Static and Fatigue Characteristics of Pinned Metal-Composite Joints

Abstract

Metal-composite joining methods currently rely almost exclusively on the adhesive bonding, the application of mechanical fasteners or a combination of the methods, the pros and cons of which are well known. In this article, a manufacturing-oriented solution for increasing the static and fatigue characteristics of metal composite bolted T-joints loaded in the out-of-plane direction by reinforcing the composite basement with a thin metal plate having die cut pins is proposed. Static load–displacement and fatigue life curves were obtained experimentally for different types of joints. The results obtained showed that, for a fiberglass/epoxy laminate, the solution proposed increased its static and fatigue failure loads by 64 and 50% respectively. It was also found that pinned adhesive joints were more effective than the conventional bolted ones at high-cycle loadings (the number of cycles exceeded 104).