A COMPUTATIONAL-PROCEDURE TO CALCULATE STRESS-STRAIN FIELD AROUND SIMPLE SHAPE HOLES IN COMPOSITE LAMINATES

The problem of stress intensification around holes has been discussed and completely solved in the case of isotropic homogeneous materials by many authors. The problem becomes more complex in the case of orthotropic materials and composite laminates. This subject has been approached by numerical methods that are very time consuming, even in simple cases. A solution in closed form has been developed by the authors for simple hole geometries, such as circular, elliptical holes and sharp cracks. Here a brief summary of the theoretical approach is given. A solving procedure in the symbolical language used by Mathematica(H) is provided. This program allows one to determine the complete stress-strain field in any point of the laminate by just inferring the material properties. Some examples are discussed and results in terms of stress and strain trends are also presented.