Deformation and strength of laminated quasiisotropic carbon-reinforced plastics

Conclusions The stress-strain state and strength of the quasiisotropic carbon-reinforced plastics depend strongly on the lay-up system of the adjacent plies because the magnitude of the interply stresses and their distribution greatly change when the reinforcement system is changed. The highest stress intensity is recorded at the free edge of the specimen. The magnitude of the residual thermal stresses is comparable with that of the mechanical stresses at the instant of formation of cracks in the weak plies of the composite. The first microcracks form inside the plies with the orientation 90 and ±45° in the direction of reinforcement. The IACs start to form at the free edges of the specimen and propagate into the material at strains from 12 to 39% of limiting strain _x ^l . Delamination of the laminated composite starts later than the formation of IACs (40–88% of _x ^l ) because the normal stress _x is higher than _z. The optimum lay-up system of the composite is 0/45/90/-45]_s because this system ensures higher stiffness of the material. The ±45 and 90° plies are not suitable for external surfaces of the composite since they start to crack very early. The quasiisotropic composites are less sensitive to the value of G_{2 3} than the composites with the ply lay-up ±]_s.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 3, pp. 449–454, May–June, 1985.