Best strip-beam properties derivable from classical lamination theory

This paper presents a simple method to extract classical beam properties for composite strips with general anisotropy from an asymptotically correct classical lamination theory derived using the variational-asymptotic method. None of the ad hoc approximations common to the literature of beam theory are used. Rather, this approach discovers the necessary and sufficient engineering assumptions for obtaining the correct cross-sectional constants and stress recovery relations for a strip. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the resulting theory. Resulting elastic constants agree well with those from well-established methods of calculating cross-sectional constants, and the accuracy deteriorates as the strip thickness-to-width ratio increases.