Fibrous composite materials have been characterized based on classical lamination theory with certain limitations such that the interlaminar shear stresses or the transverse shear stiffnesses are either neglected or treated in a highly approximate manner. In this paper, the interlaminar shear stresses are determined with respect to the transverse shear forces by solving equilibrium equations of stresses for each layer. The transverse shear stiffnesses are then obtained from the interlaminar shear stresses with an energy principle by evaluating effective shear moduli of laminated plates corresponding to the two transverse directions. A major difference from the existing method is that solutions are obtained in a more rigorous manner taking into account the coupling between the two transverse directions, a unique characteristic of laminated panels. A computer program has been developed that can be effectively utilized as a pre and post-processor of large scale finite element programs for analysis of laminated plates.

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