
k k
k
ij
z t Q . Ther efor e, we conclude t hat t he laminat e
st iffness is t he summat ion of t he bending st iffnesses of t he individual lamina about
t he mid-plane.
LAMINATES
SI MPLI FYI NG ASSUMPTI ONS ON LAMI NATE STRUCTURE
Ther e ar e sever al simplifying assumpt ions t hat can be made t hat have a
significant impact on t he for ce-moment st r ain-cur vat ur e r elat ionship and gover ning
syst em of equat ions. These assumpt ions deal dir ect ly wit h t he st r uct ur e of t he
laminat e, in par t icular t he lay-up or st acking sequence. In t his discussion we will
consider only laminat ed st r uct ur es, i. e., N > 1, of or t hot r opic mat er ials.
SYMMETRIC LAMINATES
Recall t hat a symmet r ic laminat e is defined as a laminat e t hat is symmet r ic
in bot h geomet r y and mat er ial pr oper t ies about t he mid-plane. The st iffness
equat ions, equat ions 92, 94, and 95, ar e expr essed in t er ms of t he number of
laminae in t he laminat e and t he laminae r educed st iffnesses, t hicknesses and
cent r oids. Symmet r y of geomet r y means:
2
1
N
k t t
k
k N k

96
and
2
1
N
k z z
k
k N k

. 97
Not e t hat equat ion 91 does not imply t hat t he laminae t hicknesses ar e const ant .
Symmet r y of mat er ial pr oper t ies means:
2
1 , & , , ,
N
k s y x j i Q Q
k
k N
ij
k
ij

. 98
Applying t he symmet r y specializat ion t o t he in-plane st iffnesses,
ij
A , fr om
equat ion 92 leads t o:
'
Odd
Even
N t Q
N t Q
A
N
k
k
k
ij
N
k
k
k
ij
ij
2
1
1
2
1
2
2
. 99
Applying t he symmet r y specializat ion t o t he coupling st iffnesses,
ij
B , fr om
LAMINATES
'
+
+
Odd
Even
N z t Q z t Q
N z t Q z t Q
B
N
N
k
k k
k
ij
N
k
k k
k
ij
N
k
N
N
k
k k
k
ij k k
k
ij
ij
2
1
2
1
1
2
1
2

'
+
+
Odd
Even
N z t Q z t Q
N z t Q z t Q
B
N
k
k N k N
k N
ij
N
k
k k
k
ij
N
k
N
k
k N k N
k N
ij k k
k
ij
ij
2
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
1

( )
( )
'
N
N
k
k k k
k
ij
N
k
k k k
k
ij
ij
N z z t Q
N z z t Q
B 0
2
1
1
2
1
Odd
Even
. 100
The impact of t he r esult s shown in equat ion 100 is significant . When t he st r uct ur e
is a symmet r ic laminat ed plat e, t he in-plane pr oblem is decoupled fr om t he out -of-
plane pr oblem. Ther efor e, equat ions 87, 88, 89, and 90 ar e independent of t he in-
plane displacement and t he syst em of equat ions r educes t o a single par t ial
differ ent ial equat ion for t he out -of-plane displacement . This simplifies t he analysis
significant ly.
Applying t he symmet r y specializat ion t o t he bending st iffnesses,
ij
D , fr om
'
,
_
+

