Interlaminar Shear in Laminated Composites Under Generalized Plane Stress

Abstract

An analysis of interlaminar shear stresses is performed for a lami nate under generalized plane stresses. The laminate is modeled as a set of anisotropic layers separated by isotropic adhesive layers. The corresponding equilibrium differential equations are developed and solved for laminates of infinite and finite width. In the first case, it is shown that the interlaminar shear stress is zero everywhere, while in the latter case, this stress attains finite maximum values at the edges of the strip. These results are important when interpreting strength data obtained from uniaxial tests.