Comparative Study of Laminated

Composite Beam Using Narrow-

and Wide-Beam Criterion

Arpit Kumar Srivastava and Anand Kumar

Abstract The primary objective of the work is to effectively conduct the stress
analysis of a laminated composite beam having rectangular sections. An analytical
expression is used to calculate stress at each ply considering both narrow- and
wide-beam assumption. The material for composite rectangular beam is AS4/
3501–6 carbon/epoxy. Three types of lay-ups, chosen for the synthesis, are
described collectively for both narrow- and wide-beam criterion. Beam taken here
is simply a supported type along with uniformly distributed load, which is kept
same for all cases.

Keywords Laminated composite beam  Bending stiffness  Narrow beam 


Wide beam Fibrous composite

1 Introduction

Fiber composites are generally used as beam structures. The current text is focused
on implications of lamination on the basic ideas of determining stiffness and stress
distributions in beams. The analysis of beam is based upon the basic fundamentals
as generally given in strength of materials book for isotropic materials although it
involves important modification. The expressions for stress distribution and stiff-
ness are of quite different forms for composite than isotropic beams (Swanson
1997). It should also be noted that the most common result of isotropic beam
r ¼ MzI does not valid for composite beams because the formula is based on
uniformly varying stress distributions and the stresses in composite beams can be
very non-uniform because of the changes in stiffness from layer to layer.

A. K. Srivastava (&)  A. Kumar

Department of Mechanical Engineering, HBTI, Kanpur 208002, Uttar Pradesh, India
e-mail: arpit910@gmail.com

S. S. Khangura et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Research 1

and Innovations in Mechanical Engineering, Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering,
DOI: 10.1007/978-81-322-1859-3_1,  Springer India 2014
2 A. K. Srivastava and A. Kumar

Table 1 Lay-ups considered S. No. Case Lay-up

for the study
1 I [04/454/-454]s
2 II [(02/452/-452)s]s
3 III [04/454/904]s

In this study, the value of stresses and strains for location at the farthest distance
away from center line for each of the ply groups and for three lay-ups shown in
Table 1 are calculated using narrow- and wide-beam assumptions. A laminate
stress analysis is the process employed to obtain a complete state of stress in all the
laminae (ply) for a given laminate loads and laminae elastic properties. This can be
summarizing in following steps (Agrawal and Broutman 2006):
Step 1: Calculate laminae stiffness matrix from the elastic properties.
Step 2: Transform stiffness matrix to different ply orientations.
Step 3: Calculate laminate stiffness matrices [A], [B], and [D].
Step 4: Calculate mid-plane strains and plate curvatures for the given loads using
narrow- and wide-beam criterion.
Step 5: Calculate laminae strains.
Step 6: Transform laminae strains from arbitrary directions to the longitudinal
directions.
Step 7: Calculate laminae stresses.

The beam theory for symmetric rectangular composite beams is as follows:

8 9 8 9
< Mx = < kx =
My ¼ ½D ky ð1Þ
: ; : ;
Mxy kxy

In the above equation, the moment resultants in this equation are on unit width
basis and must be multiplied by the width of the beam to get the total moment used
in beam theory. The structural response of the beam is dependent on the ratio of
the width to height of the beam cross section. For a beam subjected to bending, the
induced lateral curvature is insignificant if the width to height ratio is large. This
kind of beam is so-called wide beam. Conversely, if the width to height ratio of the
cross section is small, the beam is called narrow beam. For this case, the lateral
curvature is induced due to the effect of Poisson’s ratio. As the result, lateral
moment is zero. This statement can be expressed mathematically as

Narrow Beam My ¼ 0 ky 6¼ 0 ð2Þ

Wide Beam My 6¼ 0 ky ¼ 0 ð3Þ

Comparative Study of Laminated Composite Beam 3

So for narrow beam and Eq. (2), we can say

8 9 8 9
< kx >
> =  >
< Mx >=

ky ¼ D1 0
: >
> ; >
: >
;
kxy 0
2 1 38 9 ð4Þ
D11 D1 12 0 > < Mx >
=
6 7
¼4 D1
21 D 1
22 0 5 0
>
: >
;
0 0 D1
33 0