,
_
Odd
Even
N t z t Q
N t z t Q
D
N
k
k k k
k
ij
N
k
k k k
k
ij
ij
2
1
1
3 2
2
1
3 2
12
1
2
12
1
2
. 101
Ther efor e, t he laminat e st iffness mat r ix for a symmet r ic laminat e is:
LAMINATES
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
xy
y
x
s
y
x
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
ss ys xs
ys yy xy
xs xy xx
yy
yx
xy
xy
y
x
D D D
D D D
D D D
A A A
A A A
A A A
M
M
M
N
N
N
. 102
This makes t he pr evious st at ement r egar ding t he decoupling of t he in-plane
pr oblem and t he out -of-plane even mor e clear . Recognize t hat plat es of isot r opic
mat er ials, laminat ed or homogeneous, ar e necessar ily symmet r ic. Ther efor e, for all
plat es of isot r opic mat er ials (t he t r adit ional engineer ing mat er ials of t he last
cent ur y) t he in-plane pr oblem is decoupled fr om t he out -of-plane pr oblem. This is
one of t he r easons t hat t he major it y of laminat ed composit e st r uct ur es ar e
symmet r ic laminat es. Not e t hat t his does not necessar ily t ake full advant age of t he
st r uct ur al capabilit ies of laminat ed composit e mat er ials.
CONSIDERATION OF THE MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Not e t hat in t he applicat ion of t he symmet r y specializat ion no fur t her
specializat ion r egar ding t he mat er ial pr oper t ies have been made. Ther efor e,
equat ions 99, 100, and 101 ar e gener al for all mat er ials. Fur t her specializat ions for
t he laminat e st iffnesses can be made by applying r est r ict ions t o t he mat er ial
pr oper t ies. These r est r ict ions or specializat ions ar e t o angle ply and cr oss ply
laminat es. Fr om r eview of lamina mechanics, t he off-axis st iffness pr oper t ies wer e
expr essed in t er ms of t he invar iant s of t he lamina pr oper t ies. Now applying t his t o
t he laminat e pr oper t ies, t he lamina st iffness invar iant s,
Q
k
l
U , ar e:
1
]
1
+ +
1
]
1
+ +
1
]
1
+
1
]
1

1
]
1
+ + +
k k k k
Q
k
k k k k
Q
k
k k k k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k k k k
Q
k
Q Q Q Q U
Q Q Q Q U
Q Q Q Q U
Q Q U
Q Q Q Q U
66 12 22 11 5
66 12 22 11 4
66 12 22 11 3
22 11 2
66 12 22 11 1
4 2
2
1
4 6
8
1
4 2
8
1
2
1
4 2 3 3
8
1
103
and t he off-axis st iffness pr oper t ies ar e r elat ed t o t he invar iant pr oper t ies by:
LAMINATES
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
Q
k
Q
k
k k
k k
k
Q
k
k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k
ys
k
xs
k
ss
k
xy
k
yy
k
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
3
2
2
1
2
1
5
4
1
1
1
4 sin - 2 sin 0
4 sin 2 sin 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
. 104
Using equat ion 104 t he laminat e st iffnesses can be wr it t en as:
'
,
_
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
N
k
Q
k
Q
k
k k
k k
k
Q
k
k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
t
A
A
A
A
A
A
1
3
2
2
1
2
1
5
4
1
1
1
4 sin - 2 sin 0
4 sin 2 sin 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
, 105
'
,
_
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
N
k
Q
k
Q
k
k k
k k
k
Q
k
k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
z t
B
B
B
B
B
B
1
3
2
2
1
2
1
5
4
1
1
1
4 sin - 2 sin 0
4 sin 2 sin 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
, 106
and
'
,
_
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
,
_
'
N
k
Q
k
Q
k
k k
k k
k
Q
k
k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k k
Q
k
k k k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
t z t
D
D
D
D
D
D
1
3
2
2
1
2
1
5
4
1
1
3 2
1
4 sin - 2 sin 0
4 sin 2 sin 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
12
1
. 107
LAMINATES
Not e t hat symmet r y of mat er ial pr oper t ies means:
2
1
N
k
k
k N k

. 108
Symmetric Cross-ply Laminates
Not e in equat ion 104, t hat if t he lamina angle,
k
, is 0 or an int eger mult iple of 90
t hat coupling st iffnesses bet ween ext ension and shear ,
k
xs
Q and
k
ys
Q , ar e zer o. Recall
t hat a cr oss-ply laminat e is defined as one in which all lamina ar e or ient ed such
t hat t heir or ient at ion angles ar e eit her 0 or 90. Ther efor e, all coupling st iffnesses
bet ween ext ension and shear ,
k
xs
Q and
k
ys
Q , ar e zer o. Fur t her , 1 4 cos
k
,
k
and
1 2 cos t
k
. Now define an alt er nat ing funct ion, , such t hat :
( )
'

