Optimization of Cut-Out Shape on Composite Plate Under In-Plane Shear Loading

The wing in flight condition is subjected to heavy aerodynamic loads that in turn lead to a shear flow over the wing ribs that support it. Cut-outs change the mechanical behavior of plates, as they redistribute the stresses and are influenced by the shape of the cut-out. A three-dimensional displacement-based finite element analysis is performed to study the symmetric, laminated composite plate of 20 layers. The analysis is performed to obtain the in-plane and out of plane performances of the laminate. Five basic cut-out geometries, viz., circle, square, diamond, ellipse with major axis along the y-axis, and another ellipse with major axis along the x axis were used for the numerical analysis. A cut-out geometry is generated based on the results of analyses performed on five basic geometries to optimize the performance. The optimized cut-out is associated with the least Tsai-Hill and Hashin failure index as compared with the five basic geometries.