Edge Effects on Thermally Induced Stresses in Composite Laminates

Abstract

Thermally induced stresses in fiber composite laminates play an important role in the strength and failure of such laminates as load carrying members. When laminates have free edges, cutouts or holes, interlaminar stress concentration will usually develop near the free-edge region under service loads. An accurate evaluation of thermally induced edge stresses will further the understanding of the laminates' behavior. The present paper examines the stress field of a finite-width, symmetrical laminate when subjected to a uniform temperature change. A finite-element proce dure employing advanced sparse matrix solution technique is employed to study the singular nature of stresses near the free-edge region. Edge effects on the overall response of the laminate under thermal loading are discussed.