Parametric study on buckling property of variable angle tow laminates

With suitable fiber path, variable angle tow (VAT) laminate is superior to traditional straight fiber laminate in buckling resistance. The aim of this paper is to trace the influence of fiber path characteristic distance and directional coordinate rotation on buckling property of VAT laminates. The original method for linear vibration of fiber angle was improved, and a method for describing the piecewise linear variation of fiber angle was proposed, which is able to extend the design space of fiber path. A series of VAT laminates were fabricated utilizing the improved method. Based on the finite element method, the buckling properties of VAT laminates under different load cases were traced and discussed from the perspective of the stress resultant distribution. The numerical results show that under the axial compression condition, the fiber path with the characteristic distance being half of the edge length and the coordinate rotation being 90°, makes laminates of the highest stability; under the biaxial compression condition, the characteristic distance and directional coordinate rotation should be treated as extra design variables, and the optimal fiber path should be obtained through optimization.