Strength Prediction and Damage Assessment of Laminated Composite Plates With Rectangular/Square Cutout Using Finite Element Method

Abstract

The progressive failure analysis of symmetrically laminated rectangular composite plate [0/+45/-45/90]2s with square/rectangular cutout under uniform uniaxial compression loading is carried out using finite element method. Hashins failure criterion is used to predict the failure of lamina. A parametric study has been carried out to study the influence of square/rectangular cutout size, cutout orientation and plate thickness on the ultimate failure load of laminated composite plate under uni-axial compression loading. Ultimate failure loads were computed for six different laminate configurations [0/+45/-45/90]2s, [75/-60/30/-15]2s, [0/90]4s, [-45/45]4s, [15/-75]4s, [30/-60]4s. It is observed that the laminate stacking sequence, plate thickness , cutout size and cutout orientation has substantial influence on the ultimate failure load of notched composite plates.