Strength of fiber reinforced metal laminates with a circular hole

The effect of notching on fiber-reinforced metal laminates (FML) is studied 3-2 lay up carbon fiber aluminum laminates specimens containing a circular hole were employed in notch tests. The notch effect for a composite laminate was investigated and compared with carbon/epoxy composites and aluminum sheets. The degradation of notch strength for carbon fiber aluminum laminates was smaller than for carbon/epoxy composites. The point and average stress criteria were used in the notch strength analysis. A finite width correction factor was also used. The strength degradation models involve a single parameter that is a function of the hole size and the characteristic length. These models were compared with experimental data and good agreement was found.