STRESS-ANALYSIS AROUND AN ELLIPTIC HOLE IN THICK FRP LAMINATES UNDER TRANSVERSE LOADING

A multilayered anisotropic plate element which accounts for the effects of transverse shear deformation, transverse normal strain and a non-linear distribution of the in-plane displacements with respect to the thickness co-ordinate is developed by making use of the displacement formulation. This isoparametric quadratic quadrilateral plate element has 11 degrees of freedom per node. The finite element formulation is then used for the analysis of stresses around an elliptical hole in a composite laminated plate. The results obtained by this theory compare favourably with the exact elasticity solution for a finite laminated composite plate subjected to transverse sinusoidal loading, and an infinite isotropic plate with a circular hole subjected to an edgewise bending moment. The variation of the stress concentration factor with the plate thickness, hole size and nature of load distribution is presented in graphical form and discussed. © 1990.