The out-of-plane shear response of thick, unidirectional and crossply, AS4/3501-6 and S2 glass/3501-6 laminates was investigated theoretically and experimentally using V-notched beam (Iosipescu) specimens. Strains were monitored in the specimen test sections using conventional strain gages, moiré interferometry and full section strain gages. Crossply laminates exhibited a fairly uniform strain distribution away from the notches, while the unidirectional specimens were characterized by a nonuniform distribution. Measured strains correlated very well with predicted strains from specimen finite element analyses using nonlinear elastic material properties.

No abstract