90 1
0 1
. 109
Thus, for a symmet r ic cr oss-ply laminat e t he st iffnesses ar e:
( )
( )
'
,
_
,
_
,
_
,
_
+ +
'
0
0
1
3 5
1
3 4
1
2 3 1
1
2 3 1
Mid
Mid
Mid
Mid
N
k
Q
k
Q
k
k
N
k
Q
k
Q
k
k
N
k
k
Q
k
Q
k
Q
k
k
N
k
k
Q
k
Q
k
Q
k
k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U U t
U U t
U U U t
U U U t
A
A
A
A
A
A
, 110
{ } 0
'
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
B
B
B
B
B
B
, 111
as befor e, and
LAMINATES
( )
( )
'
,
_
,
_
,
_
,
_
,
_
,
_
,
_
+ +
,
_
'
0
0
12
1
12
1
12
1
12
1
1
3 5
3 2
1
3 4
3 2
1
2 3 1
3 2
1
2 3 1
3 2
Mid
Mid
Mid
Mid
N
k
Q
k
Q
k
k k k
N
k
Q
k
Q
k
k k k
N
k
k
Q
k
Q
k
Q
k
k k k
N
k
k
Q
k
Q
k
Q
k
k k k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U U t z t
U U t z t
U U U t z t
U U U t z t
D
D
D
D
D
D
, 112
wher e
'
Odd
Even
N
N
N
N
N
Mid
2
1
2

Ther efor e, t he for ce-moment st r ain-cur vat ur e r elat ionship for a symmet r ic cr oss-ply
laminat e is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0
0
0
xy
y
x
s
y
x
ss
yy xy
xy xx
ss
yy xy
xy xx
yy
yx
xy
xy
y
x
D
D D
D D
A
A A
A A
M
M
M
N
N
N
. 113
Not e t hat t he r esponse is fur t her decoupled, wit h t he nor mal and shear r esponses
mut ually decoupled.
Balanced Regular Symmetric Angle-ply Laminates
For angle-ply laminat es
k
, is r est r ict ed t o t alt er nat ing t hr ough t he laminat e.
Let t ing be eit her a posit ive or negat ive angle, t hen
1
,
2
,
3
,

4
, et cet er a, or in gener al ( )
+1
1
k
k
. Because t he pr esence of mult iple
angle t r igonomet r ic funct ions in t he invar iant mat er ial pr oper t y expr ession it is
necessar y t o consider t he off-axis mat er ial pr oper t ies as expr essed in equat ion 21,
which is now wr it t en for an individual lamina of a laminat e:
LAMINATES
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )

'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
k
k
k
k
k k k k k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k k k
k k k k k k
k k k k k k
k
ys
k
xs
k
ss
k
xy
k
yy
k
xx
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m n m n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
66
12
22
11
2 2 2 2 3 3
2 2 2 2 3 3
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2
2
2
4
4 2
4 2
, 114
not e in t his expr ession t hat
k k
m cos and
k k
n sin . Since ( )
+1
1
k
k
, t hen
( ) ( ) m m
k
k

+
cos 1 cos
1
and ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) n n
k k k
k
1 1 1
1 sin 1 1 sin
+ + +
. Then
( ) ( )
2
2
1 2
1 n n n
k
k

+
, and similar ly ( ) ( )
4
4
1 4
1 n n n
k
k

+
. Ther efor e, equat ion 114
becomes
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
+ + +
+
k
k
k
k
k k k k
k k k k
k
ys
k
xs
k
ss
k
xy
k
yy
k
xx
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
66
12
22
11
2 2 1 2 2 1 3 3 1
2 2 2 2 3 3 1
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
1 2 1 1 1
1 2 1 1 1
2
4
4 2
4 2
. 115
Not e in t he above expr ession t hat t he t r ansfor mat ion coefficient s of t he on-axis
lamina st iffnesses for
k
xx
Q ,
k
yy
Q ,
k
xy
Q , and
k
ss
Q ar e independent of t he lamina number ,
k. Ther efor e, in t he calculat ion of t he laminat e st iffnesses t hese t er ms will be
dist r ibut ed over t he summat ions.
Recall t hat t he in-plane st iffnesses for t he laminat e ar e:
LAMINATES
'
,
_
'
'
N
k
k
ys
k
xs
k
ss
k
xy
k
yy
k
xx
k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
t
A
A
A
A
A
A
1
. 116
Then subst it ut ing equat ion 115 gives:
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

