Stress Analysis and optimization of a laminated Composite plate weakened by Discontinuity

Abstract

Abstract newlineThe enormous applications of composite materials in structural, mechanical, automobile and newlineaerospace industries demand a deep understanding of the behavior of materials under various newlinetypes of loading conditions. Generally, design or service requires holes and cutouts in plate like newlinestructural members that affect adversely to the stress field around them. newlineThe study of loading conditions, geometry of cut-outs, fiber angle, stacking sequence and ply newlinegroups is indispensable as the behavior of the plates strongly depend on them. The present analytic newlineinvestigations emphasis on the effects of these parameters on the failure strength, stress and newlinemoment distribution in orthotropic and symmetric laminated plate weakened by various shaped newlineholes considering in-plane and bending loadings. The generalized solution of both loadings newlinefor stress and moment distribution around cut-outs is presented by using the Muskhelishvili s newlinecomplex variable formulation. newlineAnisotropy provides a good opportunity to tailor-made the properties of composites. In order newlineto obtain desired properties, optimization of various parameters is needed. The optimization of newlinecomposites is difficult as it requires complicated derivatives of objective functions, multitudinous newlinedesign variables, multiple objectives, etc. newlineStress analysis using Muskhelishvili s complex variable approach is successfully associated newlinewith the optimization through a hybridized genetic algorithm to optimize orthotropic and composite newlineplate weakened by various shaped holes. The optimum design of 4, 8 and 16 layered newlinesymmetric laminated plate subjected to various in-plane loadings, is achieved by considering, newlineTsai-Hill quadratic interaction criterion as an objective function and ply orientations as design newlinevariables. The optimum design of carbon/epoxy, kevlar/epoxy, graphite/epoxy, and glass/epoxy newlineorthotropic and symmetric laminated plate weakened by circular, elliptical and polygonal hole newlineis investigated. The behavior of optimally designed composites is also studied. newlineKeywords: Bending, co