An extended Greszczuk's analytical method for stress analysis of unsymmetrical laminated composite plates with a circular hole under axial, biaxial, and shear loads

This paper presents a novel analytical solution for calculating the stress concentration factor (SCF) and stress resultants in an infinite laminated plate featuring an unsymmetrical stacking sequence with a circular hole under in-plane loads. The analytical method initially provided by Greszczuk is extended to ascertain the stress distribution in both symmetrical and unsymmetrical laminated plates with a cutout under arbitrarily oriented in-plane stresses. The effective moduli method for unsymmetrical laminated plates, computed using the layer-lumping approach, is included in the proposed analytical method. To simulate real structural response, the finite-width correction factor presented by Tan is also incorporated in the analytical solution. The Tsai-Wu criterion is used to ascertain the impact of the notch on first ply failure (FPF) load. Various parameters influencing stress distributions are considered, including the loading angle, fiber orientation, cutout size, and stacking sequence of unsymmetrical laminated plates. Finite element models are developed by using ABAQUS for the stress analysis of unsymmetrical laminated plates having a circular hole. The accuracy of the proposed analytical method is assessed by comparison with the results predicted by the finite element program and the complex variable analytical method. The formulated analytical method is used to investigate the influences of various parameters on the stress distributions in unsymmetrical laminated plates. It is shown that the proposed analytical approach provides an efficient and accurate solution to the stress concentration and failure problems of unsymmetrical laminated plates with a hole.