Also, the overall moment–curvature relationship for the beam can be written as
b
Mbeam ¼ bMx ¼ kx ¼ EI kx ð5Þ
D1
11

Here, b is the width of the cross section of beam. So for the narrow beam,
flexural rigidity is related to the reciprocal of the inverse bending stiffness from
lamination theory and is given by
b
EI ¼ ð6Þ
D1
11

Also the curvature in transverse direction ky is given by

D1
ky ¼ D1
21 Mx ¼
21
kx ð7Þ
D1
11

Again the strain in longitudinal and transverse direction is given by

ex ¼ zkx ð8Þ

ey ¼ zky ð9Þ

Here, z is the distance of respective ply from neutral axis. Again for wide beam
and Eq. (3) we can say beam flexural rigidity is related to the bending stiffness
obtained from lamination theory as shown and is given by
8 9 2 38 9
< Mx = D11 D12 0 < kx =
My ¼ 4 D21 D22 0 5 0 ð10Þ
: ; : ;
Mxy 0 0 D33 0

Mbeam ¼ bMx ¼ bD11 kx ¼ EI kx ð11Þ

EI ¼ bD11 ð12Þ

The curvature is in only x direction which is as given in Eq. (11).

4 A. K. Srivastava and A. Kumar

Fig. 1 Simply supported q

laminated beam with UDL

Table 2 Properties of AS4-3501 carbon/epoxy laminate composite (Soden 1998)

S. No. Properties of AS04-3501 carbon/epoxy Corresponding values
1 Longitudinal tensile strength 1,950 GPa
2 Longitudinal compressive strength 1,480 GPa
3 Transverse tensile strength 48 MPa
4 Transverse compressive strength 200 MPa
5 Shear strength 79 MPa

2 Description of Problem

The laminated composite beam to be considered is made of 24 plies of carbon/

epoxy. The beam is simply supported at the ends and subject to a uniformly
distributed load q as shown in Fig. 1. The desired answer is the stresses and strains
at each and every lamina.
The data for the problem are summarized as: length of beam (L) = 254 mm,
width of beam (b) = 50.8 mm, thickness (t) = 3.150 mm, and distributed load
(q) = 3,500 N/m = 3.5 N/mm. Also, from the properties of carbon/epoxy,
E11 = 126 GPa, E22 = 23.3 GPa, G12 = 6.55 GPa, and m12 = 0.28 (Swanson
2001; Soden 1998) (Table 2).

3 Result and Discussions

Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 show the value of stresses and strains for locations at the
farthest distance away from center line for each of the ply groups. It is important to
note from the results that the stress distribution is very non-uniform across the
cross section of beam. The reason for this is the change in stiffness properties with
the different angular orientations of the plies. Figure 2 shows the variation of
longitudinal stresses using both narrow- and wide-beam assumption.
If stresses of wide beam in longitudinal direction are compared with the stresses
of narrow beam for same lay-up, it can be easily concluded that stresses at different
ply groups for wide-beam assumption are lesser than those for narrow-beam
assumption. The reason for this can be easily understand by studying both the
assumptions. In narrow beam for calculating curvature in x direction i.e., kx term,
D1
11 is used while wide-beam assumption used 1/D11, where D is the bending
stiffness matrix for the laminated composite beam.
Comparative Study of Laminated Composite Beam 5

Table 3 Value of stresses and strains for [04/-454/454]s lay-up (narrow beam)
Z (mm) Ply group () Strain (%) Stress (MPa)
ex ey rx ry s12
0.528 45 0.04 -0.02 15.55 1.70 -4.24
1.057 -45 0.09 -0.04 33.33 3.64 9.09
1.585 0 0.14 -0.07 181.86 -2.85 0

Table 4 Value of stresses and strains for [(02/452/452)s]s lay-up (narrow beam)
Z (mm) Ply group () Strain (%) Stress (MPa)
ex ey rx ry s12
0.2 45 0.03 -0.01 6.34 0.69 -2.50
0.5 -45 0.06 -0.03 14.78 1.61 5.83
0.7 0 0.09 -0.05 109.17 -3.00 0
1.0 45 0.12 -0.07 31.68 3.46 -12.50
1.3 -45 0.15 -0.09 40.13 4.38 15.83
1.5 0 0.18 -0.11 228.26 -6.28 0

