Boundary layer thermal stresses in angle-ply composite laminates

Boundary-layer thermal stress singularities and distributions of angle-ply composite laminates under uniform thermal loading are investigated through a system of sixth-order governing partial differential equations developed with the aid of the anisotropic elasticity field equations and Lekhnitskii's complex stress functions. Results are presented for cases of various angle-ply graphite/epoxy laminates, and it is shown that the boundary-layer thickness depends on the degree of anisotropy of each individual lamina, thermomechanical properties of each ply, and the relative thickness of adjacent layers.