TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental and finite element studies of thin bonded and hybrid carbon fibre double lap joints used in aircraft structures
AU - Chowdhury, Nabil M.
AU - Wang, John
AU - Chiu, Wing Kong
AU - Chang, Paul
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to verify the static and fatigue strength of mechanically fastened, bonded and hybrid double lap joints. These joints are made from thin carbon fibre/epoxy laminates applied in aircraft structures. Several configurations are considered, including variations in rivet array and the addition of bondline defects. Adhesive nonlinear material properties, rivet surface contacts and frictional forces were included in the three-dimensional (3D) Finite Element (FE) models. The Multicontinuum Theory (MCT) is used to simulate the progressive failure process and the stress state for all specimens, whilst the strain energy release rate (SERR) as a function of crack length for bonded and hybrid specimens are also compared. Results have shown the FE models are able to accurately predict the bonded, riveted and hybrid joint strengths. The position of the first row of fasteners is critical in determining the crack growth rate. As the crack enters the fasteners' clamping zone there is a significant drop in SERR resulting in a much slower crack growth rate, therefore increasing the fatigue resistance of the hybrid joint configuration.
AB - Finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to verify the static and fatigue strength of mechanically fastened, bonded and hybrid double lap joints. These joints are made from thin carbon fibre/epoxy laminates applied in aircraft structures. Several configurations are considered, including variations in rivet array and the addition of bondline defects. Adhesive nonlinear material properties, rivet surface contacts and frictional forces were included in the three-dimensional (3D) Finite Element (FE) models. The Multicontinuum Theory (MCT) is used to simulate the progressive failure process and the stress state for all specimens, whilst the strain energy release rate (SERR) as a function of crack length for bonded and hybrid specimens are also compared. Results have shown the FE models are able to accurately predict the bonded, riveted and hybrid joint strengths. The position of the first row of fasteners is critical in determining the crack growth rate. As the crack enters the fasteners' clamping zone there is a significant drop in SERR resulting in a much slower crack growth rate, therefore increasing the fatigue resistance of the hybrid joint configuration.
KW - Carbon fibre
KW - Damage tolerance
KW - Finite element analysis (FEA)
KW - Joints/joining
UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135983681500582X
U2 - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2015.09.038
DO - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2015.09.038
M3 - Article
VL - 85
SP - 233
EP - 242
JO - Composites Part B: Engineering
JF - Composites Part B: Engineering
SN - 1359-8368
ER -