'
,
_
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
+ + +
+
N
k
k
k
k
k
k k k k
k k k k
k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
t
A
A
A
A
A
A
1
66
12
22
11
2 2 1 2 2 1 3 3 1
2 2 2 2 3 3 1
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
1 2 1 1 1
1 2 1 1 1
2
4
4 2
4 2
. 117
Now r ecognizing t hat m and n ar e independent of lamina number , t hen t he in-plane
laminat e st iffnesses
xx
A ,
yy
A ,
xy
A , and
ss
A can be wr it t en:
( )
'
,
_
'
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
N
k
k
k
k
k
k
ss
xy
yy
xx
Q
Q
Q
Q
t
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
A
A
A
A
1
66
12
22
11
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2
4
4 2
4 2
. 118
Now make t wo fur t her specializat ions. Fir st , t hat t he laminat e is r egular ,
t his r equir es t hat all lamina have t he same t hickness, t. Second, t hat t he laminat e
is homogeneous, t his r equir es t hat t he same mat er ial is used t hr oughout t he
laminat e. The consequence of t he second specializat ion is t hat t he on-axis mat er ial
pr oper t ies ar e independent of lamina number . Applying t hese specializat ions t o
equat ion 118 gives:
( )

'
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
66
12
22
11
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2
4
4 2
4 2
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
Nt
A
A
A
A
ss
xy
yy
xx
. 119
LAMINATES
Now consider specifically t he
xs
A t er m:
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
,
_
,
_
+ + +
N
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k xs
Q n m mn Q n m mn Q mn nQ m t A
1
66
2 2
12
2 2
22
3
11
3 1
1 2 1 1 1
Again r ecognizing t hat m and n ar e independent of lamina number , t hen
xs
A
becomes:
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

+
,
_
,
_
,
_
,
_

N
k
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
k xs
Q t n m mn Q t n m mn
Q t mn Q t n m A
1
66
2 2
1
12
2 2
1
22
3
1
11
1 3
1 2 1
1 1
.
Applying t he specializat ions of a r egular balanced lay-up t o
xs
A gives:
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

+
+ +
+
N
k
k
N
k
k
N
k
k
N
k
k
xs
Q t n m mn Q t n m mn
Q t mn Q t n m A
1
66
2 2
1
12
2 2
1
22
3
1
1
11
3
1 2 1
1 1
.
Not e t hat t he summat ions in t he above ar e summat ions of int eger s (1) wit h
alt er nat ing sign. Making a t hir d specializat ion, t hat t he laminat e is balanced, t hus
t he number of laminae in t he laminat e is even, Even N . Thus,
( ) ( ) 0 1 1
1 1
1

+
N
k
k
N
k
k

and t her efor e
0
xs
A . 120
By a similar pr ocess, for a homogeneous r egular balanced symmet r ic angle-ply
laminat e t he in-plane laminat e st iffness
ys
A can be shown t o be:
0
xs
A . 121
Summar izing, t he laminat e in-plane st iffnesses for a homogeneous r egular balance
symmet r ic angle-ply laminat e ar e:
LAMINATES
( )
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
66
12
22
11
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
2
4
4 2
4 2
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
Nt
A
A
A
A
A
A
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
. 122
At t his point , t he use of mat er ial pr oper t y invar iant s may be applied t o
equat ion 122, which gives:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
Nt
A
A
A
A
A
A
3
2
5
4
1
1
1
0 0 0
0 0 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
. 123
The laminat e coupling st iffnesses ar e also zer o because t he laminat e in
consider at ion is symmet r ic. Ther efor e,
'
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
B
B
B
B
B
B
. 124
The development of t he laminat e bending st iffnesses for a homogeneous
r egular balance symmet r ic angle-ply laminat e par allels t he development of t he in-
plane st iffnesses. For t he laminat e bending st iffnesses
xx
D ,
yy
D ,
xy
D , and
ss
D , t he
lamina st iffnesses and m and n ar e independent of lamina number , t hen can be
wr it t en as:
( )
( )

'
,
_
'
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
,
_
'
66
12
22
11
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2
1
2 3
2
4
4 2
4 2
2
12
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
z t t
N
D
D
D
D
N
k
k
ss
xy
yy
xx
. 125
Alt er nat ely, t hese st iffnesses can be wr it t en in t er ms of t he invar iant pr oper t ies of
t he mat er ial:
LAMINATES
( )
'
'
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
,
_
'
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
N
k
k
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
z t t
N
D
D
D
D
3
2
5
4
1
1
2
1
2 3
1
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
2
12
. 126
Now, as wit h t he in-plane st iffness development , consider specifically t he
xs
D
t er m. However , in t his case it is easier t o consider t he init ial for m of t he bending
st iffness, which is:
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
,
_
,
_
+ + +
N
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k k xs
Q n m mn Q n m mn Q mn nQ m z z D
1
66
2 2
12
2 2
22
3
11
3 1 3
1
3
1 2 1 1 1
3
1

