PROBABILISTIC METHODS FOR THE CALCULATION OF LAMINATE PROPERTIES

A method for calculating the properties of advanced composite laminates, including their variations due to known variations in the properties of the individual plies and the laminate geometry, is presented. The method is useful for understanding scatter in the measured properties of composite laminates. This scatter is particularly important in the design of ultra-low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) laminates. Such laminates are designed with a theoretically zero CTE, but in practice have a distribution of non-zero CTEs. Information useful for designing ultra-low expansion laminates is discussed. A practical limit on how close to zero the CTE of a laminate can be assumed to be is found.