Prediction of composite thermal behavior made simple

Abstract

A convenient procedure is described to determine the thermal behavior (thermal expansion coefficients and thermal stresses) of angleplied fiber composites using a pocket calculator. The procedure consists of equations and appropriate graphs for various ( + or - theta) ply combinations. These graphs present reduced stiffness and thermal expansion coefficients as functions of (+ or - theta) in order to simplify and expedite the use of the equations. The procedure is applicable to all types of balanced, symmetric fiber composites including interply and intraply hybrids. The versatility and generality of the procedure is illustrated using several step-by-step numerical examples.