Again r ecognizing t hat m and n ar e independent of lamina number , t hen
xs
D
becomes:
( )( ) ( )( )
( )
( )( )
( )
( )( )

,
_
,
_
,
_
,
_

N
k
k
k
k k
N
k
k
k
k k
N
k
k
k
k k
N
k
k
k
k k xs
Q z z
n m mn
Q z z
n m mn
Q z z
mn
Q z z
n m
D
1
66
3
1
3
2 2
1
12
3
1
3
2 2
1
22
3
1
3
3
1
11
1 3
1
3
3
1
3
2
1
3
1
3
1
3
.
Applying t he specializat ions of a r egular balanced lay-up t o
xs
D gives:
( )( ) ( ) ( )( ) ( )
( )
( )( ) ( )
( )
( )( ) ( )

+
+
N
k
k
k k
N
k
k
k k
N
k
k
k k
N
k
k
k k xs
Q z z
n m mn
Q z z
n m mn
Q z z
mn
Q z z
n m
D
1
66
3
1
3
2 2
1
12
3
1
3
2 2
1
22
3
1
3
3
1
11
1 3
1
3
3
1
3
2
1
3
1
3
1
3
,
or
( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( )
( )
( )( ) ( )( )
( )
( )( ) ( )( )
,
_
,
_
,
_
+
,
_
+
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k xs
z z
Q n m mn
z z
Q n m mn
z z
Q mn
z z
nQ m
D
1
3
1
1
3
66
2 2
1
3
1
1
3
12
2 2
1
3
1
1
3
22
3
1
1 3
1
1
1 3
11
3
1 1
3
2
1 1
3
1 1
3
1 1
3
.
Now examine t he summat ions in t he fir st br acket above,
LAMINATES
( )( ) ( )( )
3
1
3
2
3
3
3
4
3
5
3
4
3
3
3
2
3
1
3
0
3 3
1
3
2
3
3
3
6
3
5
3
4
3
3
3
2
3
1
1
1 3
1
1
1 3
1 1

+
+ + + + +
+ + + + +

N N N N
N N N N
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
z z z z z z z z z z
z z z z z z z z z z z z
L
L
.
Not e for a r egular balanced symmet r ic laminat e t hat :
, , , , ,
3 3 2 2 1 1 0 k N k N N N N
z z z z z z z z z z

K .
Ther efor e, t he summat ions become:
( )( ) ( )( )
0
1 1
3
0
3
0
3
1
3
2
3
3
3
4
3
5
3
4
3
3
3
2
3
1
3
0
3
0
3
1
3
2
3
3
3
6
3
5
3
4
3
3
3
2
3
1
1
1 3
1
1
1 3

