Bolt-Hole Elongation of Woven Carbon-Epoxy Composite Plates and Joints Using the Digital Image Correlation Technique

The elongation of the bolt hole is an important parameter for assessing the failure of bolted joints. However, direct experimental measurement using strain gauges and extensometers is difficult. This article shows that digital image correlation (DIC) can overcome the difficulties and provide important indications of the failure mechanisms of bolted joints. Hole elongation was measured using DIC in the following carbon/epoxy composite configurations: standard open-hole tensile (OHT) and filled-hole tensile (FHT), single-lap shear only-bolted (OB), and single-lap shear hybrid-bolted/bonded (HBB) joints. For each configuration, the hole-elongation changes were tracked for cross-ply (CP) and quasi-isotropic (QI) stacking sequences with two thicknesses. In the tensile load direction for OHT and FHT cases, CP showed a greater hole elongation than QI. However, the opposite trend was observed in the transverse direction. In OB joints, bypass loads contributed more to the hole elongation than bearing action. In HBB joints, it has been observed that the adhesive significantly reduces hole elongation, particularly for CP configurations. Moreover, it was found that in HBB joints, hole elongation was independent of laminate lay-up, while it was very determinative in OB joints.