DETERMINING THE SHEAR MODULI OF 3-DIMENSIONALLY ORTHOTROPIC LAMINATES BY SIMPLE MEANS

Determining the Shear Moduli of Three-Dimensionally Orthotropic Laminates by Simple Means. In order to calculate the deformation of parts made of fibre composite materials, nine independent elasticity constants must be known. While the moduli of elasticity and Poisson's ratios of the elasticity law for orthotropic materials can be derived from uniaxial tensile experiments, there is still no correspondingly simple method of determining the three shear moduli. This contribution shows how these characteristic values may be determined relatively easily on orthotropic sheets.