Finite Element Analysis and Notched Tensile Strength Evaluation of Center-Hole 2D Carbon/Carbon Laminates

Finite element analysis (FEA) has been carried out on 2D carbon/carbon (C/C) laminates containing a central circular hole utilizing the ANSYS software package. The stress concentration factor obtained from the existing empirical relation is comparable with the FEA result. Utilizing the stress concentration factor and the un-notched tensile strength of the 2D carbon/carbon laminates, the notched tensile strength estimates are found to be highly conservative. Modifications are made in one of the stress fracture criteria of Whitney and Nuismer known as the point stress criterion to estimate the notched strength close to the test results.