Composites with multiple cutouts

Abstract An experimental and analytical study of composite coupons and panels with multiple cutouts are presented. Coupons with circular and rectangular cutouts with aligned and staggered hole configurations were examined under tensile loads. Two- and three-dimensional finite element anlaysis is utilized to predict in-plane and interlaminar stress response, respectively. A stiffened hat panel is selected as the structural component to illustrate the effects of cutouts in actual composite parts. Throughout testing, C-scans and X-ray photographs were utilized to document the damage formation. Both numerical and experimental results highlighted the presence of reduced stress fields in the vicinity of the rectangular cutout versus the circular.