Failure of orthotropic plates containing a circular opening

Failure of composite plates containing a circular opening is investigated and results are given for plates subjected to uniaxial loading. Stresses and strains in the composite were analyzed using the Lekhnilskii anisotropic elasticity theory. A failure criterion based on the strain energy density function is presented for predicting the externally applied load that will initiate failure and to determine the location of the failure at the opening. Typical results are presented for boron/epoxy. graphite/epoxy and glass/epoxy composites. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.