Bolted Joints in Laminated Composites

Laminated composites are now extensively used in aircraft structures. Bolted joints remain the primary means of joining composite components in modern aircraft structures. The high stress concentration at the contact between the bolt and the hole and the nature of the composite material itself give the research in bolted joint in composite structures great importance through the recent 30 years. The main objective of our study is to to find out the effect of various joining and geometrical parameters upon the bearing strength of the laminated composite plate. To achieve this goal a numerical model which has the capability of predicting the bearing strength for the composite bolted joint problem was introduced. Results showed that the bearing strength increased as the friction coefficient and the washer size increased and decreased as the clearance increased.