COMPUTATION OF TRANSIENT HYGROSCOPIC STRESSES IN LAMINATED COMPOSITE PLATES

This paper deals with the calculation of transient and non-uniform str ess fields which are induced by transient moisture concentration distr ibutions in laminated composite plates. It is shown that the heterogen eity and anisotropy of such plates generally result in transient stres s distributions which are very different from the equilibrium stress d istributions. Some stacking sequences exhibit important stresses withi n the plies. These stresses have to be taken into account for the desi gn of composite structures submitted to a moist environment. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited