The effects of open hole and fiber orientation on Kevlar/Epoxy and Boron/Epoxy composite laminates under tensile loading

Abstract

Software simulation is the most effective way of visualizing the deformation and stress of materials or structures and hence predicting the maximum force that can be applied before failure or rupture. This paper aims to study the effect of round cut outs on Kevlar/Epoxy and Boron/Epoxy with three fiber orientations using ANSYS. The work is conducted in three stages, mesh convergence analysis, numerical validation of the software used and failure analysis. Failure analysis is conducted by using the finite element method (FEM) with Maximum stress theory as the failure criteria. The results show a significant difference of strength between solid and open hole composite laminates, in which there is a 90% or more reduction in strength for both epoxy laminates. Among Kevlar/epoxy and boron/epoxy, boron/epoxy showed higher tensile failure either in solid or in the lamina with open hole. The direction of fiber orientation also does affect the failure behaviour of the composite laminates. Hence, it is proven that the current study is important in understanding the failure behaviour of the composite plate in which can be useful in contributing the knowledge of these laminates for further study.