THE RESIDUAL THERMAL-STRESSES DUE TO COOL-DOWN OF POST CURE FOR THE SYMMETRICAL CROSS-PLY TCM COMPOSITE-MATERIAL

This paper attempts to analyze the residual stress resulting from the effect of temperature during the cooling process of the symmetric cros s-ply composite laminate in post cure. In the analysis, the mechanical properties of the composite are determined in terms of the behavior o f the power law and TCM characteristic in the thermo-viscoelastic resp onse. Meanwhile, the coefficient of thermal expansion is assumed to be temperature-dependent and incorporated in this model. The Method of C alculus of Variation is then applied to derive the governing equations of the optimal temperature path.which ensures the minimum residual th ermal stress. In the numerical analysis, the successive iteration meth od is applied for these integro-differential equations.