Structural scales and

types of analysis in
composite materials

Daniel & Ishai: Engineering Mechanics of

Composite Materials
• Micromechanics
- which fibre?
- how much fibre?
- arrangement of fibres?
>>> LAYER PROPERTIES
(strength, stiffness)
• Laminate Theory
- which layers?
- how many layers?
- how thick?
>>> LAMINATE PROPERTIES

» LAMINATE PROPERTIES
>>> BEHAVIOUR UNDER LOADS
(strains, stresses, curvature, failure mode…)
Polymer composites are usually
laminated from several individual layers of
material. Layers can be ‘different’ in the
sense of:

• different type of reinforcement

• different geometrical arrangement
• different orientation of reinforcement
• different amount of reinforcement
• different matrix
Typical laminate
configurations
for storage
tanks to BS4994

Eckold (1994)
E2 fibre
direction

E1

The unidirectional ply (or lamina) has

maximum stiffness anisotropy - E1»E2
90o

0o
We could remove the in-plane
anisotropy by constructing a ‘cross-ply’
laminate, with UD plies oriented at 0 and
90o. Now E1 = E2.
But under the action of an in-plane
load, the strain in the relatively stiff 0o
layer is less than that in the 90o layer.

Direct stress thus results in bending:

This is analogous to a metal laminate consisting of
one sheet of steel (modulus ~ 210 GPa) bonded to
one of aluminium (modulus ~ 70 GPa):

P Powell: Engineering with

Fibre-Polymer Laminates

Note the small anticlastic bending due to the

different Poisson’s ratio of steel and aluminium.
 In this laminate, direct stress and
bending are said to be coupled.

Thermal and
moisture effects also
result in coupling in
certain laminates -
consider the familiar
bi-metallic strip:
A single ‘angle-ply’ UD lamina (ie
fibre orientation   0o or 90o) will
shear under direct stress:


In a 2-ply laminate (, -), the shear
deformations cancel out, but result in
tension-twist coupling:
To avoid coupling effects, the cross-ply
laminate must be symmetric - each ply must
be mirrored (in terms of thickness and
orientation) about the centre.

Possible symmetric arrangements would be:

0o

90o
0/90/90/0 90/0/0/90
[0,90]s [90,0]s
Both these laminates have the same in-
plane stiffness.

How do the flexural stiffnesses compare?

0o

90o
0/90/90/0 90/0/0/90
[0,90]s [90,0]s
• The two laminates [0,90]s and [90,0]s have the
same in-plane stiffness, but different flexural
stiffnesses
• Ply orientations determine in-plane properties.
• Stacking sequence determines flexural
properties.
• The [0,90]s laminate becomes [90,0]s if rotated.
So this cross-ply laminate has flexural properties
which depend on how the load is applied!
HAWT (2004) VAWT (1987)
• To avoid all coupling effects, a laminate containing an angle
ply must be balanced as well as symmetric - for every ply at
angle , the laminate must contain another at -.
• Balance and symmetry are not the same:

0/30/-30/30/0 - symmetric but not balanced = direct

stress/shear strain coupling.

30/30/-30/-30 - balanced but not symmetric = direct

stress/twist coupling.
 • The [0,90] cross-ply
laminate (WR) has
equal properties at 0o
and 90o, but is not
isotropic in plane.
• A ‘quasi-isotropic’
laminate must contain at
least 3 different equally-
spaced orientations:
0,60,-60;
0,90,+45,-45; etc.
ODE/BMT: FRP Design Guide
 UD (0o)
laminate proportion of
plies at 90o

proportion of
plies at 0o

proportion of
plies at 45o

UD (90o)
Carpet plot for tensile modulus of laminate
glass/epoxy laminate
0/90 (cross-ply)
E = 29 GPa

0/90/±45 (quasi-isotropic)
E = 22 GPa
Classical Plate Analysis
• Plane stress (through-thickness and interlaminar
shear ignored).
• ‘Thin’ laminates; ‘small’ out-of plane deflections
• Plate loading described by equivalent force and
moment resultants.

