Analysis of Hybrid Laminated Composite Plates

Abstract

Hybrid laminated composite plates are analyzed using a nine‐noded isoparametric plate finite element based on Mindlin's theory. The shear flexibility is included in the finite element modeling. Shear flexibility is of importance, especially when different materials are used in the laminate design. Hybrid laminates consisting of graphite/epoxy and kevlar/epoxy plies are considered for illustration. The study indicates that hybrid laminates provide stiffnesses that are intermediate to the values obtained for single‐material laminates. The minimum deflection is achieved at different fiber orientation for thick plates compared to thin plates. The deflection behavior of hybrid laminates seems to be less affected by outer‐ply stiffness in the case of thick plates. Thick plates show less variation in the first natural frequency with fiber orientation but hybridization changes the natural frequency considerably. The first natural frequency of the hybrid laminate can be made higher than the stiffer single‐material laminate.