Strength of composite latticed structures

Abstract

This paper investigates the strength of composite latticed cylindrical and conical shells under axial compressive loads. The latticed structures are composed of circumferential and helical members, whose cross-sections are rectangular. This research examines the failure modes of both cylindrical and conical composite latticed shells. New design constraints to achieve weight efficient structures with high failure loads is presented. Two main failure modes, general buckling as a shell and excessive shear stress in the members, are considered. The main emphasis is placed on the effects of geometrical configuration of the structure and the manufacturing process. In order to automate the fabrication process and to minimize manufacturing costs, filament winding was chosen as the method of construction. Numerical results are obtained by finite element analysis which are compared with experimental solutions. The motivation of the present work is to find the optimal winding pattern which filament winding can be easily applied and still provides the highest strength to weight ratio. The final result of this research includes the numerical and experimental analysis of composite latticed cylindrical and conical shells via filament-winding. This provides a comprehensive understanding of composite latticed structures that will be useful in preliminary design of such structures.