Table 5 Value of stresses and strains for [04/454/904]s lay-up (narrow beam)
Z (mm) Ply group () Strain (%) Stress (MPa)
ex ey rx ry s12
0.528 90 0.04 -0.01 0.528 90 0.04
1.057 45 0.10 -0.03 1.057 45 0.10
1.585 0 0.15 -0.04 1.585 0 0.15

Table 6 Value of stresses and strains for [04/-454/454]s lay-up (wide beam)
Z (mm) Ply group () Strain (%) Stress (MPa)
ex ey rx ry s12
0.528 45 0.04 0 26.83 2.93 -2.72
1.057 -45 0.09 0 57.49 6.27 5.84
1.585 0 0.14 0 172.10 4.21 0

Also, if look at the obtained stress in third case i.e., for [04/454/904]s lay-up, the
stress at 90 ply group is opposite to 0 ply group for narrow beam and in same
direction for wide beam.
The reason for this lies in the assumption of both. In wide beam, curvature in
transverse direction is assumed zero while for narrow beam, there is some cur-
vature due to Poisson effect. Due to this, transverse curvature is opposite to lon-
gitudinal for narrow beam. A first look on the curves provides that stresses are
6 A. K. Srivastava and A. Kumar

Table 7 Value of stresses and strains for [(02/452/452)s]s lay-up (wide beam)
Z (mm) Ply group () Strain (%) Stress (MPa)
ex ey rx ry s12
0.2 45 0.02 0 13.70 1.49 -1.39
0.5 -45 0.05 0 31.97 3.49 3.25
0.7 0 0.08 0 98.07 2.40 0
1.0 45 0.11 0 68.50 7.47 -6.96
1.3 -45 0.13 0 86.77 9.46 8.81
1.5 0 0.16 0 205.06 5.01 0

Fig. 2 Longitudinal stresses x 10-3

for the three lay-ups using 1.6
Distance from mid-plane (m)

both narrow- and wide-beam 1.4

assumption 1.2
1
0.8
0.6 Narrow Case 1
Narrow Case 2
0.4 Narrow Case 3
Wide Case 1
0.2 Wide Case 2
Wide Case 3
0
-0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Variation of longitudinal stresses (Pa) x 108

Fig. 3 Transverse stresses x 10-3

for the three lay-ups using 1.6
Distance from mid-plane (m)

both narrow- and wide-beam 1.4

assumption
1.2
1

0.8
0.6 Narrow Case 1
Narrow Case 2
0.4 Narrow Case 3
Wide Case 1
0.2 Wide Case 2
Wide Case 3
0
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Variation of transverse stress (Pa) x 106

non-uniform across the cross section which is quite obvious and is shown in Fig. 3.
These stresses are important in determining the composite material failure.
For narrow beam, the transverse stress in the 0 ply groups is opposite to the
other 45 and -45 ply groups. The stresses in 0 ply groups are opposite to 90
ply groups. But for wide beam, the stresses in all the ply groups are same. Also the
transverse stresses in 90 plies are greater than in other plies although they are near
the mid-plane. The reason for difference lays in the assumptions of narrow and
Comparative Study of Laminated Composite Beam 7

Fig. 4 Shear stresses for the x 10-3

Distance froom mid-plane (m)

1.6
three lay-ups using both
narrow- and wide-beam 1.4
assumption 1.2
1
0.8
0.6 Narrow Case 1
Narrow Case 2
0.4 Narrow Case 3
Wide Case 1
0.2 Wide Case 2
0 Wide case 3
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Variation of shear stress (Pa) x 107

wide beam and the stiffness properties of the various ply groups. The stresses are
calculated using the following equation from classical lamination theory,
2 3 2 3 2 3
r1 Q11 Q12 0 e1
4 r2 5 ¼ 4 Q12 Q22 0 5 4 e2 5 ð13Þ
s12 0 0 Q66 c12
2 3 2 3
ex kx
4 ey 5 ¼ z4 ky 5 ð14Þ
cxy kxy

as ky is equal to zero for wide beam, but for narrow it has some value and also it
may be noted that the fibers are much less effective in raising the composite
modulus in transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction. The direction of
strains in x and y directions is opposite to each other for narrow beam, and for wide
beam, strain is only in x direction. From Eq. (13), we can say
r2 ¼ Q12  e1 þ Q22  e2 ð15Þ

