STRENGTH OF COMPOSITE LAMINATES CONTAINING HOLES AND SUBJECTED TO COMPLEX LOADING CONDITIONS

Stress and failure analyses of composite laminates containing holes ar e presented. Both the finite element method (FEM) and an analytical me thod, based on complex stress functions, are used to determine the str ess distributions around the holes. The Point Stress Criterion (PSC) a nd the Damage Zone Criterion (DZC) are used to pre diet the tensile st rength of test specimens subjected to complex loading conditions. A co mprehensive test program was carried out to establish criteria paramet ers and to generate data to validate tile stress and failure analyses. For this purpose a special test fixture was designed. Good agreement between predicted and measured results was found.