Mechanics Terminology
• Isotropic: e.g., Steel, Aluminum, Copper/ Anisotropic: e.g.,
Composites
• Homogeneous : e.g., Steel / Nonhomogeneous: e.g., Composite at
micro-scale.
• Lamina, also called a ply or layer, is a single flat layer of unidirectional
fibers or woven fibers arranged in a matrix.
• Laminate is a stack of plies of composites. Each layer can be laid at
various orientations and can be made up of different material
systems.
• Hybrid laminate contain more than one fiber or one matrix system in
a laminate.
– Inter-ply hybrid laminates: contain plies made of two or more different
composite systems.
– Intra-ply hybrid composites: consist of two or more different fibers used in the
same ply
– Inter-ply–intra-ply hybrid: consists of plies that have two or more different fibers
in the same ply and distinct composite systems in more than one ply.
– Resin hybrid laminates: combine two or more resins instead of combining two or
05-05-2013
more fibers in a laminate.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
1
Jaipur
Mechanics Terminology (Cont…)
• Anisotropy:
– A material is anisotropic when its properties at a point vary
with direction or depend on the orientation of reference
axes.
– If the properties of the material along any direction are
same as those along a symmetric direction w. r. t. a plane,
then that plane is defined as a plane of material symmetry.
– A material may have one, two, three, or infinite number of
planes of material symmetry through a point.
– A material without any planes of material symmetry is
called general anisotropic
– At the other extreme, an isotropic material has an infinite
number of plane of symmetry.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 2
Jaipur
Mechanics Terminology (Cont…)
• Orthotrophy:
– Of special relevance to composite materials are
orthotropic materials, i.e., materials having at least
three mutually perpendicular planes of symmetry.
– The intersections of these planes define three
mutually perpendicular axes, called principal axes of
material symmetry or simply principal material axes.
• The concept of isotropy/anisotropy and
homogeneity/heterogeneity is associated with
scale or characteristic volume. (Figure 1)
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 3
Jaipur
Material Response Under Load
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 4
Jaipur
Material Response Under Load (Cont…)
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 5
Jaipur
Material Response Under Load (Cont…)
(i.e., relating, as ratio, shear strain and
normal strain)
(i.e., relating,
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. [Link] ratio,
Deptt., normal strain and shear
MNIT strain)
05-05-2013 6
Jaipur
Material Response Under Load (Cont…)
• The above discussion illustrates the increasing
complexity of material response with
increasing anisotropy and which require to
introduce additional material constants to
describe this response.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 7
Jaipur
Lamina and Laminate- Characteristics
and Configurations
• A lamina, or a ply is a plane (or curved)
layer of unidirectional fibers or woven
fabric in a matrix.
• A lamina is the building block of
modern composite laminated
structures.
• The lamina is an orthotropic material
(having three planes of material
symmetry) with principal material axes
in the direction of the fibers
(longitudinal, i.e., 1), normal to the
fibers in the plane of the lamina (in-
plane transverse, i.e., 2), and normal to
the plane of the lamina (direction 3),
i.e., lamina cut across these planes of
symmetry will exhibit same
mechanical properties.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 8
Jaipur
Lamina and Laminate- Characteristics
and Configurations (Cont…)
• A lamina is stiffest and strongest in the direction 1, and
its mechanical properties in any direction lying in the 2-3 plane
are quite similar. For this reason, a unidirectional lamina is
considered as transversely isotropic, i.e., it is isotropic in the
2-3 plane isotropic.
• Each lamina may have a different:
– Thickness
– Fiber orientation angle
– Fiber material
– Matrix material
• Understanding the mechanical behavior of a lamina is the first
step in understanding mechanics of laminated composite
structures.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 9
Jaipur
Lamina and Laminate- Characteristics
and Configurations (Cont…)
• The thickness of a typical carbon or glass fiber ply is 0.127 mm.
• In such plies, fiber diameter may be approximately 10 microns.
• This thickness depends on number of filaments. Filaments in
bunches are called a strand or an end
• Each ply may be constructed of yarns or tow/rovings.
(Figure 2)
– A yarn is an assembly, usually twisted, of collimated long
continuous fibers.
– A roving/ tow is a group of collimated filaments.
Note: TOW is a term used mostly for carbon, meaning an untwisted bundle of
continuous filaments. On the other hand, YARN is used mostly for fiberglass, usually
meaning a twisted bundle of filaments. If the filaments are all parallel to each other, the
end is called a roving (graphite rovings are also referred to as tows). Rovings are usually
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
denoted
05-05-2013 by the number of ends they contain; tows by the number of filaments.
Jaipur
10
Lamina and Laminate- Characteristics and
Configurations (Cont…)
• A laminate has several layers (or laminae or plies) stacked
together (using the same matrix material as used in the
individual laminae) at various angles (as shown in Fig. 3).
• The laminae in a laminate can be of various thickness and
consist of different materials.
• A major purpose of lamination is to tailor the properties
such as strength and stiffness to match the loading
environment of the structural element.
• Since the orientation of the principal material axes varies
from ply to ply, it is more convenient to analyze laminates
using a common fixed system or coordinates x, y, z (as
shown in Fig. 3)
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 11
Jaipur
Lamina and Laminate- Characteristics
and Configurations (Cont…)
• Composite laminate are designated in a manner indicating the
number, type, orientation, and stacking sequence of the plies.
• The configuration of the laminate indicating its ply composition
is called the layup.
• The configuration indicating, in addition to the ply composition,
the exact location or sequence of the various plies, is called the
stacking sequence.
