Bearing failure analysis of mechanically fastened joints in composite laminates

An experimental investigation was performed to study the effects of stacking sequence and clamping force on delamination bearing strengths of mechanically fastened joints in carbon/epoxy composite laminates using acoustic emission (AE) technique. The experimental work of the study was presented in [H.J. Park, Effects of stacking sequence and clamping force on the bearing strengths of mechanically fastened joints in composite laminates, Compos. Struct., submitted], and this paper summarizes the analytical work. The major focus of the analytical work was to develop an effective methodology for assessing the delamination bearing strength of joints in finite composite laminates in conjunction with an accurate three-dimensional contact stress analysis via an efficient quasi-three-dimensional finite element procedure based on layerwise theory. The contact phenomena and stress distribution in the vicinity of joints in composite laminates are investigated in detail. The delamination bearing failure strengths of mechanically fastened joints in composite laminates are predicted using modified Ye-delamination failure criterion based on layerwise finite element contact stress analysis. The effects of stacking sequence and clamping pressure are considered. The accuracy and applicability of the proposed methodology are confirmed by comparisons to the referenced experimental data and previous investigations.