Stress Relaxation in Prestressed Composite Laminates

Viscoelastic deformation caused in symmetric laminated plates by release of fiber prestress and by uniform thermomechanical loads is analyzed on the constituent, ply and overall laminate scales with the Transformation Field Analysis (TFA) method (G. J. Dvorak, Proc. R. Soc. Lond., 1992, A437, pp. 311–327). Fiber prestress is applied in individual plies prior to matrix cure and released after matrix consolidation. Linear or nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive relations are used to evaluate the inelastic deformation rates in terms of current constituent stress averages. The TFA method regards both thermal and inelastic strains as piecewise uniform eigenstrains acting in superposition with mechanical loads and fiber prestress release on an elastic laminate. Interactions between the eigenstrains at the three different size scales are described by certain influence functions derived from micromechanical analysis of the plies and laminates. Applications describe stress relaxation in two carbon/epoxy laminates after cooling from the curing temperature and release of optimized fiber prestress, that allows maximum tensile load application while keeping both interior and free-edge stresses within prescribed strength limits. Subsequent viscoelastic deformation under constant rate loading, and stress relaxation caused by a sustained application of an elevated temperature to a laminate without prestress are also analyzed. Results are presented in the form of initial failure maps that identify overall stress states which may or may not initiate a specific damage mode in the laminate.