Three‐dimensional stress analysis of composite structures using isodyne techniques

Abstract It is known that the stresses in lamination planes of composite structures are pronouncedly three‐dimensional, and that criticality of the lamination defects is often very high. It is also known that the classical methods of photoelastic stress analysis are often not reliable when stress states are three‐dimensional, with the exception of the gamma‐ray stress‐freezing method. The paper presents analytical and empirical evidence that the recently developed “isodyne” techniques allow reliable determination of the 3‐D stresses existing in components of real composite structures and in lamination planes.