1

Application of Laminate Analysis to

Composite Structures
Composite sandwich structures
Composite grid structures
Composite Sandwich Structure
2






















z
core
facings
middle surface
hc
t
f
t
f

Geometry of symmetric composite sandwich
structure for laminate analysis
[ ] ( )
[ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] ( ) [ ]
c
c
ij f
f
ij
c
f
c
f
ij
c c
c
ij f
c c
f
ij
k
k k
k
ij ij
h Q t Q
h
t
h
Q
h h
Q t
h h
Q
z z Q A
+ =
=

+ +

=
= =

=

2
2 2 2 2 2 2
3
1
1
Laminate stiffnesses for symmetric sandwich structures
(from J. R. Vinson, The Behavior of Sandwich Structures of
Isotropic and Composite Materials, CRC Press, 1999)
Extensional stiffnesses
Flexural stiffnesses
[ ] ( ) [ ]
[ ] [ ]

+ +

+
+

= =

=

3 3 3 3
3 3
3
1
3
1
3
2 2 3
1
2 2 3
1
2 2 3
1
3
1
c
f
c
f
ij
c c
c
ij
f
c c
f
ij
k
k k
k
ij ij
h
t
h
Q
h h
Q
t
h h
Q z z Q D
3
Some corrections may be needed when
using Classical Lamination Theory (CLT)
for sandwich structures
CLT neglects transverse shear strains and , which
may not be negligible in composite sandwich structures
due to low shear modulus of foam or honeycomb core
Sandwich structures have several possible failure modes
due to the core or core/skin interactions that are not present
in composite laminates
xz

yz

Failure modes of a sandwich beam in 3-point bending

(from C. A. Steeves and N. A. Fleck, Int. Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2004
4
Geometry of a sandwich beam in 3-point bending
(from C. A. Steeves and N. A. Fleck, Int. Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2004
Failure loads for sandwich beams in 3-point bending
L
d
f
bt
f
P
4
=
For microbuckling of face sheet
(from D. Zenkert, An Introduction to Sandwich Construction, 1995)
where = face sheet axial compressive strength
b = beam width
= face sheet thickness
d = c +
f

f
t
f
t
5
For core shear failure
(from D. Zenkert, An Introduction to Sandwich Construction, 1995)
bd
c
P 2 =
where = core shear strength
c

For face sheet wrinkling

(from D. Zenkert, An Introduction to Sandwich Construction, 1995)
3
2
c
G
c
E
f
E
L
d bt
P
f
=
where = face sheet material Youngs modulus
= core material Youngs modulus
= core material shear modulus
f
E
c
E
c
G
For face sheet indentation
(from C. A. Steeves and N. A. Fleck, Int. Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2004

=
L
d
f
E
c
f
bt P
3
2

where L = beam span length
= core compressive strength c

6
Composite grid structures
Orthogrid Isogrid
Why Composite Grid Structures?
Excellent damage tolerance (redundant load paths)
Open structure easily inspected for defects or damage
Unidirectional composite ribs offer maximum strength
and stiffness
Several high volume manufacturing processes can be
used (e.g., pultrusion, thermoplastic stamping)
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TwintexE-glass/polypropylene
composite isogrid
Advanced Composite Grid Structure in Launch Vehicle Fairing
(Source: Boeing Company)
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Lightweight composite IsoTruss structures
(from www.isotruss.com)
Large (3 m x 3 m) interlocked composite grid structure fabricated
from pultruded carbon/epoxy ribs and rib caps
(Source: S. W. Tsai, Stanford University, 2001)
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1
2
x
y
Nx
Mx
Mxy
Nx
Mx
Mxy

Family of parallel ribs for modeling of grid structure

as a laminated plate having equivalent stiffnesses
(From H. J. Chen and S. W. Tsai, Journal of Composite Materials, 1996)
d
AE
N
x x
x

=
[ ]

=
2 2 3 3
3 4 2 2
3 2 2 4
n m mn n m
mn n n m
n m n m m
d
A E
A
x

=
66 26 16
26 22 21
16 12 11
A A A
A A A
A A A
Force per unit length parallel to family of ribs
where A = cross-sectional area of ribs
= Youngs modulus along rib direction
= strain along rib direction
x
E
x

Transforming both force per unit length and strain from

local coordinate x,y to global coordinates 1,2, the extensional
stiffnesses for an equivalent flat laminate plate are;
10
where m = cos , n = sin
Similarly, the global flexural stiffness matrix is

=
4
4 3
12
1 36 . 3
3
16
16 h
w
h
w hw
J
Where
= Youngs modulus and shear modulus of rib
h = rib height
I, J = moment of inertia and torsional constant of rib
G ,
x
E
11
Using superposition of each parallel family of ribs, taking
into account the orientation of each family of ribs, the total
grid stiffnesses are;
For the orthogrid with two families of ribs at = 0
o
and 90
o
[ ]

=
66
0 0
0 0
0 0
A
d
A E
d
A E
A
x
x
orthogrid
[ ]

=
2
0 0
0 0
0 0
1
GJ
I E
I E
d
D
x
x
orthogrid
For the isogrid with three parallel families of ribs at
= 0
o
, 60
o
and 60
o
[ ]

=
1 0 0
0 3 1
0 1 3
4
3
d
A E
A
x
isogrid
[ ]

+
+ +
+ +
=

1 0 0
0 3 1
0 1 3
4
3
d
I E
D
x
isogrid
where
I E
GJ
x
=
3
12
1
wh I =

=
4
4 3
12
1 36 . 3
3
16
16 h
w
h
w hw
J
12
For more details on analysis of composite grid structures,
see the following papers;
Chen, H. J., and Tsai, S. W., Analysis and optimum design
of composite grid structures, Journal of Composite Materials,
30(4), 503-534 (1996).
Huybrechts, S., and Tsai, S. W., Analysis and behavior of grid
structures, Composites Science and Technology, 56(9), 1001-1015
(1996).