An Investigation of through-Thickness Hygrothermal Expansion Coefficients of Angle-Ply Laminates

In this paper, an investigation of the through-thickness coefficients of hygrothermal expansion in the [30] _4s ,[45] _4s , and [60] _4s angle-ply laminates is presented. Based on the hygrothermal-elastic lamination theory, a dimensionless analysis has been used to calculate the values of the through-thickness coefficients of hygrothermal expansion in the angle-ply laminates. Also, the influences of the various lamina material properties such as Young’s modulus, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and coefficients of hygrothermal expansion on the through-thickness coefficients of hygrothermal expansion of the angle-ply laminates are investigated. The results from this dimensionless analysis provide a set of general guidelines for designing the values of through-thickness coefficients of hygrothermal expansion in the angle-ply laminates to fit various environmental conditions in engineering application.