Behavior of Single and Double Bolted Staggered Joint in Thick Composite Plates

摘要

Although staggered arrangements in bolted connections can offer good area usageespecially for narrow members, it has the most complex stress fields. In this paper, a3D finite element model was developed to analyze single and double lapped boltedcomposite plates. The modeling technique was validated with published experimentaland numerical works. Different bolt arrangements were selected combined with otherparameters like number of bolts, clamping force, and friction coefficient. Thestaggered bolt arrangements in composite plates were studied and compared withother different bolting patterns. It was found that in the absence of clamping force, partof load will be transferred by friction due to the effect of secondary stresses, which canbe increased by increasing the friction coefficient. Furthermore, the staggered patternsproduced horizontal forces that could cause cracks in the composite material if it wasnot taken into consideration during the composite laminates design.