New Families of Hygrothermally Stable Composite Laminates with Optimal Extension-Twist Coupling

Abstract

The necessary and sufficient conditions for hygrothermal stability of laminated composites are presented. A thorough survey of hygrothermally stable families is performed to identify stacking sequences that produce maximum extension-twist coupling. This is achieved through a constrained optimization routine, where the objective function is derived from the constitutive law given in classical lamination theory and the constraints are the necessary conditions for hygrothermal stability. A representative sample of these optimized laminates are constructed and tested to demonstrate significant improvement in coupling over the previously known optima. Comparisons are made with a nonlinear model and finite element analysis. An investigation of the robustness of the optimal stacking sequences to errors in ply angle typical of hand-layup manufacturing is presented.