Tailored antisymmetric composite laminates: achieving ultra-thin design, lightweight performance, and mitigated coupling effects

Miravete, Antonio ; Cuartero, Jesús (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Guzmán de Villoria, Roberto ; Mejía-Ariza, Juan M.

Resumen: The aerospace industry is being driven toward ever-thinner, lighter composite structures, yet traditional balanced-symmetric “Quad” laminates are only able to meet stiffness and damage-tolerance targets by stacking large sublaminates of unidirectional plies—an approach that results in increased thickness, mass, and cost. An alternative architecture—Tailored Antisymmetric Composite (TAC) laminates—is introduced, comprising repeated antisymmetric sublaminates whose fiber orientations are optimized to minimize extension–bending coupling while satisfying stiffness and strength requirements. The feasible design space of TAC sublaminates is comprehensively mapped using lamination parameter plots; despite their minimal ply counts, TAC configurations span nearly the entire lamination-parameter domain—a coverage unattainable by Quad laminates. A genetic-algorithm (GA) framework for replacing Quad laminates with TAC designs is then detailed, and hard, soft, and neutral tapering schemes are compared using classical laminated-plate theory. Strategic tapering of ultra-thin TAC sublaminates is shown to yield 16–25 % weight savings relative to Quad laminates. The results of an experimental validation campaign are presented to quantify post-cure warpage in TAC and Quad plates and to evaluate extension–bending coupling behavior. TAC laminates are shown to sustain warpage levels comparable to those of Quad controls while exhibiting reduced coupling in ultra-thin sections. Moreover, an analytical investigation of bending–twisting coupling is provided. Overall, TAC laminates are presented as a weight-efficient route to next-generation ultra-thin composites, and the methodology laid herein establishes a foundation for future studies. The limitations of the present approach are discussed, and key next steps are outlined.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2025.119836

Año: 2025

Publicado en: Composite Structures 376 (2025), 119836 [19 pp.]
ISSN: 0263-8223

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2020-119015GB-C22
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN PID2020-119003GB-I00

Tipo y forma: Article (PostPrint)

Área (Departamento): Área Ingen.e Infraestr.Transp. (Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica)