Stress analysis and design of metal-FRP bonded joints. 1st Report. Single lap joints.

Abstract

It is important to get reasonable design indications for the joint structures of FRP with metallic materials. In this paper, a stress analysis system, which consists of FEM code, preprocessor and postprocessor, has been developed to design the joints. The stress distributions of a joint can be easily calculated by using this system. The elastic stress analyses of the metal-FRP single lap joints have been carried out to study the influences of the materials and sizes of the joints on the stress distributions. The stress concentrations at the end of the adhesive layer are much affected by the adhesive modulus and length of bond. The experimental results about the joint strength have been explained well by the calculated maximum equivalent stresses which arise at the end of the adhesive layer. The developed system is a useful tool for the design of bonded joints.