• If stress is h/ 2 h, N x = h x,
h/ 2constant through thickness
Nx 
etc. h/ 2
σ(z).dz Mx  
h/ 2
σ(z).z.dz
Classical Plate Analysis

• Plate bending is described by

curvatures kx, ky, kxy.
• The ‘curvature’ is equal to 1 / radius of
curvature.
• Total plate strain results from in-plane
loads and curvature according to:
[  ( z )]  [  ]  z[ k ]
o

where z is distance from centre of plate

Classical Plate Analysis

Stress = stiffness x strain:

 ( z )  [ Q][  ]  z[ Q][ k ]
o

Giving:
h/2 h/2 h/2 h/2

[N ]   [Q ][ o
]dz   [Q ][ k ] zdz  [Q ][ o
]  dz  [Q][k ]  zdz
h / 2 h / 2 h / 2 h / 2

h/2 h/2

[ M ]  [Q][ o ]  zdz  [Q][k ]  z 2 dz

h / 2 h / 2
 In simpler terms:
[ N ]  [ A][  o ]  [ B ][ k ]
[ M ]  [ B ][  ]  [ D ][ k ]
o

[A] is a matrix defining the in-plate stiffness. For an isotropic

sheet, it is equal to the reduced stiffness multiplied by thickness
(units force/distance).

[B] is a coupling matrix, which relates curvature to in-plane

forces. For an isotropic sheet, it is identically zero.

[D] is the bending stiffness matrix. For a single isotropic sheet,

[D] = [Q] h3/12, so that D11=Eh3/12(1-2), etc.
Classical Laminate Analysis

• Combines the principles of thin plate

theory with those of stress
transformation.
• Mathematically, integration is performed
over a single layer and summed over all
the layers in the laminate.
n  hj hj

[ N ]   [Q ][ ]  dz  [Q ][k ]  zdz 
o

j 1
 hj 1 hj 1 
Classical Laminate Analysis

• The result is a so-called constitutive

equation, which describes the
relationship between the applied loads
and laminate deformations.

 [ N ]   [ A][ B]   [ ]
o

    . 
 [ M ]  [ B][ D]  [k ] 

[A], [B] and [D] are all 3x3 matrices.

Classical Laminate Analysis

• Matrix inversion gives strains resulting

from applied loads:
 [ ]  [a ][b]   [ N ] 
o

    . 
 [k ]   [c][d ]  [ M ]

where:
1
 [ A][ B ]   [a][b] 
    
 [ B ][ D]  [c][d ]
Effective Elastic Properties of the
Laminate (thickness h)

1 1 1 a 21 a12
Ex  ; Ey  ; G xy  ; xy  ; yx 
ha11 ha22 ha33 a11 a 22

Bending stiffness from the inverted D

matrix:
12 12
E x
flex
 3 ; Ey  3
flex

h d11 h d 22

1 1
( EI ) x  ; ( EI ) y 
d11 d 22
Classical Laminate Analysis - assumptions
1 Layers in the laminate are perfectly bonded to each other –
strain is continuous at the interface between plies.
2 The laminate is thin, and is in a state of plane stress. This means
that there can be no interlaminar shear or through-thickness
stresses (yz = zx = z = 0).
3 Each ply of the laminate is assumed to be homogeneous, with
orthotropic properties.
4 Displacements are small compared to the thickness of the laminate.
5 The constituent materials have linear elastic properties.
6 The strain associated with bending is proportional to the distance
from the neutral axis.
Steps in Classical Laminate Analysis
1. Define the laminate – number of layers, thickness, elastic and strength
properties and orientation of each layer.
2. Define the applied loads – any combination of force and moment
resultants.
3. Calculate terms in the constitutive equation matrices [A], [B] and [D].
4. Invert the property matrices – [a] = [A]-1, etc.
5. Calculate effective engineering properties.
6. Calculate mid-plane strains and curvatures.
7. Calculate strains in each layer.
8. Calculate stresses in each layer from strains, moments and elastic
properties.
9. Evaluate stresses and/or strains against failure criteria.
Use of LAP software to
calculate effect of cooling
from cure temperature
(non-symmetric laminate).