The sign of Q12  e1 and Q22  e2 quantities are opposite to each other. This is
why the stresses in 0 plies are opposite in sign for both beam. Figure 4 shows the
variation of shear stresses obtained in beam for both narrow and wide beam and for
all cases. Shear stress in 0 ply group and 90 ply group is zero as curvature in
shear direction is taken zero. The nonzero value for shear stress is obtained for ply
groups other than 0 and 90 and for this case 45 and -45 ply groups are
opposite in sign. The reason for this is the transformation of stress matrixes from
arbitrary x and y axes to respective ply fibers longitudinal and transverse axes
direction and is given as
2 3
m2 n2 2mn
½ Tr  ¼ 4 n2 m2 2mn 5 ð16Þ
mn mn m2  n2

where m ¼ cos h and n ¼ sin h and h is the fiber orientation of unidirectional

laminate. It is quite obvious that for 0 and 90 mn term is zero while for 45 and
8 A. K. Srivastava and A. Kumar

Fig. 5 Comparison of 5
Narrow beam assumption
flexural rigidity (EI) for the Wide beam assumption

Flexural rigidity (EI)

three lay-ups and for both 4
narrow as well as wide-beam
assumption 3

0
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3

-45 is nonzero. That is why these ply groups are stressed in shear direction of
their fiber orientation and are opposite to each other. Also, the stresses are more
non-uniform for Case 2 i.e., for [(02/452/-452)s]s lay-up because of stacking
sequence. The stresses in this lay-up are greater than all other lay-ups because
bending stiffness i.e., flexural rigidity is lowest for these lay-ups. A comparative
plot for flexural rigidity for all the cases is shown in Fig. 5. The flexural rigidity is
minimum for Case 2 when the beam is assumed narrow and greatest for Case 1,
and the wide-beam assumption is considered. The flexural rigidity for the first case
and third case are approximately same. The strains in x and y directions show
linear behavior. The strains are greatest for Case 2, and other two cases have
approximately equal maximum strain.

4 Conclusions

The stress and strain in each ply of laminates are calculated using sectional
properties and the assumptions of narrow as well as wide beams in this work.
Three different cross section configurations are used to compare solutions. It can
be concluded from the study and results obtained that stresses are very non-
uniform across the cross section of beam because of the change in stiffness
properties due to change in angular orientation. For narrow-beam assumption,
flexural rigidity is lower than wide-beam assumption which is quite obvious
because aspect ratio for wider beam is high. Axial stress is highest for Case 2 of
narrow-beam assumption for which flexural rigidity is also lowest. The axial,
transverse, and shear stresses obtained in Case 2 for both narrow- and wide-beam
assumptions are more non-uniform, which is the results of their ply orientations.
These types of orientations may be used for small loads. The strains that produced
due to one-dimensional loading are also greatest for Case 2 of narrow-beam
assumption. As the stresses produced in the longitudinal direction are higher,
strains are also greater in this direction. For the wide beam, strain is produced in
only one direction that is the direction of loading. All other strains are neglected.
Comparative Study of Laminated Composite Beam 9

References

Agrawal BD, Broutman LJ (2006) Analysis and performance of fiber composites, 2nd edn. Wiley,
New Jersey
Soden PD (1998) Lamina properties, lay-up configurations and loading conditions for a range of
fibre-reinforced composite laminates. Compos Sci Technol 58:1011–1022
Swanson SR (1997) Introduction to design and analysis with advanced composite materials.
Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Swanson SR (2001) Anticlastic effects and the transition from narrow to wide behavior in
orthotropic beams. Compos Struct 53:449–455