Laminated Shells and Adhesive Bonded Joints

Abstract

Laminated construction has many structural applications. However, in all such construction, structural reliability is predicated on the fact that the laminae remain joined together, otherwise many of the advantages of employing dissimilar materials together are lost. Questions then arise as to whether thin bonds, thick bonds, pliable bonds or stiff bonds should be used between laminae. Certainly it is very important to know the state of stresses throughout the bond to determine the bond material requirements. A detailed discussion of bonded joints and laminated construction could be a volume in itself. In this section, the simplest case of a laminated cylindrical isotropic shell is discussed in order to present all of the important considerations with a minimum of complexity. More complicated problems will be discussed in Part II of this text.