ON A PARAMETRIC FAILURE THEORY FOR FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITE LAMINAE

A new, parametric failure criterion for fibre-reinforced composite laminae under plane stress loading conditions is presented. The development of this parametric failure criterion closely parallels a general formulation recently proposed for the plastic yielding of sheet metals. The new criterion satisfies the essential conditions that must be met when writing phenomenological strength criteria for composite materials. This entirely general formulation encompasses all previously proposed failure theories for fibre-reinforced orthotropic laminae. The inherent advantages and drawbacks of the proposed parametric approach are discussed, and an example of application is presented.