ABSTRACT
Existence of notches greatly affects the mechanical behavior and damage in
composite laminates. In the present work, the effect of different parameters (hole
sizes, number of layers and stacking sequences) on damage growth and failure of
Glass/Polyester laminates containing central circular notches was investigated.
Tests were performed on [0o], [0,90o] and [±45o] notched specimens to investigate
the effect of different parameters. The damage progression in the composite
laminates during tests was monitored using optical non-destructive technique. The
notched laminate failure strength was compared with the predicted strength from the
semi-empirical point stress criterion (PSC). A finite element model was developed
using ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL) to predict the notched strength
and the damage growth during tensile loading taking into consideration the
application of Hashin failure criterion and material stiffness degradation on the failed
elements. The predicted notched strength and damage growth showed a good
agreement with the experimental results obtained.