EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE DELAMINATIONS ON COMPRESSIVE BUCKLING BEHAVIORS OF COMPOSITE PANELS

Compressive buckling stability of composite panels with through-width, equally spaced multiple delaminations are investigated analytically a nd experimentally. An analytical method is formulated on the basis of Rayleigh-Ritz approximation technique. Timoshenko type shear effects a re included. An experiment and a finite element analysis are also cond ucted on the present model. The analytical results agree very well wit h the experimental and finite element results. The buckling load, whic h is the compressive strength of the panel in the case of the present model, reduces significantly due to the existence of multiple delamina tions. The mechanism causing the significant loss of the compressive b uckling load due to the delaminations is well explained.