Test Validation of Extension-Twisting Coupled Laminates with Matched Orthotropic Stiffness.

This dataset contains raw and processed test and simulation data that underpins an experimental validation study for three classes of coupled laminate with matching Extension-Twisting coupling. The designs have matching orthotropic stiffness, in both extension and bending, and have been chosen specifically to investigate the influence of mechanical Extension-Shearing and/or Bending-Twisting on the performance of Extension-Twisting coupled designs under axial tension loads. All designs are Hygro-Thermally Curvature Stable (HTCS) or warp-free. An Electronic Annex to the article is also provided, which contains specimen data and Abaqus input files from which the simulations can be reproduced. A video of the MTS Bionix 25kN/250Nm Axial/Torsional test machine demonstrates the complex kinematics of the mechanically coupled composite specimen, in which twisting is induced as a result of an applied axial tension load. Supplementary Note: It was not thought possible that zero Extension-Shearing coupled compliances, a16 and a26, could be achieved in the presence of Bending-Twisting coupled stiffnesses, when matching both Extension-Twisting (and inseparable Shearing-Bending) coupled stiffnesses and orthotropic Extensional and Bending stiffnesses. However, this was due to an oversight whilst interrogating the laminate databases. These designs have therefore been provided in a further supplement to the electronic annex to this article, since they do not affect any of the conclusions drawn.