A Beam Theory for Laminated Composites

and Application to Torsion Problems

Dr. Bhavani V. Sankar

Presented By:
Sameer Luthra

EAS 6939 – Aerospace Structural Composites

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 Introduction
 Composite
p beams have become veryy common in applications
pp
like Automobile Suspensions, Hip Prosthesis etc.
 Unlike beams of Isotropic materials, Composite beams may
exhibit
hibi strong coupling
li bbetween:
 Extensional
 Flexural &
 Twisting modes of Deformation.
 There is a need for simple and efficient analysis procedures
f Composite
for C i beam
b like
lik structures.

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 Beam Theories
 EULER-BERNOULLI BEAM THEORY
 Assumptions:
1. Cross-sections which are plane & normal to the longitudinal axis
remain plane and normal to it after deformation.
2. Shear Deformations are neglected.
3. Beam Deflections are small.

 Euler-Bernoulli eq. for

f bending off Isotropic
i beams off constant
cross-section:
where:
w(x): deflection of the neutral axis
q(x): the applied transverse load

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 Beam Theories
 TIMOSHENKO BEAM THEORY
 Basic difference from Euler
Euler-Bernoulli
Bernoulli beam theory is that
Timoshenko beam theory considers the effects of Shear and
also of Rotational Inertia in the Beam Equation. So physically,
Timoshenko’ss theory effectively lowers the stiffness of beam
Timoshenko
and the result is a larger deflection.
 Timoshenko’s eq. for bending of Isotropic beams of constant
cross-section:
ti
where:
A: Area of Cross-section
G: Shear Modulus
: Shear Correction Factor

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 Beam Theories
 TIMOSHENKO BEAM THEORY(Contd….)
 Shear Correction Factor
Timoshenko Defined it as:

Significance of Shear Correction Factor :

Multilayered plate and Shell finite elements have a constant shear
distribution across thickness. This causes a decrease in accuracy
especially for sandwich structures. This problem is overcome using
shear correction factors .

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 Objective
 Derivation of a Beam Theoryy for Laminated Composites
p and
Application to Torsion problems
 The solution procedure is indicated for the case of a
C il
Cantilever B
Beam subjected
bj d to endd loads.
l d
 A closed form solution is derived for the problem of
Torsion of a Specially Orthotropic laminated beam
(Coupling Matrix [B] = 0, A16 = A26 = D16 = D26 = 0).

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Derivation of a Composite Beam Theory
 A Beam Theoryy for Laminated Composite p Beams is derived
from the shear deformable laminated plate theory.
 The equilibrium equations are assumed to be satisfied in an
average sense over the
h width
id h off the
h beam.
b
 The Principle of Minimum Potential Energy is applied
to derive the Equilibrium equations and Boundary conditions.
 i.e Beam cross sections normal to the x-axis do not
undergo any in-plane deformations.

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Derivation of a Composite Beam Theory

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 Steps Followed for the Derivation
 The displacement field in the Beam is derived by retaining the First order
terms in the Taylor Series expansion for the plate mid-plane deformations
in the width coordinate. E.g.

where U(x) is the displacement of points on the longitudinal axis of the beam
 Th laminate
The l i t constitutive
tit ti relation
l ti isi expressed
d iin simple
i l tterms as:
{F} = [C] {E}
where: {F} : Vector of Force and Moment Resultants
[C] : Laminate Stiffness Matrix
{E} : Vector of Mid-Plane Deformations
 A new set of Force and Moment Resultants for the Beam are defined as:

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 Steps Followed for the Derivation
 The strain energy per unit area of the laminate :

 The strain energy per unit length of the beam :

 The Strain Energy in the Beam :

 The Principle of Minimum Potential Energy is applied to derive the

Equilibrium equations and Boundary conditions.
 Force
F anddMMomentt resultants
lt t are substituted
b tit t d iin th
the diff
differential
ti l equations
ti
of Equilibrium in terms of displacement variables to obtain differential
equations of equilibrium.
 These differential equations are then solved for the particular case of a
Cantilevered beam of Rectangular cross section subjected to end loads
only.
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 Steps Followed for the Derivation

Principle of Minimum Potential Energy

According to the Principle of Minimum Potential energy, a
structure or body shall deform or displace to a position that
minimizes
i i i the
h totall potential
i l energy.
The total potential energy, , is the sum of the elastic strain energy, ,
stored in the deformed body and the potential energy, ,of the applied
forces.

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 Torsion of Specially Orthotropic
L i
Laminated d BBeams
Specially Orthotropic Laminated Beams:
The property of Specially Orthotropic Laminated Beams used for
this derivation is that they have no coupling effects.
i.e. Coupling Matrix [B] = 0, A16 = A26 = D16 = D26 = 0
Actually
A ll Specially
S i ll orthotropic
h i LLaminates
i is
i another
h name given
i
to Symmetric Balanced Laminates.

 For a Specially Orthotropic Cantilever Beam Subjected to an End Torque

T, Angle of Twist ( ) is derived as:

where:
here: ; ;

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 Results
 For the purpose of comparison with available results we introduce a
Non-dimensional tip Rotation defined as:
 So our solution for the tip rotation takes the form:

 The first term on the right corresponds to classical theory solution for
isotropic beams.
 The shear deformations effects are reflected in the second and third term
 The third term represents the effect of restrained end at x=0, where
warping is prevented.
 In Figure 2, is plotted as a function of .
 It shows that restrained end effects are only felt for .
 Further,
Further the restrained effects are less pronounced as the ratio
increases.
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 Results
 Figure 2:

 The results obtained can be compared with 2 available results:

1. If we ignore shear deformation i.e. let :

This result is identical for an isotropic beam (Boresi, Sidebottom,

Seely and Smith, 1978)
2 If we ignore the restrained end effects by letting
2. :

This result can be compared with that of (Tsai, Daniel and Yaniv,
1990) for a 00 Unidirectional Composite Beam.
Beam
The Maximum difference between the results is about 11%
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 Conclusions
 A beam theory for Laminated Composites has been
derived.
 A closed form solution is derived for the problem of
Torsion of a Specially Laminated Orthotropic Laminate.
 The
Th resultlt for
f A Angle
l off T
Twist
i t compare wellll with
ith available
il bl
soultions.

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 References
 B.V. Sankar (1993) "A Beam Theory for Laminated
Composites and Application to Torsion Problems", Journal of
Applied Mechanics, 60(1):246-249.

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