In this paper, deep hole drilling method for measurement of non-uniform residual stress in thick composite laminated plates is simulated. The deep hole method is a well known method for measurement of residual stress in large metallic components. In this method, first a hole is drilled perpendicular to the surface of the laminate and the hole diameter is measured accurately after wards. Then, by trepanning process the residual stresses will be released. The hole diameter is re-measured accurately and recorded. Finally, the residual stresses can be calculated through the difference in diameter of the hole. The finite element software, ANSYS 11. is used for analysis and simulation of the method. Also, for three dimensional simulation of the deep hole drilling method the three-dimensional "solid brick layered 46" is used. The hole diameter was 10mm that is smaller than other dimensions. First, convergence test has been applied to optimize the size of the mesh so that the results are reliable. Three types of loading Fx, Fy and Fxy were applied to finite element analysis. These results have been compared with Lekhnitskiiۥs solution and Savin ۥs for orthotropic materials. Lekhnitskii solved problems for stresses around different shapes of holes under different loads using series method. As it can be observed the results of this simulation are in good agreement with Lekhnitskiiۥs and Savin ۥs solution. Manuscript profile

In this research, the analytical and numerical investigation of a cylindrical shell made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) reinforced by laminated composite subjected to internal pressure is presented. Using the infinitesimal theory of elasticity, the analytical solution of stress and strain in vessels made of FGMs is studied first. It is assumed that the elasticity modulus follows a power law distribution in the thickness direction and Poisson's ratio considered to be constant for simplicity. The results of the finite element method using ABAQUS software for in-homogeneity constant in the range of -2 to 2 have been compared with the analytical results. The comparison represents good coincidence between analytical and numerical results and confirms the accuracy of stress and strain solutions presented for vessel made of FGMs. The stress and strain solutions in laminated composite vessels are then investigated. Finally, modeling of FGM vessel reinforced by composite laminates with different lay-up is taken into consideration. The obtained results demonstrate that in the cylindrical shell reinforced by laminated composites, the maximum stress is considerably less than the maximum stress in the pressure vessels made of just composites or FGMs. Manuscript profile

The principal effects of mass degradation on polymer matrix composites (PMCs) are the decay of mechanical properties such as strength, elongation, and resilience. This degradation is a common problem of the PMCs under thermal cycling conditions. In this article, composite degradation was investigated by measurement of total mass loss (TML) using the Taguchi approach. Thermal cycling tests were performed using a developed thermal cycling apparatus. Weight loss experiments were performed on the glass fiber/epoxy laminates under different number of thermal cycles and temperature differences. Also, The specimens had various fiber volume fractions and stacking sequences. Statistical analysis is performed to study contribution of each factor. Based on weight loss rates, a regression model was presented to evaluate the TML of laminated composite materials samples. It was found that the temperature differences and fiber volume fraction are the most effective factors of surface degradation with 61 and 22 percent contribution. Also, under the similar experimental conditions, the [0]8 layups exhibits 44 and 35.7 percent more mass loss than the [0/±45/90]s and [02/902]s layups, respectively. Manuscript profile

In this research, residual strength and stress concentration factor of laminated composites with a circular open hole are studied analytically, numerically and experimentally. The numerical study was carried out using the finite element method. Moreover an analytical study was carried out with developing of point stress criterion. Mechanical testing was performed to determine the un-notched tensile properties and notched strength of composite laminates and characteristic length to reinforcement of the notched strength of composite laminates are determined. Results show that the influence of specimen dimension, notch size, lay ups and material properties are important on residual strength and stress concentration factor of laminated composite materials. Manuscript profile

Buckling and post buckling of cylindrical shells under hydrostatic pressure is regarded as important issue in structure of submarines. These cylindrical shells have variable thickness due to construction process which effected by pressure of buckling and its destruction. In this paper, effects of changing thickness on buckling and destruction pressure under external hydrostatic pressure of a shell are studied. Results of buckling pressure of cylindrical shell have been obtained with theoretical relations and finite element method. Then, using machining process a sample of cylindrical shell with variable thickness has been produced. Buckling pressure and post buckling of the constructed sample have been obtained with the reservoir under closed-ended hydrostatic pressure. Changes of the test sample size have been considered with closed-ended testing apparatuses which are used for new evaluation of buckling. In this research, results of the pressure have been obtained in terms of the volume change. At the end, results of the finite element method have been compared with results of the analytical solutions and experimental data. Results show that the shell with variable thickness has buckling pressure close to shell bucking pressure with mean thickness. Manuscript profile

Fracture analysis of glass/epoxy composites under different thermal cycling conditions is considered. Temperature difference, stacking sequence, fiber volume fraction and number of thermal cycles are selected as the experimental design factors. The Taguchi method is implemented to design of the experiment and an apparatus is developed for automatic thermal cycling tests. The tensile tests are done to study mechanical behavior of the specimens after the thermal cycling. The results show that the stacking sequence is the main effective factor on the fracture surface behavior of the specimens. Also, long splitting, lateral and angled breakage are the dominate failure mode of [0]8, [02/902]s and [0/±45/90]s layups, respectively. It’s found that the thermal cycling and temperature difference cause to increase the surface matrix loss significantly. This surface matrix loss can be an initial region to matrix debonding and crack propagation. Also, when the angle difference between lamina is increased the mechanical properties are reduced under the thermal cycling, significantly. Manuscript profile