• Following are some examples of laminate designations:
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 12
Jaipur
Lamina and Laminate- Characteristics and
Configurations (Cont…)
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 13
Jaipur
Scale of Analysis: Micro- and Macro
Mechanics
• Micromechanics:
– Scale of observation: of the order of the fiber
diameter, particle size.
– It is the study of the interactions of the constituent on
microscopic level to determine the state of
deformation and stress in the constituents and the
local failures, such as fiber failure (tensile, buckling,
splitting), matrix failure (tensile, compressive, shear),
and interface/ inter-phase failure (de-bonding).
– It is particularly important in the study of properties
such as failure mechanisms and strength, fracture
toughness, and fatigue life, which are strongly
influenced by local characteristics that can not be
integrated or averaged.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 14
Jaipur
Scale of Analysis: Micro- and Macro
Mechanics (Cont…)
• Macro-mechanics:
– At the lamina level, it is usually more expeditious to
consider the material homogeneous, even though
anisotropic, and use average properties in the
analysis, which is called macromechanics.
– Failure criteria may be expressed in terms of average
stresses and overall lamina strengths without
reference to any particular local failure mechanisms.
– It is particularly important in the study of the overall
elastic, visco-elastic, or hygrothermal behavior of
composite laminates and structures.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 15
Jaipur
Scale of Analysis: Micro- and Macro Mechanics
(Cont…)
• At the laminate level the
macromechanical analysis is applied in
the form of lamination theory dealing
with overall behavior as a function of
lamina properties and stacking
sequence.
•Finally, at the component or structure
level, methods such as FEM coupled
with lamination theory may predict
the overall behavior of the structure as
well as the state of stress in each
lamina.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 16
Jaipur
Failure in Isotropic v/s Transversely
Isotropic Materials
• In isotropic materials, failure prediction requires calculating principal (i.e.,
maximum) stresses or strains and comparing them to allowable
stress/strain limits prescribed for the material.
• In non-isotropic materials (e.g. transversely isotropic materials),
this approach does not work. The notion of principal stress makes no
sense for these materials as material strength changes with direction, and
the direction of principal stress may not, in most of the cases, coincide with
direction of maximum strength.
• Thus, for unidirectional materials, we evaluate allowable stress field in
context of different strengths of material in principal material directions.
• These are:
– Longitudinal tensile strength - Lateral tensile strength
– Longitudinal compressive strength - Lateral compressive strength
– In-plane shear strength
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 17
Jaipur
Failure in Isotropic v/s Transversely
Isotropic Materials (Cont…)
• These five material strength parameters for
unidirectional composites are fundamental material
properties of a lamina.
• Experimental data shows that these material strength
properties of a unidirectional lamina are mutually
independent, particularly at macro scale.
• Hence, if we are able to calculate stress-field in a
unidirectional lamina using 1-2-3 axes as reference
frame, then we can predict failure in such lamina.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 18
Jaipur
Characterization of Lamina
• Unidirectional ply is characterized by the following properties:
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 19
Jaipur
Characterization of Lamina (Cont…)
• In addition to the above, the composite lamina is characterized by
the following properties:
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 20
Jaipur
Approach to Analyze Composite
Structures
• Find the average properties of a homogeneous
composite ply from the individual properties of the
constituents. Properties include stiffness, strength,
thermal, and moisture expansion coefficients. This is
called the micromechanics of a lamina.
• Develop the stress–strain relationships for a
unidirectional/bidirectional lamina with loads along
the principal directions of symmetry of the lamina or
off-axis. Failure theories of a lamina are based on
stresses in the lamina and strength properties of a
lamina. This is called the macromechanics of a lamina.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 21
Jaipur
Approach to Analyze Composite
Structures (Cont…)
• A structure made of composite materials is
generally a laminate structure made of various
laminae stacked on each other.
• Knowing the macromechanics of a single lamina,
one develops the macromechanics of a laminate.
• Stiffness, strengths, and thermal and moisture
expansion coefficients can be found for the whole
laminate.
• Laminate failure is based on stresses and
application of failure theories to each ply.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 22
Jaipur
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 23
Schematic of Analysis Jaipur
of Laminated Composites.
Figure 1: Macroscopic (A,B) and microscopic (a,b) scales of observation in a
unidirectional composite layer
Locations A and B: Homogeneous and Anisotropic on a
macroscopic scale
Locations a and b: heterogeneous and isotropic/anisotropic on a
microscopic scale
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 24
Jaipur
Figure 2: Roving (left) and Yarn (right)
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 25
Jaipur
Figure 3: Multidirectional laminate
and reference coordinate system
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 26
Jaipur
• Fibre: A material from showing high length-to-
diameter ratio, and normally characterised by flexibility
and fineness.
• Filament: A single fibre.
• Yarn: An assembly of fibres, of similar or variable
length, held together by twisting.
• Tow: A loose bundle of fibres, having little or no twist;
normally associated with carbon fibre materials.
• Roving: An assembly of compact fibre bundles, or
strands usually with no twist. Usually heavier materials,
term often used for glass fibres.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 27
Jaipur
• A single fiber is usually referred to as a filament. You
can buy a single continuous filament rolled on a spool;
this is called a monofilament. Mostly, however, you buy
filaments bunches called a strand or an end. If the
filaments are all parallel to each other, the end is called
a roving (graphite rovings are also referred to as tows).
Rovings are usually denoted by the number of ends
they contain; tows by the number of filaments. The
most common graphite tows are 3K, 6K, and 12K. If
instead of being straight the filaments are twisted to
hold the fibers together, the bundle is called a yarn.
Dr Dinesh Kumar, Mech. Engg. Deptt., MNIT
05-05-2013 28
Jaipur
