Abstract:
This paper presents the numerical and experimental studies of shear loaded
laminated and sandwich carbon/epoxy composite panels with cutouts and
reinforcements aiming at reducing the cutout stress concentration and increasing
the buckling stability of the panels. The effect of different cutout sizes and
the design and materials of cutout reinforcements on the stress and buckling
behaviour of the panels are evaluated. For the sandwich panels with a range of
cutout size and a constant weight, an optimal ratio of the core to the face
thickness has been studied for the maximum buckling stability. The finite
element method and an analytical method are employed to perform parametric
studies. In both constant stress and constant displacement shear loading
conditions, the results are in very good agreement with those obtained from
experiment for selected cutout reinforcement cases. Conclusions are drawn on the
cutout reinforcement design and improvement of stress concentration and buckling
behaviour of shear loaded laminated and sandwich composite panels with cutouts.