Computation of the lamina stacking sequence effect on elastic moduli of a plain-weave Nicalon/SiC laminated composite with a [0/30/60] lay-up

Abstract

Estimation of the elastic modulus is important in engineering design. One difference between CFCCs (continuous fiber-reinforced ceramic–matrix composites), and CMCs (whisker, particulate, or short fiber-reinforced ceramic–matrix composites), is that the anisotropic behavior of CFCCs plays an important role in affecting their mechanical behavior. This feature may also contribute to the variation of elastic properties and strengths of CFCC. In this paper, a Fortran program is developed to quantify the lamina stacking sequence effect on the effective elastic moduli of the laminated CFCCs. The material for modeling is a plain-weave Nicalon fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (Nicalon/SiC) CFCCs. Results show that various stacking sequences within the CFCC (a [0/30/60] lay-up) will give different effective elastic moduli of the CFCCs. This trend leads to a variation of the slope of the linear portion on the flexural stress–strain curve, i.e., changing the position of the starting point of the non-linear portion, and the shape of the whole curve, which gives a different value of the peak stress in the curve.