Tensile properties of a composite–metal single-lap hybrid bonded/bolted joint

Hybrid bonded/bolted (HBB) joint has been widely used in engineering practice because it can overcome the potential weakness of pure bonded and pure bolted joints. However, studies on HBB joint are still at the initial stage. In this paper, tensile properties of a composite–metal single-lap HBB joint was investigated experimentally. And a detailed finite element model (FEM) was established to simulate the tensile behavior of the joint. The model was verified by the experimental results. Then the damage propagation and load transfer mechanism were explored based on the FEM. The results show that the HBB joint can provide multi-load transmission paths and resist damage propagation in the adhesive. The HBB joint has higher strength and energy absorption capacity than the pure bonded joint. And the HBB joint has greater initial damage load and tensile stiffness than pure bolted joint. Adhesive fillets can obviously improve the tensile performances of the HBB joint. Lateral stiffness of the joint boundary and testing machine show obvious effects on tensile performances of single-lap hybrid joints.     

Evaluation of mixed mode-Ⅰ/Ⅱ criteria for fatigue crack propagation using experiments and modeling

In this study, in-plane mixed mode-Ⅰ/Ⅱ fatigue crack growth simulations and experiments are performed for the Al 7075-T651 aluminum alloy which is widely used in the aerospace industry. Tests are carried out under different mode mixity ratios to evaluate the applicability of a fracture criterion developed in a previous study to mixed mode-Ⅰ/Ⅱ fatigue crack growth tests.Results obtained from the analyses and experiments are compared with existing and developed criteria in terms of crack growth lives. Compact Tension Shear(CTS) specimens, which enable mixed mode loading with loading devices under different loading angles, are used in the simulations and experiments. In an effort to model and simulate the actual conditions in the experiments, crack surfaces of fractured specimens are scanned, crack paths are modeled exactly, and contacts are defined between the contact surfaces of a specimen and the loading device for each crack propagation step in the analyses. Having computed the mixed mode stress intensity factors from the numerical analyses, propagation life cycles are predicted by existing and the developed mixed mode-Ⅰ/Ⅱ criteria and then compared with experimental results.     

Damage characteristics and constitutive modeling of the 2D C/SiC composite: Part Ⅱ–Material model and numerical implementation

In this work, a macroscopic non-linear constitutive model accounting for damage, inelastic strain and unilateral behavior is proposed for the 2D plain-woven C/Si C composite. A set of scalar damage variables and a new thermodynamic potential expression are introduced in the framework of continuum damage mechanics. In the deduced constitutive equations, the material's progressive damage deactivation behavior during the compression loading is described by a continuous function, and different deactivation rates under uniaxial and biaxial compression loadings are also considered. In damage evolution laws, the coupling effect among the damage modes and impediment effect of compression stress on the development of shear damage in different plane stress states are taken into account. Besides, the general plasticity theory is applied to describing the evolution of inelastic strain in tension and/or shear stress state. The Tsai–Wu failure criterion is adopted for strength analysis. Additionally, the material model is implemented as a user-defined material subroutine(UMAT) and linked to the ABAQUS finite element software, and its performance is demonstrated through several numerical examples.