TY - GEN

T1 - Multistability of Connected Variable Stiffness Laminates

AU - Phanendra Kumar, A.

AU - Anilkumar, P. M.

AU - Haldar, A.

AU - Scheffler, S.

AU - Rao, B. N.

AU - Rolfes, R.

N1 - Funding Information: The first and second authors would like to acknowledge DAAD for the support during the course of this research. The second author would like to acknowledge Prime Ministers Research Fellowship Scheme (PMRF), India, for the support during the course of this research.

PY - 2022/1/1

Y1 - 2022/1/1

N2 - Multistable laminates have been actively researched in the recent past, due to its potential in morphing applications in different engineering sectors. Unsymmetrical cross-ply laminates, which yield two stable cylindrical shapes, are widely investigated multistable structures, where the multistability is induced due to the residual thermal stresses. However, to improve the design space in such laminates, variable stiffness (VS) laminates with curvilinear fibre paths have been investigated recently. They have been found to generate diverse stable shapes, with the possibility to tailor snap-through loads. Connecting two different laminate plates can generate more than two stable configurations, often desired in morphing applications. This study aims to develop a highly multistable continuous composite plate by connecting two square VS laminates without any external fixing aids. A parametric study is performed to understand the effect of VS parameters on the snap-through forces in comparison with the results from conventional cross-ply laminates. The multistable shapes of the series-connected laminates are analysed within a commercially available finite element package. It is concluded from the study that VS laminates can produce multiple equilibrium states with lower actuation requirements, without compromising much on out-of-plane displacements.

AB - Multistable laminates have been actively researched in the recent past, due to its potential in morphing applications in different engineering sectors. Unsymmetrical cross-ply laminates, which yield two stable cylindrical shapes, are widely investigated multistable structures, where the multistability is induced due to the residual thermal stresses. However, to improve the design space in such laminates, variable stiffness (VS) laminates with curvilinear fibre paths have been investigated recently. They have been found to generate diverse stable shapes, with the possibility to tailor snap-through loads. Connecting two different laminate plates can generate more than two stable configurations, often desired in morphing applications. This study aims to develop a highly multistable continuous composite plate by connecting two square VS laminates without any external fixing aids. A parametric study is performed to understand the effect of VS parameters on the snap-through forces in comparison with the results from conventional cross-ply laminates. The multistable shapes of the series-connected laminates are analysed within a commercially available finite element package. It is concluded from the study that VS laminates can produce multiple equilibrium states with lower actuation requirements, without compromising much on out-of-plane displacements.

KW - Actuation energy

KW - Bistable laminates

KW - Morphing structures

KW - Multistable structures

KW - Variable stiffness laminates

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122562719&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/978-981-16-6738-1_5

DO - 10.1007/978-981-16-6738-1_5

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:85122562719

SN - 9789811667374

T3 - Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering

SP - 51

EP - 64

BT - Recent Advances in Computational and Experimental Mechanics, Select Proceedings of ICRACEM 2020

A2 - Maity, D.

A2 - Patra, P. K.

A2 - Afzal, M. S.

A2 - Ghoshal, R.

A2 - Mistry, C. S.

A2 - Jana, P.

A2 - Maiti, D. K.

PB - Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH

CY - Singapore

T2 - 1st Online International Conference on Recent Advances in Computational and Experimental Mechanics, ICRACEM 2020

Y2 - 4 September 2020 through 6 September 2020

ER -