Abstract
A new Compact Double-Notched specimen [1] for measuring in-plane shear properties of laminated fiber composites is analyzed using the Finite Element method. The uniformity and purity of the shear stress distributions for unidirectional and bidirectional laminates are assessed and compared to those of the losipescu configuration currently under consideration for adoption as an ASTM standard.
It is shown that the promising experimental results from the preliminary evaluation of the Compact Double-Notched specimen followed from a fortuitous laminate stacking se quence. The new test configuration suffers from the fundamental drawback that large stress raisers occur near, but outside, the test zone so that the load range for unidirectional laminates would be very small and the specimen could not be used for strength mea surement.
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