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Winnie, I have a design for yacht masts that you might find interesting. Might not be your area, but have a look anyway! You may even have friends in that area could be interested. http://groups.msn.com/DavesBridgesandTowers (Go to messages, Strengthening of hollow tubing sect') Dave.
I'm getting into composite orthotic braces. Right now, I'm trying to decode lamination theory from a variety of often contradictory sources.
Off the top of my head, I have a few questions for anyone in the know..
I've more or less figured out how to get the ABD matrix for a laminate, but all the references I've seen don't address the issue of transverse shear constants (A45,A55,A44). Does anyone have a robust method of finding these values? Or can I leave them as zero since I'll always be dealing with very thin (<6 layers) laminates (assume plain stress).
Also, I wonder how important the hygrothermal constants are. The layup method I'm looking at is fairly complicated, involving a partially cured prepreg which is sculpted to the patient in this condition, followed by a full cure in the oven. Any thoughts on this would be welcome.
Finally, I'm interested in any concerns that might arise from trying to analyse large deformations with pro/mechanica. Some of work I'll be doing will involve the laminate acting as a cantilever spring. Off hand, end deflections are going to be around 1 on a 6 beam.
Thanks a bunch and don't hesitate to contact me by email if you want.
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