Influence of Circular and Square Cut-outs on Fiber Glass/Epoxy Composite Laminate under Tensile Loading

Use of composites for a range of structural application in aircrafts, space-crafts, automobiles, etc., has widely spread in the last few years. Other than weight reduction, cut-outs provide pathways to link different aircraft parts. In this paper, an experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of a cut-out on the tensile strength of the fiber glass/epoxy composite plate. Geometry of the cut-out is one of the important factors which can critically alter the mechanical properties. So, cut-outs with various geometrical shapes such as square and circle were introduced in the fiber glass/epoxy composite plate and tensile tests were performed under ambient conditions. It was determined from the tests that specimens with circular cut-out have higher tensile strength as compared to specimens with square cut-out.