Cured Shape of Cross-Ply Composite Thin Shells

Abstract

For a composite laminated plate, it has been found that classical laminate theory (CLT) can not always predict the final cured shape correctly and geometric nonlinearity must be considered. For composite laminated shells, experiments show that the cured shape depends on stacking sequence, radius, thickness, and size. This paper investigates the cured shape of several cross-ply composite shells. The cured shape of a cross-ply shell is generally cylindrical. A model is established to predict the cured shape. The model is based on the Rayleigh-Ritz energy method and considers geometric nonlinearity. Modeling and experiment show that, for certain stacking sequences, the generator of the cured shape may be orthogonal to the original generator, while other stacking sequences can lead to deeper or shallower cured shapes. The predictions of the model are very close to the results of FEM analysis and experiment. This model can be used as a guide in the manufacture of unsymmetric cross-ply laminates.