A Simplified Approach to the Classical Laminate Theory of Composite Materials

This book provides a systematic introduction to composite materials, which are obtained by a layer-wise stacking of one-dimensional bar/beam elements. Each layer may have different mechanical properties but each single layer is considered as isotropic. The major idea is to provide a simplified theory to easier understand the classical two-dimensional laminate theory for composites based on laminae with unidirectional fibers. In addition to the elastic behavior, failure is investigated based on the maximum stress, maximum strain, Tsai-Hill, and the Tsai-Wu criteria.