AE 624 Mechanics of Composite Materials

Homework 8

Date of Demonstration : 11-17th April, 2017

1. Write a computer program to determine last-ply failure of a general hybrid laminate.

The input values are to be the fiber volume fraction and material properties of
fiber and matrix, strength of laminae, ply lay-up, coecients of thermal expansion,
coecients of hygroscopic expansion etc. (There should also be a provision to input
lamina properties directly also.) You should determine the maximum values of f
and M for a given case. (There should also be a provision to output reserve factors
for each lamina failure)
It should be possible to handle mechanical and hygrothermal loading. It should also
be possible to select the failure criterion (Tasi-Wu, Max.stress etc.)
In case of symmetric laminates, there should be a provision to get the laminate
engineering constants. The program may have a graphic user interface to input ma-
terial properties (eg. guide in MATLAB). You can also have a library of properties
of dierent materials to choose from. Make the program as ecient as you can and
as modular as possible.
The above mentioned features are the minimum requirements and you are encour-
aged to include more features wherever possible like failure envelops on demand,
variation of engineering constants with etc.
You should demonstrate the program with a general laminate of your choice. This
can be further tested with some standard cases. You are encouraged to discuss
dierent aspects of the program among your peer group, but the program must be
developed as an individual eort.
The essence of this exercise is to bring together the lamina and laminate analysis
that are discussed in the course.