Effect of Transverse Moduli on Through-Thickness Hygrothermal Expansion Coefficients of Composite Laminates

Abstract

In practical analysis, under a plane stress condition, a unidirectional lamina can be assumed with E2=E3 from geometrical symmetry consideration. However, from an academic point of view, it is interesting to study the case of a lamina with E2≠E3. In this paper the preliminary results of the physical phenomenon about the effect of different transverse moduli E2 and E3 on the through-thickness thermal expansion coefficients αz of quasi-isotropic composite laminates is presented.