+ + + + +
+ + + + +

+
z z
z z z z z z z z z z
z z z z z z z z z z z z
N
k
k
k
N
k
k
k
L
L
.
Thr ough a similar pr ocess, t he t hr ee r emaining br acket s in t he expr ession for
xs
D
ar e also shown t o be zer o. Ther efor e, t he coupling bending st iffness bet ween
nor mal and shear ,
xs
D , is zer o. The der ivat ion for t he ot her coupling bending
st iffness bet ween nor mal and shear ,
ys
D , is t he similar , wit h ident ical r esult s.
Consequent ly, t he bending st iffness for a r egular balanced symmet r ic angle-ply
laminat e in t er ms of t he lamina st iffnesses is:
( )
( )
'
,
_
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
,
_
'
66
12
22
11
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 4 4 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 4 4
2 2 2 2 4 4
2
1
2 3
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
2
4
4 2
4 2
2
12
Q
Q
Q
Q
n m n m n m n m
n m n m n m n m
n m n m m n
n m n m n m
z t t
N
D
D
D
D
D
D
N
k
k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
, 127
or , in t er ms of t he invar iant pr oper t ies,
( )
'
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
,
_
'
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
N
k
k
ys
xs
ss
xy
yy
xx
U
U
U
U
U
U
z t t
N
D
D
D
D
D
D
3
2
5
4
1
1
2
1
2 3
1
0 0 0
0 0 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos - 0
4 cos 2 cos -
4 cos 2 cos
2
12
. 128
LAMINATES
When t he r esult s for a r egular balanced symmet r ic angle-ply laminat e ar e collect ed,
t he for ce-moment st r ain-cur vat ur e r elat ionship is:
'
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
]
1
'
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0
0
0
xy
y
x
s
y
x
ss
yy xy
xy xx
ss
yy xy
xy xx
yy
yx
xy
xy
y
x
D
D D
D D
A
A A
A A
M
M
M
N
N
N
. 129
By way of comment ar y on t he specializat ions pr esent ed above, t hey pr ovide
engineer ing insight int o t he behavior of t he var ious component s of t he st iffness
t er ms. As such, t hey ar e impor t ant engineer ing development s. However , in
pr act ical applicat ion, dir ect calculat ion of t he st iffnesses for t he laminat e in
quest ion is less r est r ict ive and no mor e complicat ed. The pr epr ocessing component s
of var ious finit e element pr ogr ams have t he capabilit y t o calculat e t he laminat e
st iffnesses based on t he laminat e st r uct ur e. Alt er nat ely, spr eadsheet s can be used
t o per for m t he st iffness calculat ions.
Figur e 11. A Plot of t he St r ess Dist r ibut ion Thr ough a [ ]
S
45 4 t T300/N5208
Laminat e Under a Mixed For ce-Moment Load.
St r ess Di st r i but i ons
- 0 . 0 5 0 0
- 0 . 0 4 0 0
- 0 . 0 3 0 0
- 0 . 0 2 0 0
- 0 . 0 1 0 0
0 . 0 0 0 0
0 . 0 1 0 0
0 . 0 2 0 0
0 . 0 3 0 0
0 . 0 4 0 0
0 . 0 5 0 0
- 2 0 - 1 5 - 1 0 - 5 0 5 1 0 1 5
( ksi )
z

(
i
n
)
s x
s y
s s
LAMINATES
STRESS DI STRI BUTI ON I N A LAMI NATE
The Kir choff-Love model for t he displacement of a plat e leads t o a linear
dist r ibut ion of t he st r ain t hr ough t he t hickness of t he plat e. Fr om a pr act ical
viewpoint , t he assumpt ion t hat t he laminae ar e per fect ly bonded t oget her at t heir
int er faces r equir es t hat t he displacement s of adjacent laminae ar e equal at t he
int er face. Consequent ly, t he st r ain dist r ibut ion is cont inuous t hr ough t he
laminat e. However , cont inuit y of st r ain in a laminat e does not imply cont inuit y of
st r ess. The laminae st r esses ar e calculat ed fr om t he laminae st r ains and t he
laminae pr oper t ies. The discont inuit y of t he laminae pr oper t ies pr oduces t he
discont inuit y of t he st r ess t hr ough a laminat e.
Figur e 11 shows a plot of t he nor mal and shear st r esses in a r egular balanced
symmet r ic angle-ply laminat e due t o a mixed for ce-moment loading. Not e in t his
figur e t he significant discont inuit ies in all of t he st r esses. Bet ween t he fir st and
second ply, t he x-dir ect ion nor mal st r ess has a 17.8 kpsi jump. Figur e 12 shows a
plot of t he nor mal and shear st r esses in anot her angle-ply laminat e due t o a mixed
for ce-moment loading. Not e in t his figur e t he jump in t he x-dir ect ion nor mal st r ess
bet ween t he fir st and second ply is appr oximat ely 22 kpsi. When a laminat e
exper iences such a lar ge discont inuit y in any of t he st r esses t he int er facial bond is
highly st r essed and may fail pr oducing a delaminat ion. Delaminat ion of a laminat e
St r ess Di st r i but i ons
- 0 . 0 5 0 0
- 0 . 0 4 0 0
- 0 . 0 3 0 0
- 0 . 0 2 0 0
- 0 . 0 1 0 0
0 . 0 0 0 0
0 . 0 1 0 0
0 . 0 2 0 0
0 . 0 3 0 0
0 . 0 4 0 0
0 . 0 5 0 0
- 2 0 - 1 5 - 1 0 - 5 0 5 1 0 1 5
( ksi )
z

