Calculation of the room-temperature shapes of unsymmetric laminates

A theory explaining the characteristics of the cured shapes of unsymmetric laminates is presented. The theory is based on an extension of classical lamination theory which accounts for geometric nonlinearities. A Rayleigh-Ritz approach to minimizing the total potential energy is used to obtain quantitative information regarding the room temperature shapes of square T300/5208 (0(2)/90(2))T and (0(4)/90(4))T graphite-epoxy laminates. It is shown that, depending on the thickness of the laminate and the length of the side the square, the saddle shape configuration is actually unstable. For values of length and thickness that render the saddle shape unstable, it is shown that two stable cylindrical shapes exist. The predictions of the theory are compared with existing experimental data.