Experimental and numerical investigation on failure behavior of hybrid bonded/bolted GFRP single-lap joints under static shear loading

Abstract

The mechanical performance of the GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer) hybrid bonded/bolted single-lap joints under static shear loading is investigated. Static loading tests considering the hybrid joints with one bolt, four bolts, and nine bolts were first conducted to study the failure mechanism of hybrid joints, where failure process, rigidity, failure load, and failure modes were focused. Finite element (FE) analysis involving the material degradation and failure laws was also carried out for exploring the internal mechanism of joints’ failure. Based on the verified FE model, the effects of plate thickness and bolt edge distance on the failure capacity and strength of the hybrid joints were further investigated by performing a numerical parametric analysis. Results show that, the failure process of the hybrid joints can be divided into two stages which correspond to the failures of adhesive layer and GFRP plates, respectively. The joint rigidity of joints increases by 98.9 %∼133.1 % comparing the second loading stage to the first stage, and it is found that the rigidity in the first stage is hardly affected by the number of fasten bolts, while it decreases with more bolts in the second stage due to the severe incompleteness of GFRP plates. The failure patterns of the hybrid joints mainly include the slippage between connected plates, the compressive failure and shear failure of GFRP material, and the inclination of bolts. A proper arrangement of bolts can lead to shear failure of GFRP which makes full use of the material property. The final failure loads of four-bolt and nine-bolt joints are respectively 14.5 % and 22.9 % higher than the single-bolt specimen. As the plate thickness getting greater, the shear bearing capacity of hybrid joint increases almost linearly, while it would increase first and then descend with increasing bolt edge distance. In general, the achievement of this work can provide references for the design and further study of the GFRP hybrid joints.