Collapse analysis of composite cylindrical panels with small cutouts

A finite element study was conducted to determine the effects of notches on the load bearing capability and radial displacements of axially loaded composite cylindrical panels. The panel considered assumed that eight symmetrically placed graphite/epoxy plies were used. A mesh refinement in the vicinity of the cutout was conducted in order to study the non-linear collapse analysis. In addition, the effect of different size cutouts with aspect ratios (axial dimension of cutout divided by circumferential dimension) of 2·0 and 0·5 was studied. The findings indicated that as the surface area of the cutout increased, the buckling load decreased. Cutouts with aspect ratios of 2·0 appeared to be capable of carrying higher loads than notches with an aspect ratio of 0·5.