Experimental and numerical failure analysis of carbon/epoxy laminated composite joints under different conditions

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of preload moment, moisture and interference-fit on bearing strength and failure mode in pin-jointed and bolted carbon–epoxy plates which were subjected to a traction force. Two different geometrical parameters, end distance to pin diameter ratio (E/D) and width to pin diameter ratio (W/D), were considered experimentally. E/D and W/D ratios were selected ranging from 1 to 4 and from 2 to 4, respectively. The test results showed that the ultimate failure loads were directly affected by the geometrical parameters, preload moments and interference-fit. Furthermore, for the specimens in wet condition, failure loads increased with preload moments while failure loads stayed almost the same in non-preloaded specimens. Finite element models of the specimens were also developed by using ANSYS software. Contact and stress analyses of the models were carried out for both free and interference-fit. Tsai-Wu criterion was used to determine bearing strength corresponding to first failure load. It was concluded that the numerical results are in good agreement with experimental results.