Investigation of the Quasi-Homogenous Laminate by Means of the Direction Factor of the Bending Stiffness

The direction factor of the bending stiffness was defined in terms of the proportional coefficient of the bending stiffness corresponding to the identical ply orientations, as well as a new iterative mode, cycle after symmetry, of the laminate. On the basis of the quasi-isotropic laminate, the method of the direction factor of bending stiffness considerably reduces the computational capacity with respect to the quasi-homogeneity. By means of the method of the direction factor and comparison of the direction factors corresponding to three kinds of laminates, the iterative mode of cycle after symmetry has superior performance than the common iterative modes, which is applicable to the design and optimization of the laminate, especially for the homogeneous laminate.