Thermo-structural analysis of composite structures

Thermo-structural analyses of passive and active hot composite structures considering temperature dependent material properties under thermal and mechanical loads are carried out. The behaviour of the composite material under thermal, thermo-chemical and mechanical loads is studied. A general approach to carry out thermo-structural analysis and how the behaviour is incorporated in the modelling are briefly discussed. Thermo-structural analysis shows that thermal stresses are very much predominant when compared to stresses due to mechanical loads. A parametric study on variation of coefficient of thermal expansion (α) due to change in fibre orientation of carbon–carbon cap type structure is studied and it is concluded that one of the critical design variables identified is the α value across the thickness of the laminate.