In this work, results from a study on bolted joints made of unidirectional, quasi isotropic Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites, subjected to tensile loads, are reported. CFRP composite materials are widely used in the mechanical industry, such as that of aerospace, where requirements of weight reduction and structural high performances are very compelling. Composite materials generally present a high resistance to fatigue and corrosion; however, the presence of joints produces the major problems and a poor design of joints leads to a drastic reduction of the reliability of structures made of these materials. A hybrid bolted joint involving a metal plate, made of aluminum alloy, and a CFRP composite plate has been considered; the plates are held together by a titanium bolt. Experimental results from literature are compared with those obtained through a numerical analysis developed with Abaqus code. Once the CFRP composite has been analyzed and the numerical model validated through numerical-experimental correlations, other possible configurations have been numerically analyzed in order to ensure the highest strength of the examined hybrid joint. Afterwards the effects of bolt-hole clearance on the stiffness and strength of the same joint have been investigated.
The energy absorption capability of an exposed crashworthy element or system is largely affected by material properties and structural design: prismatic sandwich structures, made of foam or honeycomb core between two metallic or laminated composite face plates, are good candidates. This work deals with a numerical investigation on the energy absorbing capability of such a structural component. There are several difficulties associated with the numerical simulation of a composite impact-absorber, such as high geometrical non-linearities, boundary contact conditions, failure criteria, material behaviour; that is because the main objectives of any numerical investigation are the calibration of the model with experimental results and the evaluation of the sensitivity of the variables with respect to the geometrical and physical parameters which influence the study at hand. The latter is a very relevant aspect for designers if the application of the model to real cases has to be a robust one from both a physical and a numerical point of view. In this paper a preliminary calibration of a numerical model for a composite impact absorber is presented, on the basis of experimental data found in literature; then a sensitivity analysis of the same model to the variation of the main geometrical and material parameters, developed by using the explicit finite element algorithms implemented in the Ls-Dyna code, is illustrated.
Coupling techniques for components of different materials is spreading in mechanical industry; the test case studied in this work deals with the connection of an aluminium alloy component with a carbon fibre composite one. In particular, the first component is made of an aluminium-zinc alloy and exhibits an isotropic behaviour, while the second is made of a carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and shows a strongly anisotropic behaviour; both materials are widely used in engineering applications. A titanium bolt connects the parts. This work is focused on the influence of the geometrical parameters which characterize the coupling between the components. In particular, a study has been carried out on the influence of the shank-hole clearance, the bolt head size, the bolt preload and the shape of the bolt head. A numerical model has been built and statically tested; the results have been compared with the experimental ones from literature. Once validated, the same numerical model has been used to evaluate the performance of the joint in presence of a change of the above mentioned characteristic parameters. The required numerical analyses have been performed using Abaqus/Standard® numerical code.
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