The Importance of Signs of Shear Stress and Shear Strain in Composites

Abstract

The definition and physical significance of the sign conventions for stress and strain components, in particular, shear stress and shear strain, are of vital importance in studying the response of anisotropic composite materials. Designers and analysts who must predict the strength and stiffness characteristics of laminated systems should be thoroughly familiar with the physical interpretations of these signs. In this paper we elaborate on these sign conventions and demonstrate their importance with several illustrative examples.