Modified Tan's models for the strength prediction of woven laminates with circular holes

Abstract

In order to study the strengths and damage mechanisms of three notched woven laminates (two orthotropic and one quasi-isotropic) under monotonic uniaxial loadings, two Tan's models were modified by introducing a numerical stress field around a hole in the laminate, recalculating both the local and global stress distributions, and determining the characteristic dimensions of every critical ply with progressive rigidity degradations. The results show that the strength reduction factor (SRF) curves as a function of hole diameter determined with the characteristic dimensions of the plies at ±45° can give much better notched strength predictions than those with the plies at 90°, especially for orthotropic laminates and where the damage mechanisms in woven laminates are very different from those in non-woven laminates.