{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118549"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118549","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Characteristics of thermally-induced transverse cracks in graphite-epoxy composite laminates","abstract":"The characteristics of thermally-induced transverse cracks in T300/5208 graphite-epoxy cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates were investigated both experimentally and analytically. The formation of transverse cracks and the subsequent crack spacing present during cooldown to -250°F (116K) and thermal cycling between 250 and -250°F (116 and 394K) was investigated. The state of stress in the vicinity of a transverse crack and the influence of transverse cracking on the laminate coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) was predicted using a generalized plane-strain finite element analysis and a modified shear-lag analysis. It is shown that a majority of the cross-ply laminates experienced transverse cracking during the initial cool-down to -250°F whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates remained uncracked. All cross-ply laminates and the [0/±45/90]<sub>s</sub> quasi-isotropic laminate exhibited transverse cracking following 20 thermal cycles. The uniformity of crack spacing increased with an increasing number of thermal cycles. The cross-ply laminates exhibited a rather sharp drop in CTE at crack densities less than 50 cracks/in. (19.7 cracks/cm) whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates exhibited a smaller decrease in CTE. The in situ transverse strength of the 90° layers was more than 1.9 times greater than the transverse strength of the unidirectional 90° material for all laminates investigated.","abstract_html":"The characteristics of thermally-induced transverse cracks in T300/5208 graphite-epoxy cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates were investigated both experimentally and analytically. The formation of transverse cracks and the subsequent crack spacing present during cooldown to -250°F (116K) and thermal cycling between 250 and -250°F (116 and 394K) was investigated. The state of stress in the vicinity of a transverse crack and the influence of transverse cracking on the laminate coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) was predicted using a generalized plane-strain finite element analysis and a modified shear-lag analysis. It is shown that a majority of the cross-ply laminates experienced transverse cracking during the initial cool-down to -250°F whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates remained uncracked. All cross-ply laminates and the [0/±45/90]&lt;sub&gt;s&lt;/sub&gt; quasi-isotropic laminate exhibited transverse cracking following 20 thermal cycles. The uniformity of crack spacing increased with an increasing number of thermal cycles. The cross-ply laminates exhibited a rather sharp drop in CTE at crack densities less than 50 cracks/in. (19.7 cracks/cm) whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates exhibited a smaller decrease in CTE. The in situ transverse strength of the 90° layers was more than 1.9 times greater than the transverse strength of the unidirectional 90° material for all laminates investigated.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Adams, Daniel S."],"institution":"Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Engineering Mechanics","degree_department":"Engineering Mechanics","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1983,"date_issued":"1983","date_published":"1983","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:43Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/118549","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Engineering Mechanics"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Adams, Daniel S."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-04-11T19:09:02Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-04-11T19:09:02Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1983"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Engineering Mechanics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/118549"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The characteristics of thermally-induced transverse cracks in T300/5208 graphite-epoxy cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates were investigated both experimentally and analytically. The formation of transverse cracks and the subsequent crack spacing present during cooldown to -250°F (116K) and thermal cycling between 250 and -250°F (116 and 394K) was investigated. The state of stress in the vicinity of a transverse crack and the influence of transverse cracking on the laminate coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) was predicted using a generalized plane-strain finite element analysis and a modified shear-lag analysis. It is shown that a majority of the cross-ply laminates experienced transverse cracking during the initial cool-down to -250°F whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates remained uncracked. All cross-ply laminates and the [0/±45/90]<sub>s</sub> quasi-isotropic laminate exhibited transverse cracking following 20 thermal cycles. The uniformity of crack spacing increased with an increasing number of thermal cycles. The cross-ply laminates exhibited a rather sharp drop in CTE at crack densities less than 50 cracks/in. (19.7 cracks/cm) whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates exhibited a smaller decrease in CTE. The in situ transverse strength of the 90° layers was more than 1.9 times greater than the transverse strength of the unidirectional 90° material for all laminates investigated."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Characteristics of thermally-induced transverse cracks in graphite-epoxy composite laminates"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.department":["Engineering Mechanics"],"dc:creator":["Adams, Daniel S."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-04-11T19:09:02Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-04-11T19:09:02Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1983"],"dc:description.abstract":["The characteristics of thermally-induced transverse cracks in T300/5208 graphite-epoxy cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates were investigated both experimentally and analytically. The formation of transverse cracks and the subsequent crack spacing present during cooldown to -250°F (116K) and thermal cycling between 250 and -250°F (116 and 394K) was investigated. The state of stress in the vicinity of a transverse crack and the influence of transverse cracking on the laminate coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) was predicted using a generalized plane-strain finite element analysis and a modified shear-lag analysis. It is shown that a majority of the cross-ply laminates experienced transverse cracking during the initial cool-down to -250°F whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates remained uncracked. All cross-ply laminates and the [0/±45/90]<sub>s</sub> quasi-isotropic laminate exhibited transverse cracking following 20 thermal cycles. The uniformity of crack spacing increased with an increasing number of thermal cycles. The cross-ply laminates exhibited a rather sharp drop in CTE at crack densities less than 50 cracks/in. (19.7 cracks/cm) whereas the quasi-isotropic laminates exhibited a smaller decrease in CTE. The in situ transverse strength of the 90° layers was more than 1.9 times greater than the transverse strength of the unidirectional 90° material for all laminates investigated."],"dc:description.degree":["M.S."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/118549"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Characteristics of thermally-induced transverse cracks in graphite-epoxy composite laminates"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.dcmitype":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Engineering Mechanics"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:43Z"}