Design, testing and analysis of bolted joints and connections

For over 50 years, the mechanical behavior of composite bolted joints has been the focus of extensive research, using experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches. These studies have greatly improved understanding of joint behavior, and enabled composite bolted joints to be used in many applications, including critical areas of aircraft structures. However, the design of composite bolted joints is still far from a trivial exercise, with the sheer volume of published literature being an indicator of the complexity of the problem. There is still a need for improved design tools to achieve the optimum efficiencies potentially available from using composites. This chapter provides an overview of aspects relating to design, testing, and analysis of composite bolted joints. Although the bulk of the chapter relates to the bearing response of single-bolt, single-lap carbon–epoxy joints, much of the discussion regarding modeling techniques and joint behavior is applicable to other joint types and loading scenarios. Section 8.10.2 consists of a literature review, which explores the fundamentals of choosing a joint geometry and stacking sequence, as well as outlining the effects of bolt–hole clearance, lateral constraint and loading velocity. Section 8.10.3 describes basic instrumentation requirements for experimental tests on composite bolted joints and outlines the features of a typical load–deflection response curve. Section 8.10.4 outlines the development of three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) models. Issues such as model building, contact modeling, the choice of element type and post-processing requirements are discussed. As some modeling recommendations are solver-specific, separate sections outline the implicit....