Effect of temperature and humidity on transient hygrothermal stresses during moisture desorption in laminated composite plates

Abstract Polymer matrix composites are relevant materials for future supersonic aircraft due to their high specific properties. However, in such aeronautical applications, the material is exposed to severe environmental conditions. The present paper aims at assessing an approximate model to evaluate hygrothermoelastic stress in composite laminated plates during moisture desorption taking into account the change of mechanical characteristics induced by the variation of temperature and moisture. The developed method permits us to calculate such stresses during desorption phase without the computation of the moisture concentration, through laminated plates. It observed through this study that the variation of elasticity modulus due to the temperature causes a stress relaxation. These stresses have to be taken into account for the design of composite structures submitted to a moist environment. Through the presented study, we hope to contribute to the understanding of hygrothermal behaviour of composite laminated plates.