ABSTRACT
Experiments have shown that the tensile and compressive strengths of a composite laminate containing a hole or notch depend on hole or notch size. Because of the complexity of the fracture process in notched laminates, most strength models are semiempirical. In this chapter, some of the more commonly accepted and computationally simple strength models (i.e., the point and average stress criteria developed by Whitney and Nuismer in 1974) are discussed. In addition, a modification of the point stress criterion (PSC), proposed by Pipes et al. (1979), is described.
