Effect of Carbon Nanotubes Volume Fraction on the Deflections and Stresses of Laminated Hybrid Composite Plates using First-Order Shear Deformation Theory

Abstract

Carbon Nanotubes reinforced composite materials are widely used in aerospace engineering due to high strength-to-weight ratios, which can be tailored per requirements. The behaviour of the composite structures depends on various factors like, Lamination scheme, Ply orientation and loading conditions. In the present work, Static deflection and stresses analysis of a Carbon Nano Tube reinforced laminated hybrid composite plate extends the First Order Shear Deformation Theory with variable ply angles and volume fractions of CNT. A micromechanics model based on the Mori-Tanaka method is used to calculate the properties of CNT reinforced laminate. In this analysis, hybrid composite plates mainly consist of Graphite/epoxy, Kevlar/epoxy and CNT/ polystyrene sub-laminates. The lamination scheme and CNT volume fraction play a vital role in the non-dimensional deflections and stresses. The main intention of this work is to enhance the suitability of CNT reinforced Hybrid composite plates under static loading for structural applications.