Experimental and numerical failure analysis of carbon/epoxy laminated composite joints under different conditions

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of preload moment, moisture and interference-fit on bearing strength and failure mode in pin-jointed and bolted carbon-epoxy plates which were subjected to a traction force. Two different geometrical parameters, end distance to pin diameter ratio (E/D) and width to pin diameter ratio (W/D), were considered experimentally. E/D and W/D ratios were selected ranging from 1 to 4 and from 2 to 4, respectively. The test results showed that the ultimate failure loads were directly affected by the geometrical parameters, preload moments and interference-fit. Furthermore, for the specimens in wet condition, failure loads increased with preload moments while failure loads stayed almost the same in non-preloaded specimens. Finite element models of the specimens were also developed by using ANSYS software. Contact and stress analyses of the models were carried out for both free and interference-fit. Tsai-Wu criterion was used to determine bearing strength corresponding to first failure load. It was concluded that the numerical results are in good agreement with experimental results. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.