Bearing strength and failure behavior of bolted composite joints (part II: modeling and simulation)

In part II of this study, an analytical model for simulating the bearing failure and response characteristics of bolted composite joints is developed. The model was implemented using the general-purpose finite element code ABAQUS. The analytical model has taken into account the contact conditions at the pin/hole boundary, progressive damage, finite deformation and nonlinear material behavior. A complex approach based on combining the nonlinear shear elasticity theory with a continuum damage mechanics approach was utilized to represent the nonlinear material behavior during loading. The damage accumulation criteria based on Hashin and Yamada-Sun’s hybrid failure criteria were adopted and a degradation model for the damaged layers is proposed for the stress redistribution analysis. The numerical simulation results for joint’s progressive damage and strength response agreed well with existing experimental data.