Jordan University of Science and Technology Department of Civil Engineering

M.Sc. Thesis Proposal

Effect of Central Holes in Fiber Composite Laminated Plates Subject to In-plane Loadings Submitted by: Dana Hisham Qadan 20083023004 Supervisor Prof. Ghazi Abu-Farsakh Co-Advisor Dr. Amin Almasri

Introduction
In engineering science, composite material can be generally defined as any material that has been physically assembled from two or more materials to form one single bulk without physical blending to form a material with new properties. The resulting material would still have components identifiable as the constituent of the different materials. One of the advantages of the composites is that two or more materials could be combined to take advantage of the good characteristics of each material. Composites can be classified into roughly three types according to the filler types:

Particulate composites Fibrous composites Laminated composites

Usually, fiber composite materials will consist of two separate components, the matrix and the fibers. The matrix is the component that holds the fibers together to form the bulk of the material. It usually consists of various epoxy types, such as polymers. However, other materials are also commonly used. Metal matrix composite and thermoplastic matrix composite are some of the possibilities. The fibers are the material that has been impregnated in the matrix to lend its advantage (usually strength) to the composite. Different types of fibers are available to choose from, such as carbon fibers, sand, or ceramics. Since composites are generally non-homogeneous, the resulting properties will be the combination of the properties of the constituent materials. The different type of loading may call on different component of the composite to take the load. This implies that the composite materials properties may be different in tension and in compression as well as in bending. In addition, the direction of loading has a great effect on how material would response to deformation shape and value. The main advantage of most composites materials are in the weight savings. A quick way to illustrate this advantage is in the strength to weight ratio. For a given design, the material used must be strong enough to withstand the load that is to be applied. If a material selected is not strong enough, the section must be enlarged to increase the load bearing capacity. But doing so will increase the bulk and weight of the structural element. Another option is to change material to one that has high strength to weight ratio to begin with.

Literature Review
Many researchers have conducted research studies to examine the effect of holes in composite materials. Zhen et al [1] presented a single-layer higher-order model for predicting the stresses at curved free boundaries of laminated composite plates subjected to in-plane loading. He presented a triangular finite element based on the methodology of the discrete Kirchhoff plate bending element. Numerical results show that the proposed model is capable of predicting in-plane and inter-laminar stresses around the circular hole. In addition, distribution of free-edge stress through-

the-thickness of a laminate was also presented. Baltaci et al. [2] investigated the behavior of buckling of laminated composite circular plates having circular holes, and subjected to uniform radial load, using the finite element method through static stability analysis. The results showed that when the hole size increased, the circular plate becomes weaker and a decrease in the non-dimensional buckling load parameter are observed. It can also be seen that the effect of hole sizes increased, as the thickness parameter decreased. Also, it was seen that the effect of hole size increased as the thickness parameter decreased. Tsao [3, 4] presented a comprehensive analysis of delamination caused by the drill wear for twist-drill in drilling carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials. The critical thrust force at the onset of delamination for worn drill is predicted and compared with that of ideal drill. The experimental results demonstrate that though the critical thrust force is higher with increasing wear ratio, the delamination becomes more liable to occur because the actual thrust force increases to larger extent. Compared to sharp drill, the worn twist drill allows for lower feed rate below which the delamination damage can be avoided. Then he proposed an analytical approach to identifying the role of the pilot hole to reduce the thrust force-induced delamination during saw drilling. The predicted critical thrust force is in good agreement with the experimental values. Where delamination is one of the most concerns of applying the fiber-reinforced composite materials in various industries. A hole is pre-drilled to eliminate the thrust caused by the chisel edge of twist drill; thus, the threat for delamination is significantly reduced. Experimental results indicate that the critical thrust force is reduced with the increase in pilot hole ratio when the ratio of the radius of saw drill to the radius of existing delamination is above 0.5. The results can be applied to saw drilling of medium-to-large holes in composite laminates without delamination damage. Karakuzu et al.[5] obtained failure mode, failure load, and bearing strength in a laminated woven glass-vinylester composite plate with two parallel circular holes. The plates are tested under traction forces by two parallel rigid pins experimentally and numerically using finite element. The edge distance-to-hole diameter (E/D), the distance between two hole-to-hole diameter (M/D), and the distance from the upper or the lower edge of the specimen to the centre of hole-to-hole diameter (K/D) ratios were selected as parameters to be studied. The results showed that the shear failure modes were directly related to E/D ratio. The bearing strength values were highly dependent on E/ D ratio, where they increased with increasing E/D ratio, while the M/D and K/D ratios are constant. Larve et al. [6] predicted the stress redistribution due to subcritical damage accumulation near open holes in composite laminates by using two methods; a finite element analysis in conjunction with the method of material property degradation method and three-dimensional ply level modeling of discrete damage near an open hole in a quasi-isotropic composite laminate. The first method was unable to accurately predict the fiber stress relaxation due to longitudinal splitting, which in the case of laminates with holes was of aparamount importance for the accurate prediction of ultimate strength. The fiber direction stress relaxation at the hole edge was predicted by the mesh independent crack modeling method. A good agreement with the experimental data was obtained, although the modeling was restricted to considering only one damage mode, the longitudinal splitting in the plies.

