Orthotropic material

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An orthotropic material is a material that has two or more orthogonal planes of elastic symmetry, along which material properies are constant and independent of orientation.

Typically the material has three mutually perpendicular planes of elastic symmetry. A well known example of an orthotropic material is graphite. A factor related to the importance of graphite/epoxy as an engineering material is its orthotropy, which allows laminae of differing orientations to be combined to achieve a completely anisotropic structure. Examples include unidirectional plies, fabric, cross ply and angle ply laminates.

Another example of an orthotropic material is wood. Wood has different strengths along the grain compared to against the grain.

An example of a non orthotropic (in fact it is isotropic) material is mild steel. (if not hardened through drawing, to align the grains, it has no particular directionality of strength).

Contrast with Isotropy and Anisotropy