There is much confusion about what interlaminar stresses are and how to calculate them using composites analysis. Interlaminar stresses are the source of failure mechanisms uniquely characteristic of composite materials; their existence is a major reason that laminated composites tend to delaminate near free edges, such as edges of a plate or around holes. However, there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding of how to define interlaminar stresses and how to predict them using finite element…