Analysis and design of joints and splices

Abstract

In all assembled structures there exists the problem of joining the component parts. The joints, or splices, or attachments, must carry the same loads as the components they join together, and they must be efficient in that they add very little weight to the structure. Ideally, a joint should be as strong as the structure it joins together. Actually, in most cases it is very difficult and expensive to make a joint as strong as the structure. This means that ordinarily the joint is designed on the basis of the loads that the structure carries and not on the basis of the total strength of the structure. Because of strain concentrations and strain redistributions required in a joint, the joint may cause large reductions in the allowable loads in the materials being joined, particularly in materials with low ductility. In all too many cases, the joint becomes the weak link in the structure, with the majority of structural failures occurring at joints and splices. Thus, in the design of flight vehicles, much effort and time are spent on the analysis and design of joints.