(
i
n
)
s x
s y
s s
Figur e 12. A Plot of t he St r ess Dist r ibut ion Thr ough a [ ]
S
10 4 t T300/N5208
Laminat e Under a Mixed For ce-Moment Load.
LAMINATES
is a pot ent ially hazar dous sit uat ion t hat is not , in gener al, addr essed by laminat e
failur e t heor ies.
LAMI NATE FAI LURE THEORI ES
Laminat e failur e analysis is based pr imar ily on lamina failur e analysis.
Laminat es by t heir definit ion ar e inhomogeneous. Consequent ly, laminat e failur e
t heor ies ar e lar gely empir ical. Alt er nat ely, lamina failur e t heor ies, t hough also
empir ical in or igin, have a phenomenological connect ion. Knowing t hat st r ess
dist r ibut ion in a laminat e it is possible t o apply lamina failur e t heor ies t o t he
individual lamina. This leads t o t wo laminat e failur e t heor ies, Fir st -Ply-Failur e
(FPF) and Last -Ply-Failur e (LPF). Dr awing an analogy t o met allic mat er ial
behavior , duct ile mat er ials display t wo cr it ical point s in t heir st r ess-st r ain plot t he
yield point and t he ult imat e load. The fir st -ply-failur e load is analogous t o t he
yield point of a met al. When one ply fails, t he load car r ying capabilit y of t he
laminat e is degr aded; however , it does not gener ally fail cat ast r ophically at t hat
load. Many laminat es can cont inue t o car r y incr easing loads safely aft er fir st -ply-
failur e, t hough at r educed st iffness. The last -ply-failur e load is analogous t o t he
ult imat e load for a met al. At t he last -ply-failur e load, t he st r uct ur e fails
cat ast r ophically.
FIRST-PLY-FAILURE
To det er mine t he fir st -ply-failur e load t he analyst must know t he laminat e
st acking sequence, laminae pr oper t ies, and t he laminat e loading. The laminat e
loading may be eit her applied for ces and moment s or t he r esult ing mid-plane
st r ains and cur vat ur es. The lat t er is easier t han t he for mer since laminae st r ains
can be calculat ed dir ect ly fr om t he mid-plane st r ains and cur vat ur es. For t he
for mer case, in which t he for ces and moment s ar e known, t he laminat e st iffnesses
and t he inver se (compliance) must be calculat ed and t he mid-plane st r ains and
cur vat ur es calculat ed in t ur n.
Once t he mid-plane st r ains and cur vat ur es ar e known, t hey ar e used t o
calculat e t he st r ains in t he individual laminae. At t his point , t her e is some
flexibilit y in t he pr ocess. If t he off-axis st r ain for mulat ion of t he quadr at ic failur e
cr it er ion is used, t he fir st -ply-failur e analysis goes dir ect ly int o t he calculat ion of
t he R-fact or s. If t he on-axis st r ain for mulat ion of t he quadr at ic failur e cr it er ion is
used, t he lamina st r ains must be t r ansfor med t o t he laminae pr incipal mat er ial
dir ect ions and t he failur e cr it er ion applied. If eit her st r ess for m of t he quadr at ic
failur e cr it er ion is used, t he lamina st r ains ar e used t o calculat e t he lamina
st r esses. Then, if t he off-axis for m of t he quadr at ic failur e cr it er ion is used, t he
analysis goes t o calculat ion of t he R-fact or s. The final opt ion, using t he on-axis
for m of t he quadr at ic failur e cr it er ion, r equir es t r ansfor ming t he lamina st r esses t o
t he lamina pr incipal mat er ial dir ect ions and t hen applying t he failur e cr it er ion.
LAMINATES
The fir st -ply-failur e load is det er mined by scaling t he or iginal applied load
by t he minimum of t he R-fact or s calculat ed for all of t he laminae. This pr ocess is
Laminat e St acking Sequence
Laminae Mat er ial Pr oper t ies
Laminat e Loading
Calculat e Laminae St r ains
Mid-plane St r ains and
Cur vat ur es Known?
Yes No
Calculat e Laminat e Compliance
Calculat e Mid-plane
St r ains and Cur vat ur es
Calculat e Laminat e St iffnesses
Calculat e Laminae St r esses
Calculat e Laminae R-Fact or s
Select Minimum R-Fact or
Scale Laminat e Load by
Minimum R-Fact or

