Open Access

ARTICLE

Uniform Loading of a Cracked Layered Composite Plate: Experiments and Computational Modelling

A.P.S. Selvadurai^1,2, H. Nikopour²

1 Corresponding author. E-mail: patrick.selvadurai@mcgill.ca; Tel: +1 514 398 6672; fax: +1 514 398 7361
2 Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2K6

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2012, 85(3), 279-298. https://doi.org/10.3970/cmes.2012.085.279

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of a through crack on the overall flexural behaviour of a layered composite Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) plate that is fixed boundary along a circular boundary. Plates with different through crack configurations and subjected to uniform air pressure loading are examined both experimentally and computationally. In particular, the effect of crack length and its orientation on the overall pressure-deflection behaviour of the composite plate is investigated. The layered composite CFRP plate used in the experimental investigation consisted of 11 layers of a polyester matrix unidirectionally reinforced with carbon fibres. The bulk fibre volume fraction in the plate was approximately 61%. The stacking of cracked laminae is used to construct a model of the plate. The experimental results for the central deflection of the plate were used to establish the validity of a computational approach that also accounts for large deflections of the plate within the small strain range.

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