Nonlinear analysis of free-edge effects in laminated composites under axial loading

Abstract

A finite element model based on the quasi-three dimensional displacement field of Pipes and Pagano [1] with nonlinear strain-displacement relations is developed to study the free edge problem of composite laminates. Numerical results are presented to show the difference between the results of the nonlinear and the linear analyses. It is observed that the stresses obtained in the nonlinear analysis differ from the stresses obtained in the linear analysis by 10% in most of the cases, and in some cases they differ as much as 40%.