Thermoelastic stress analysis of holes in laminated composite materials

Sambasivam, S., Quinn, S. and Dulieu-Barton, J.M. (2008) Thermoelastic stress analysis of holes in laminated composite materials. SEM XI International Congress on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Orlando, USA. 01 - 04 Jun 2008. 10 pp .

Abstract

The design of cut outs, or holes, in laminated composite components is of great importance in aerospace, automobile and structural engineering. The presence of these holes results in stress concentration that leads to strength degradation and possible premature failure during the operational life of the component. In this work thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) is used for the analysis of laminated composite material. A primary consideration is to determine the source of the thermoelastic response, as recent previous work has suggested that this is from the resin rich surface layer acting as a strain witness. Having identified the source of the thermoelastic response, a general strain based calibration routine is developed. The effects of mean load, loading frequency and the increase in absolute temperature of the specimen are considered. An analysis of the effect of holes in a variety of laminated components is presented to provide experimental stress concentration factors based on TSA data. The results highlight that the thermoelastic response is affected by several factors, but also demonstrates the necessity and usefulness of experimental data in the design process.

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Contributors

Author: S. Quinn

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