A probabilistic model for the spatial variation of the strength of materials used for laminated orthotropic composites is introduced. The principal idea lies in the in terpretation that the material strength can be idealized as a multi-dimensional stochastic field. Under such an assumption, the type of statistical distribution followed by the strength of laminated orthotropic composite plates in uniaxial tension is found to follow a Weibull distribution, with the aid of Monte Carlo simulation techniques. Another conclu sion is the statistical size effect which is a well-known phenomenon for materials of this kind.
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