THERMOVISCOELASTIC RESPONSE OF FIBER-REINFORCED-PLASTIC LAMINATES WITH INITIAL DEFLECTION IMPERFECTION

The viscoelastic behaviors of simply supported cross-ply and angle-ply laminates, having various magnitudes of imperfections, and, subject t o instantaneous temperature rise, are examined. Each viscoelastic lami na is taken to be a thermorheologically simple material. The analysis is based on the von Karman assumption and the first-order shear deform ation theory. The stress function and the angles of rotation are obtai ned separately from the compatibility equation and from the moment equ ilibrium equations using the Laplace transform. Deflection is calculat ed from the transverse force equilibrium equation using the Galerkin m ethod and a numerical integration scheme. Numerical results for deflec tion and stress resultant histories for Glass/Epoxy laminates are pres ented. Solutions based on the classical laminate theory are also prese nted for comparison.