The extensional stiffness in quasi-isotropic laminates is uniform in the radial direction, but the bending stiffness varies radially due to the stacking sequence. This paper addresses the directional dependency of the bending stiffness and its radial variation in three types of quasi-isotropic laminate reflectors consisting of unidirectional fiber composite materials (UDM) and randomly distributed composite materials (short fiber, RDM). The extensional stiffness and bending stiffness in optical

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... reflectors using RDM are uniform, while the bending stiffness in those using UDM varies radially from 11% to 26%. Also, the stiffness sensitivity, such as the bend-twist or bend-torsion effect, due to the differences in the stiffness value in the composite, is large. These factors are problematic in the optical field requiring precision surfaces. Utilizing RDM might be one way to eliminate the presence of bending stiffness in composite mirror substrates.