Performance studies on compressively loaded debonded composite splice joint

Abstract

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer structures are being increasingly used in aerospace applications. In this work, analytical, numerical, and experimental investigations are carried out to understand the structural response of debonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer splice joint subjected to compression load. It is found that debonds are of major importance for the behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer splice-joint structures. A series of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer splice-joint specimens are subjected to compressive loading by introducing an artificial debond at one of the interfaces in the splice joint and compared with specimens without debond. Although the compressive behavior is similar to that of nominal splice joint, the stiffness is considerably decreased in the presence of debond, and also the load-carrying capacity is reduced by 17% approximately. The experimental results are compared with the analytical predictions and numerical simulations using (a) the Rayleigh–Ritz method and (b) the finite element method, respectively, and are in good correlation.