The distribution of stresses and deflections in rectangular isotropic, orthotropic and laminated composite plates were studied by Jain et al [7], with central circular hole under transverse static loading using finite element method. The aim was to analyze the effective the hole diameter to its width (D/A) upon stress concentration factor (SCF) and deflection in isotropic, orthotropic and laminated composite plates under different transverse static loading conditions. The results showed that for loading at the boundaries of the hole, the (SCF) for all stresses played an important role in all cases of plates and boundary conditions. Stress concentration for all stresses occurred on maximum, significant, and minimum levels laminate composite plates, orthotropic plate and isotropic plate respectively for respective loading and boundary conditions. Stress concentration for all stresses occurred more in plates with loading at boundary of hole than uniformly distributed loading for respective boundary condition and type of plate. It was concluded that SCF for all stresses decreased with increase of (D/A) for almost all cases. Han et al. [8] studied experimentally the effects of the stitching reinforcement of composite laminates containing a circular hole. This is done by measuring the tensile strength and stiffness and then investigating the strain distribution and concentration analytically and experimentally for different stitching parameters, external load, and edge location of the hole. The results showed that the stiffness and the failure strength of the composite laminate were increased after stitching reinforcement. There existed a notch strengthening effect, which implied that the maximum strain at the hole edge became higher. Comparing the stitching reinforcement with unstitching, the scope of strain declination is roughly the same, but the declination level was obviously increased. Jones [9] showed that the effect of holes on laminate behavior was much more complex than on alamina or plate behavior. He plotted the circumferential stresses around the hole for an isotropic material and several unidirectional composite materials. Moreover, the circumferential stresses at = 0 were reduced for composites relative to isotropic materials. Because of isotropy of material properties, the key factor in failure of isotropic plates with holes was the magnitude of the stress concentration factor from which the maximum stress was obtained. Gibson [10] presented coverage of such important topics in composite mechanics of materials such as interlaminar stress in laminates, and he showed that interlaminar stresses can cause delamination or separation of the laminae, which was a failure mode. Gibson studied delamination near free edges in laminates and found that interlaminar stresses and delamination may occur at other discontinuities such as holes and joints.

Objectives
The present study will investigate the effect of central holes on stress distribution and failure of fiber reinforced composite laminates subject to various inplane loadings. The results will be compared with available experimental data from literature.

Methodology

The distribution of stresses in laminated composite plates with central hole under tension loading will be studied, using three-dimensional finite element software, ANSYS. The behavior of composite plates with various aspect ratios (a/b) and various hole diameters of holes will be investigated, Different stacking and fiberorientation angles will be considered. Effect of material nonlinearity will be accounted for using. The numerical results will be compared and with available experimental data.

References
[1] W. Zhen, C. Wanji. (2009) Stress analysis of laminated composite plates with a circular hole according to a single-layer higher-order model: Composite Structures 90 (2009) 122129. [2] A. Baltaci, M. Sarikanat, H.Yildiz (2007) Static stability of laminated composite circular plates with holes using shear deformation theory: Finite Elements in Analysis and Design 43 (2007) 839 846. [3] C.C. Tsao. (2007) Effect of tool wear on delamination in drilling composite materials: International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 983988. [4] C.C. Tsao. (2007) Effect of pilot hole on thrust force by saw drill: International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 47 (2007) 217221. [5] R. Karakuzu, N. Taylak, B. L. Murat, M. Aktas (2007) Effects of geometric parameters on failure behavior in laminated composite plates with two parallel pinloaded holes: Composite Structures 85 (2008) 19. [6] E.V. Iarve, D. Mollenhauer, R. Kim (2005) Theoretical and experimental investigation of stress redistribution in open hole composite laminates due to damage accumulation: Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 163171. [7] N.K. Jain, N.D. Mittal (2008) Finite element analysis for stress concentration and deflection in isotropic, orthotropic and laminated composite plates with central circular hole under transverse static loading: Materials Science and Engineering A 498 (2008) 115124. [8] X.P. Han, L.X. Li , X.P. Zhu, Z.F. Yue (2008) Experimental study on the stitching reinforcement of composite laminates with a circular hole: Composites Science and Technology 68 (2008) 16491653. [9] Ko CC, Lin CC. Method for calculating the interlaminar stresses in symmetric laminates containing a circular hole. AIAA J 1992;30:197204.

[10] Barboni R, Carbonaro R, Gaudenzi P. On the use of a multilayer higher-order theory for the stress analysis around a circular hole of laminates under tension. Compos Struct 1995;32:64958. [11] R. M. Jones, Mechanics of Composite Materials, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1975. [12] R. F. Gibson, Principles of Composite Material Mechanics, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1994.