Analytical and experimental investigation of tensile properties of cross-ply and angle-ply GFRP composite laminates

The static tensile properties in the form of ultimate failure stress, ultimate failure strain and Young's modulus of a cross-ply glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite laminate [90(4), 0(4)](s) and an unconventional angle-ply GFRP composite laminate [+67.5(4), -67.5(4)](s) were investigated using the netting analysis, the laminate mixture rule (Hart-Smith 10% rule) and the classical laminate theory (CLT). The findings were then compared to experimental results to determine the accuracy of each analytical technique. It was found that the netting analysis was the best overall method for estimating the cross-ply laminate tensile properties, whereas neither the CLT nor the 10% rule were appropriate for estimating the tensile properties of the unconventional ply angle laminate.