Working principle

The basic premise of the script is that the student will inputs variables that the script takes and calculates stresses and strains from. There are two possible ways of inputting data:

1. MATLAB

2. Excel

Warning

Please note that the Excel functionality is not actively developed and for that reason, it must be used with caution. Any results should be compared with the equivalent MATLAB functionality.

Matlab

Edit three input scripts (Details.mlx, Material.mlx, Laminate.mlx). The student will then check the printed data (the function DataPrint.mlx). After the data is checked, calculation functions are carried out for: the material properties (the function ABDCalc.mlx); the thermal analysis (the function Thermal.mlx); the load analysis (the function Loads.mlx); and hygro analysis (the function Moisture.mlx). The flow of the program is shown in Figure X.

The purpose of the script is to aid learning, therefore automation is not recommended. The ‘slow’ process of editing the three input scripts, running the program, checking the code and results is key to the design process. Using this tool as a black box is not the intended use-case. The calculation functions can be investigated by using the debugging function within Matlab~cite{MATLAB_Debug}. This is recommended to cross-reference with hand calculations and compliment learning in lectures. Not fully understanding ‘how’ a code works is dangerous, particularly when written by well-intentioned but imperfect PhD students…

All equations used within the code can be found in the lecture notes. Some extra resources that were used for this script can be found in Reference [voyiadjis_mechanics_2005].

Excel

Note

This function is not currently actively developed