An Elastic-Plastic Thermal Stress Analysis of Cross-ply and Angle-ply Aluminum Metal-matrix Composite Arches

A thermal elastic-plastic stress analysis is carried out on cross-ply and angle-ply steel fiber reinforced aluminum metal-matrix laminated composite arch under uniform temperature distribution. The composite material is assumed to be strain hardening linearly and consists of 4, 8, 12, and 16 layers bonded symmetrically and anti-symmetrically. First yielding temperature, thermal residual stresses, and the distribution of these stresses under thermal loading are investigated by using the finite element method (FEM). The effects of orientation angle, layer number, and stacking sequence on the residual stresses are analyzed. The magnitudes of residual stress components increase gradually depending on the temperature increment. It is found that the orientation angle affects the yield point and the intensity of residual stresses significantly, while the layer number and stacking sequence result in slight differences.