Figur e 13. Flowchar t for Fir st -Ply-Failur e Calculat ion.
LAMINATES
shown in t he flowchar t pr esent ed in Figur e 13. Not e in t his flowchar t , as descr ibed
in t he par agr aph above, t he addit ional st eps t hat must be per for med in t he event
t he mid-plane st r ains and cur vat ur es ar e not known.
LAST-PLY-FAILURE
Last -ply-failur e analysis begins wit h a fir st -ply-failur e analysis. Aft er t he
fir st -ply-failur e load is det er mined, t he assumpt ion is made t hat t he failed ply (or
plies) makes no cont r ibut ion t o t he st iffness of t he laminat e. Ther efor e, t he
laminat e st iffness must be r ecalculat ed. The flowchar t shown in Figur e 14
descr ibes a last -ply-failur e analysis. In t his pr ocess t he for ces and moment s ar e
used t o det er mine t he failur e load. The analysis loops t hr ough t he same st eps unt il
all lamina have been det er mined t o have failed. Key t o t he pr ocess is t he set t ing t o
zer o of t he failed lamina st iffnesses. Not e t hat t he failed laminae ar e not r emoved
fr om t he laminat e, only t he st iffnesses ar e set t o zer o. This is significant t o t he
laminat e bending st iffness. Recall t hat t he bending st iffnesses ar e dependent on
t he cent r oidal coor dinat e of t he laminae. If t he failed laminae wer e t ot ally r emoved
fr om t he laminat e, t he laminat e st iffness calculat ion would not accur at ely r eflect
t he ver t ical spacing of t he r emaining laminae. Ther efor e, only t he st iffnesses of t he
failed laminae ar e set t o zer o.
As an analysis pr oceeds t hr ough t he LPF calculat ions, t he int er mediat e
values of t he failur e loads do not necessar ily incr ease or decr ease. Figur e 15 shows
a plot of cr it ical bending moment values ver sus mid-plane cur vat ur e fr om a last -
ply-failur e analysis. Not e t hat t he cur ve is not monot onic. Ther e is a gener ally
decr easing t r end fr om t he maximum load, which for t his laminat e was t he init ial
failur e load. However , t her e is a r egion, aft er t he init ial failur e, in which t he
laminat e sust ains incr easing loads.
It is impor t ant t o not e t hat a last -ply-failur e analysis pr esupposes t hat t he
laminat e will not fail cat ast r ophically aft er t he fir st -ply-failur e load. It is not at all
impossible in a dynamic sit uat ion for t he failur e t o cascade t hr ough t he laminat e
alt hough a last -ply-failur e analysis might indicat e t hat t he laminat e should not
fail. In exper iment al invest igat ion of t he fr act ur e of mat er ials invest igat or s
char act er ize t he t ext machines used as har d and soft . This char act er izat ion has t o
do wit h t he abilit y of t he machine t o cont inue t o apply loads t o a specimen aft er a
maximum load is applied wit hout cat ast r ophic failur e. In t his applicat ion, if t he
st r uct ur e suppor t ing t he laminat e maint ains a const ant load (for ce-moment ) t he
laminat e is mor e likely t o fail cat ast r ophically. Conver sely, if t he st r uct ur e
suppor t ing t he laminat e maint ains a const ant displacement (st r ain-cur vat ur e), t he
laminat e is less likely t o fail cat ast r ophically.
LAMINATES

Figur e 14. Flowchar t for Last -Ply-Failur e Calculat ion.
Fir st -Ply-Failur e Analysis
Set Failed Laminae St iffnesses t o Zer o
Mid-plane St r ains
and Cur vat ur es
Yes No
Calculat e FPF For ces and Moment s
Calculat e Mid-plane St r ains and Cur vat ur es
Calculat e Laminat e
Re-calculat e Laminat e St r esses
Calculat e Laminae St r ains
Select Minimum R-Fact or
Scale Laminat e Load by Minimum R-Fact or
Calculat e Laminae R-Fact or s
All Plies Failed?
Yes No
End
LAMINATES

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
k
x
1/in.
M
x

(
l
b
.

i
n
.
/
i
n
.
)
Figur e 15. A Plot of Applied Bending Moment Ver sus Mid-Plane Cur vat ur e for
an Angle-Ply Laminat e Fr om a Last -Ply-Failur e Analysis.

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, and upper -case Roman numer al subscr ipt s, i. e., I, II,

, t he sum of t he for ces in t he

, and assuming t hat t he laminat e is homogeneous in

, and again assuming t hat t he laminat e

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