ABSTRACT
A composite lamina is a building block for laminates. Laminae are bonded together to form a laminate with the desired thickness and stiffness. In most applications, the thickness of a laminate is small compared to the planar dimensions (i.e., the side–to–thickness ratio of a laminate is greater than 20). Therefore, laminate theories based on equivalent two–dimensional descriptions are used to analyze laminated composite structures. The two–dimensional theories, termed equivalent–single layer theories, are obtained from the three–dimensional elasticity theory by making assumptions concerning the variation of displacements and/or stresses through the thickness of the laminate.
