Effect of transverse cracks on the effective thermal expansion coefficient of aged angle-ply composites laminates

A modified shear-lag analysis, taking into account the concept of stress perturbation function, is developed and applied to evaluate the effect of transverse cracks on the effective thermal expansion coefficient of aged angle-ply composites laminates. Effects of number of 90° layers and number of θ° layers in the outer angle-ply laminates on the reduction of the effective axial coefficient of thermal expansion have also been studied. The results of this paper represent well the dependence of the reduction of the effective axial coefficient of thermal expansion on the hygrothermal conditions, the fibre orientation angle of the outer layers, the number of cracked cross-ply layers and the number of un-cracked outer θ° layers in laminate.