On laminate selection and design

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Composite materials, at one level, are exciting to work with because they give scope for designing the "material" in addition to a "structure" through judicious placement of the orientation of plies. It is their ability to tailor material properties layer by layer that give designers huge potential in design. One possible explanation for the prevalent use of quasi-isotropic ("black aluminium") carbon composites in structures is the lack of available design tools. Here a design tool is presented that aids selection of fibre orientations. Optimisation of laminate fibre angles is difficult for multiple load cases and objectives-there are many local minima to assess. An alternative approach to complex / numerical optimisation methods, is presented here The basic idea is to build a database that stores appropriate properties of all permutations of lay-up angles for a laminate. The designer can select viable laminates by first plotting a succession of 2-D charts containing relevant properties. Then, using simple on-screen techniques, the number of potential laminates is visually reduced by selecting those with desirable properties. Two case studies are presented. The first concerns the optimisation of a spar web, typically found in an aircraft wing structure whilst the second considers the optimisation of a cylindrical shell, subject to axial compression, that undergoes simultaneous Euler-type buckling and local buckling.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)138-148
Number of pages11
JournalCollection of Technical Papers - AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
Volume1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2002
Externally publishedYes
Event43rd Structures, Structural, Dynamics and Materials Conference - Denver, CO, United States
Duration: 22 Apr 200225 Apr 2002

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