PROBLEMS OF MODELLING THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE MATERIALS

The non-homogeneous laminated composite material -- an assembly of oriented laminae composed of fibers in a matrix -- is normally represented as a "Numerically Equivalent Homogeneous Anisotropic Material" (NEHAM). The appropriate modelling gives rise to several problems which are considered in the present paper. This discussion is followed by the presentation of numerical results (bending of a quarter of a torus) obtained by means of a programme, developed in the LMS (Laboratoire de Mecanique des Solides), corresponding to a simple model: elastic, anisotropic thin shell. Finally, tests on thin tubes devised for a direct experimental identification of the elastic moduli involved in this modelling of the laminate are described.