Abstract
It is assumed that elastic properties of glass fabric reinforced plastic laminates are affected by three factors, i.e, the deflection angle, the pitch and the density of warp and weft of the fabrics. The elastic moduli of glass fabric reinforced plastic laminate are calculated by a crossply laminate model consisting of many unidirectional reinforced monolayers at right angles to each other. The mechanical properties of the monolayer are estimated by considering the three factors. The elastic moduli of this model are analyzed by using “laminated plate theory”, and the macroscopic failure criterion is discussed based on the maximum stress theory and the strain energy theory. The elastic moduli and the yield stresses of three foundation weave fabric laminates (plain weave, twill weave and satin weave) are measured experimentally. The calculated values agree fairly with those of experiments, and it is concluded that the analytical method presented in the paper is useful to predict the elastic moduli and the yield strength of glass fabric reinforced plastic laminates.
