A Comparison of Net and Continuum Theory as Applied to Cord-Reinforced Laminates

Abstract

The basic formulation of plane stress-analysis techniques for textiles imbedded in rubber is given both from the viewpoint of a load-carrying net and of a continuous elastic material with orthotropic properties. The developments are basically dissimilar, and yet it is shown that, for material properties commonly encountered in rubber-coated textiles, both theories predict essentially the same textile loads, although the stresses carried by the rubber matrix differ in the two theories. This shows that the network approach, which is by far the simpler of the two, is perfectly valid for purposes of estimat ing cord load in cord-rubber structural members. A method is presented through the use of either theory to compute the fraction of load carried by the cord network and the fraction carried by the rubber matrix.