The effect of environment on tensile properties of stitched and unstitched laminates (with a hole)

Tensile tests are conducted on stitched and unstitched uniweave T300/QY9512 laminates (with a hole) in hygrothermal environment and normal environment. It is shown that in a normal environment stitching reduces the tensile strength of laminates and does not significantly alter the open-hole tensile strength. The hygrothermal environment has a beneficial effect on the tensile strength of laminates and open-hole laminates, especially of stitched specimens. It is also noted that stitching direction has no effect on the tensile properties.