Evaluation of Composite Tapered Cone for Torsion using Finite Element Analysis

Composite material is one of the most important and economical material for the various application due to its favorable properties. Recently many researches are going on the various properties of the these materials. In this paper an anisotropic behavior of the composite tube is to be modeled and analysis is to be performed under torsional loading conditions. Torsion is a tricky phenomenon in composite cylinders as the twist effects and their interactions with composite shells induce complex stress patterns. The objective behind the study is to understand interaction of conical angle, length of tube and torsional moment. it also includes comparative analysis of deformation and stresses developed in tapered composite cone due to use of various materials like steel, orthotropic composite and laminated composite etc. The effect of taper angle, thickness of the tube and fiber orientations in case of laminated composite is studied by using finite element analysis (ANSYS software). The finite element analysis is especially versatile and efficient for the analysis of complex structural behavior of the composite laminated structures. It is found that deformation in case of laminated composite and deformation in between steel and laminated composite cone. At membrane stresses are observed at the middle of cone in length direction for three materials.