Residual surface stresses in laminated cross-ply fiber-epoxy composite materials

Residual (curing) stresses in a cross-ply laminated plate are related to the strains released when individual plies are separated. Released displacements are determined using high-sensitivity moiré interferometry and linearized strain-displacement equations are used to determine residual strains. Elastic orthotropic stress-strain relations are used to calculate residual stresses remote from free-edges of a [90₂₀/0₂₀/90₂₀] graphite-epoxy cross-ply panel. The measured strains compare favorably with those predicted by laminated plate theory. In a second example, the circumferential and radial residual strains and stresses at the end-section of a thick-walled cross-ply graphite-epoxy cylinder are determined. Paper was presented at the 1992 SEM Spring Conference on Experimental Mechanics held in Las Vegas NV on June 8–11.