COMPOSITES JOINTS

M.THIRUMALAIMUTHUKUMARAN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGG Dr.N.G.P INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

BOLTED JOINTS:
POINTS FOR:

No

surface

preparation

of

components

is

required

Disassembly is possible without component damage There are no abnormal inspection problem

POINTS AGAINST:

Holes cause unavoidable stress concentrations They tend to incur a large weight penalty

The behaviour of mechanically fastened joints is also influenced by fastener parameters

Fastener type ( screw , rivet ,bolt )

Fastener size Clamping force

Washer size
Hole size & tolerance

The force exerted in through- thickness direction

by closing of the fastener is of critical importance

Failure modes:

Fig: Bolted Joint Failures

tensile failure:

Tensile or tearing is related to the net area (w-d)t through the fastener hole corresponding to the member width in a single hole joint or pitch in a row of fasteners

t- minimum plate thickness Pt failure load W width of plate d diameter of hole

t net tensile load of joint

SHEAR OUT FAILURE:

Shear out failure is related to shear areas emanating

from the hole edge parallel to the load and determined

by the end ( or edge) distance ,e which is typically about 4d.

The smaller the value of e the more likely we get shear failure Ps = s 2et Ps failure load
s shear out strength

t minimum plate thickness

BEARING FAILURE:

Bearing failure is based on the projected area of the hole

and is determined by the diameter, the relationship of

failure load Pb to bearing strength b being Pb = b dt Pb - failure load b - bearing strength d diameter of hole

The bearing strength is normally greater than the

compressive strength of the composites.

Cleavage failure:

Cleavage failure is a mixed mode involving tension &

bending , cannot be expressed by a simple formula.

In general, we find that fastener failure can be prevented if extreme values of d/t are avoided. Small values of d/t( large thickness) leads to bending of fastener. Large values of d/t(small thickness) leads to plate cutting

into the fastener.

Generally 1< d/t <3 gives satisfactory results.

Material:

Bearing strength is determined by the compressive

strength of material and the through thickness

constraints afforded by the fastener.

45 degree or 90 degree fibres have a good bearing

performance

GRP( glass fibre polyester) laminates in the form of chopped strand materials(CSM) which are effectively

isotropic are better than more directional woven

roving(WR)materials.

Repair techniques:

The two bolted repair techniques are

1. external patch
2. flush patch

Bolted repairs can be used in cases

where bonded patch repair of a thick

laminate may result in shear stresses

beyond the limit of the adhesive strength.

Bonded joints
POINTS FOR:
Stress
They

concentration can be minimized.

incur a small weight penalty.

POINTS AGAINST:
Disassembly

is

impossible

with

component

damage,
They They Joint

can be severely weaker by thermal effects

require surface preparation. integrity is difficult to confirm by inspection.

Failure modes:
A

number of failure modes occur in bonded

composite joints because of their anisotropic

nature.
The

different modes of failure are

1.tensile lamina
2.interlaminate or transverse resin or fibre resin interface 3.cohesive adhesive which occurs at low loads

Surface pre treatments:

PMC are based upon epoxy or polyester

resin which are highly receptive to adhesive

bonding but form oxides, corrode in a moist environment. Hence surface penetration is required.

The two techniques are

1. peel ply method

2. abrasion and solvent cleaning

PEEL PLY METHOD:

A ply of DACRON is installed at the bonding surface and then removed just prior to the surface of bonding,

thus exposing a clean surface for bonding.

But care should be taken that it does not leave contaminants during removal.

ABRASION AND SOLVENT CLEANING:

A grit blast with alumina particles has been found very effective removing the contaminants.

Hand abrasion by abrasive pads and the solvent

cleaning.

Theoretical stress analysis:

The

classical failure theories approach does not

hold good due to the low values of external

moduli , thickness shear and effect of thermal strains parameters. Hence linear and non linear

analysis are used.

LINEAR ANALYSIS:
Use

identical adherands or if this is not possible as large as over lap as possible

then equalize the in plane bending stiffness.

Use

Use an adhesive with the lowest possible tensile shear and elastic moduli.

Use as homogenous a ply lay up as possible

NON LINEAR ANALYSIS:

The adhesive shear strain energy in the only

factor determining joint strength. Thus a weaker ductile adhesive with large stress strain curve will produce a joint of higher strength

Repair techniques:
The objective of repair is to restore structural integrity to the damaged component. The two types of bonded patches which is used to repair structural damage are 1. external patches 2. scarf repairs

BONDED BOLTED JOINTS:

Bonded-bolted joints generally have better performance than either bonded or bolted joints. The bonding results in reduction of the usual tendency of a bolted joint to shear out.

The bolting decreases the likelihood of a bonded joint debonding in

an interfacial shear mode.

The

usual mode of failure for a bonded-bolted joint is either a through a section including a fastener or an inter

tension failure both.

laminar shear failure in the composite material or a combination of

Bonded-bolted joints have good load distribution and are generally

designed so that the bolts take all the load.

Then, the bolts would take

all the load after the bond breaks a sizable margin

(because the bolts do not receive load until the bond slips). The bond provides a change in failure mode and against fatigue failure