ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE STIFFNESS-CRITICAL BONDEDJOINTS

摘要

Most space structures require very high stiffness to overcome the absence ofpassive damping that exists in the atmosphere encompassing earth-borne structures. Generallyvery high modulus carbon fiber composite materials are used in these structures to ensure thecomponents have the highest possible stiffness. The problem arises when these very stiffstructures are joined together through the use of adhesively bonded joints. The effect on theoverall structural stiffness due to these bonded joints is not well understood. An in-depthanalytical and experimental study was conducted to examine the loss of stiffness resulting fromadhesively bonded joints. Comparisons were made between numerical models and experimentalresults and recommendations for modeling bonded joints in space structures were developed.