SKMA4113 Aircraft Structures II

Analysis of Unidirectional Composites

Laminate Analysis
Laminates consist of two or more laminae bonded together to be one integrated structural element.
Each lamina may be arranged in any direction desired, giving the laminate characteristics as
determined by the designer.
Laminate Code
A laminate consisting of several unidirectional laminae arranged in various orientations is designated
by a code which defines the order of the lamina stacking and its orientation, such as:
[03/902/45/-453]S
This code indicates that the laminate is symmetrical (from the subscript S at the end, outside the
square bracket), and consists of three laminae in the 0 direction vis-a-vis x-axis, two laminae at 90,
one at 45 and three at -45, in the lower half of its thickness. Friom symmetry, this is followed by
three more laminae at -45, one at 45, two at 90 and three at 0 in the uer half of the thickness. This
laminate has 18 laminae.
In its full form without the use of the symmetry sign, the laminate may also be written as:
[03/902/45/-456/45/902/03]
This code starts off with the bottom-most lamina (i.e. with the lowest z-coordinate). Each lamina is
made from unidirectional composites.
In another example, a non-symmetrical laminate is:
[453/02/-452/902/453]
This laminate has twelve laminae, i.e. three at 45, two 0, two -45, two 90 and three 45. The crosssection view of this laminate, with thickness t, is as follows.

z
t
3 lamina 45
2 lamina 90
2 lamina -45
2 lamina 0
3 lamina 45

-t

Lamina Stress-Strain Relationship

The on-axis stress-strain relationship for an orthotropic material (i.e. with three planes of symmetry for
the material properties) is as follows:

SKMA 4113 Aircraft Structures II

Analysis of Unidirectional Composites - p1

Ainullotfi Abdul Latif, UTM

 1

2

6

Q11 Q12
Q
21 Q 22
0
0

0 1

0 2
Q 66 6

(1)

Q xs x

Q ys y
Q ss s

( 2)

In the off-axis direction this becomes:

x

y

s

Q xx

Q yx
Q sx

Q xy
Q yy
Q sy

For the k-th lamina in a multi-lamina laminate, these matrix equations can be expressed as:
{}k = [Q]k {}k
The Variation of Stresses and Strains Within A Laminate
To obtain the variation of stresses and strains within a laminate, it is assumed that every lamina is
binded perfectly, i.e. the displacements across the laminate is continuous and there is no slipping
occuring between adjacent laminae.
Also, the laminate is assumed to be a thin plate, with planes normal to the middle surface remain
normal under any deformation of the plate.
Consider a thin plate laminate in the laminate x-y plane. A point at (x,y,0) in the middle plane of the
plate geometry displaces u0, v0 and w0 respectively in the x-, y- and z-directions.

u(z)
z

For 0
tan = w0/x

w0

u0
For any point P at z above the middle plane, the displacements in the x- and y-directions (refer to the
previous diagram) are:

SKMA 4113 Aircraft Structures II

u(z)

v(z)

w 0
x
w 0
v0 z
y

u0 z

Analysis of Unidirectional Composites - p2

Ainullotfi Abdul Latif, UTM

From basic mechanics:

u
x

v
y

u v

y x

Thus:

u0
2w0
z
x
x 2

v 0
2w0
z
y
y 2

u 0 v 0
2w 0

2z
y
x
xy

In terms of vectors and matrices:

x

y

s

0x
k x
0

y z k y
0
k
s
s

or:
{} = {0} + z {k}
where {0} is the middle (neutral) plane strain vector, and {k} is the laminate middle plane curvature
vector (as in plate analysis):

k x

k y
k
s

2w 0

x 2

2
w0

y 2

2w 0

xy

Susbstituting this strain equation into equation (2) which relates the strains with the stresses in the kth
lamina, we have:

x

y

s k

Q xx

Q yx
Q sx

Q xy
Q yy
Q sy

Q xs 0x
k x
0

Q ys y z k y

k
Q ss 0s
s k
k

( 3)

Since the modulus components Qij can differ between one lamina and the other (since the fibres do
not have to be oriented in the same direction), the variation of stresses along the laminate thickness
can be of the form of a step function, as shown in the diagram below for a laminate consisting of four
laminae. This happens even though the strains across the laminate is continuous under the applied
loadings (for example, pure bending).

SKMA 4113 Aircraft Structures II

Analysis of Unidirectional Composites - p3

Ainullotfi Abdul Latif, UTM

Qij

Laminate
Applied
A Load

Strains
Variation
(Continuous)

Lamina Qij
(Different)

Stress
Variation

Laminate Force and Moment Intensities

Force intensities (i.e. force per unit width of laminate) can be obtained by integrating the stresses
along the thickness of the laminate. For examle, in the x-direction:
t

Nx

2
t

x dz

Similarly, the moment intensities per unit width of the laminate cab be obtained by integrating the
product of stress and moment arm from the neutral plane, as follows (for the x-direction case):
t

Mx

2
t

x z dz

Integrating along the laminate thickness is actually the same as summing the integrals along the
thicknesses of each lamina in the laminate, thus for the whole laminate we have for the force
intensities:

Nx

Ny
N
s

x

t 2 y dz

s
t

x

zk 1 y dz
k 1

s k

x

zk 1 y z dz
k 1

s k

zk

And for the moment intensities:

Mx

My
M
s

x

t 2 y z dz

s
t

zk

In the above equations t is the thickness of the whole laminate, and the limits for the integration, zk
and zk-1, are defined as below:

SKMA 4113 Aircraft Structures II

Analysis of Unidirectional Composites - p4

Ainullotfi Abdul Latif, UTM

kth Lamina

zk
zk-1

Substituting equation (3) for stresses:

Nx

Ny
N
s
Mx

My
M
s

k 1

k 1

Q xx

Q yx
Q sx

Q xx

Q yx
Q sx

0x
Q xs
z

k
Q ys 0y dz
zk 1 0
Qss
s k
k

Q xy
Q yy
Qsy
Q xy
Q yy
Q sy

0x
Q xs
z

k
Q ys 0y z dz
zk 1 0
Q ss
s k
k

zk

k 1

zk

k 1

k x

k
z
dz
y

s k

k x

2
k
z
dz
y

s k

Before this it has been shown that 1, 2 and 6, and k1, k2 and k6 are the middle (neutral) plane
strains and curvatures, which do not at all depend on the position z. As such these terms can be taken
out of the summation. Once the equations have been integrated they can be written as:
N x

N y
N
s

M x

M y
M
s

A xx

A yx
A
sx

A xy
A yy
A sy

Bxx Bxy

Byx Byy
B
sx Bsy

A xs 0x

A ys 0y
A ss 0s

Bxs 0x

Bys 0y
Bss 0s

Bxx Bxy Bxs k x

Byx Byy Bys k y
B

sx Bsy Bss k s

D xx D xy D xs k x

D yx D yy D ys k y
D

sx D sy D ss k s

where:
A ij

k z k z k1

Q ij

k 1

D ij

Bij
1
3

1
2

k z k2 z k2-1

Q ij

k 1

k z k3 z 3k-1

Q ij

k 1

Take note that the existence of Bij indicates that there is coupling between extension (due to the force
N) and flexure (as a result of the moment M) for the laminate.
[A] is the extensional stiffness matrix, and [D] the flexural striffness matrix, while [B] is the coupling
stiffness matrix (between extension and flexure).

Assoc Prof Ainullotfi Abdul Latif, 19 November 2014.

SKMA 4113 Aircraft Structures II

Analysis of Unidirectional Composites - p5

Ainullotfi Abdul Latif, UTM