OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY

School of Engineering
ADVANCED MATERIALS ENGINEERING AND 1OINING
Mechanical Connections In Polymer Composite Materials
Professor A R Hutchinson
Mechanical connections may be used alone or in combination with other methods of joining
composites, either to themselves or to other materials. This discussion is restricted primarily
to a consideration of joining FRP materials to themselves in a simple lap shear configuration,
in order to illustrate some of the principles and problems. It is VERY DIFFICULT with
mechanical fastening to achieve a joint resistance in excess of 50% of the FRP materials
being joined.
1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
There are two fundamental problems associated with mechanical fastening which must
dominate all other considerations:
the need to create holes by drilling or moulding, reducing the net cross-sectional area
and removing reinforcing fibres.
stress concentrations, arising from a lack of any plastic deformation such as occurs with
metals.
A variety of bolts and rivets are appropriate for making load-bearing connections. Metallic
inserts in the FRP component provide increased bearing on the surrounding material and
allow frequent assembly and disassembly with metallic fasteners.
The strength of a bolted joint is generally related to the composition of the FRP; the joint
geometry; the size of the hole, bolt and washer; and the clamping force exerted. The
possibility of galvanic corrosion of the fastener may also limit bolted joint strength. An
advantage of relatively thick FRP materials is that fairly high bearing loads can be
transmitted through the material thickness. It should be noted, in contrast to metals, that joint
loads are transmitted in bearing on the fastener because only relatively small clamping forces
are allowable.
2. FAILURE MODES
The possible failure mechanisms of FRP, unlike those of metals, are complex and dependent
upon such factors as fibre type and orientation, matrix material, mode(s) of loading, and so
on. Figure 1 depicts a number of individual failure modes for singly fastened joints in FRP
although of course a number of these modes may occur simultaneously or in combination
during joint failure.
Figure 1 Possible failure moaes of boltea foints
For a simple design approach there are three average stress values associated with what is,
with bolting, effectively a pin-loaded hole. In Figure 2 the composite is of width w and
thickness t, with a hole of diameter d. P is the tensile load applied to the joint and e is the end
distance from the bolt hole to the edge of the plate. Average values for these stresses are
given below:
Tensile stress,
t
, acting on the net cross section at the pin position,
Where
t

t ) a w (
P

(1)
Bearing stress,
b
, acting on the section beyond the loaded side of the pin
Where
b
=
at
P
(2)
Stress concentration factors (SCFs) must be applied to the above values to determine the
failure load of the joint.
Clearly the average stresses are significantly reduced with an increasing thickness of FRP
material and larger pin diameter. The presence of a clamping force in a bolted joint to
provide lateral restraint will increase the bearing stress capability of a composite material,
and the bearing strength of a fully tightened bolt can be up to four times that of a pinned
joint.
Shear stress,
s
, acting on the sectional area behind the loaded side of the pin
Where
s
=
et 2
(3)
Figure 2 Terminology usea for aescribing a pin-loaaea hole
Joint strengths and associated failure modes are very dependent on geometry and fibre
orientation. Wide joints will fail in bearing whilst narrow ones will fail in tension. If
however the edge distance, e, is too small then joints will fail in bearing or shear. Clearly a
unidirectional (UD) material loaded parallel to the fibres would be expected to fail in shear
whilst a material in which all the fibres were perpendicular to the direction of loading would
fail prematurely in tension. If fibres are placed at 45
o
to the direction of load then the
resistance of the material to applied tensile loading is greatly enhanced. Thus the best
overall joint performance is generally obtained with 0
o
/45
o
/90
o
laminates. The strength
behaviour of 20-ply 0/45
o
CFRP laminates for a 6.35mm bolt diameter and particular joint
geometry, is depicted in Figure 3 for these main failure modes.
Figure 3 Influence of fibre orientation on failure moae in 0/ 45 CFRP
Returning to Figure 1, there are two other significant failure modes. Cleavage-tension
failures may occur in a 0
o
/90
o
composite in which the loading direction is parallel to one of
these orthogonal axes, an outcome which may be prevented by the incorporation of fibres
running in additional directions. Pull-out (or push-through) failures many occur in joints
where bending forces are imposed; this may be in single lap joints or where moment
connections occur in framed structures. The use of washers and/or big-head fasteners can
reduce this tendency.
3. FIBRE ORIENTATION AND COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
The strength properties of composites determine the strength of joints. It has already been
noted that quasi-isotropic materials with fibres running in several directions have fairly
uniform properties and bearing strengths such that the direction of the in-plane loads with
respect to the fibre orientations is not crucial to the resistance of joints. Maximum joint
strengths are obtained by ensuring that failure occurs in bearing, a desirable outcome
because it provides warning of failure. In pure bearing, placing 90
o
layers on or next to the
outer surface increases the bearing strength significantly.
Pultruded FRP sections typically contain similar proportions of uni-directionally aligned
fibres and mat fabrics. They are therefore poorly suited for mechanical fastening where high
loads will be applied in the principal fibre direction unless inserts are provided to furnish the
necessary resistance. Conversely elements made with moulding processes (e.g. hand lay-up,
resin-transfer and press) can have local fibres placed in exactly the right locations and
orientations with respect to bolt holes, or else have inserts to carry fasteners moulded into
appropriate locations. Filament-wound components also tend to have fibres placed more
appropriately for mechanical fastening, and may also incorporate inserts. With some
(moulded) composites the fibre reinforcement is concentrated in the body of the component
whilst the surface layer (say 0.5mm thick) is largely un-reinforced. Not only does this leave
a surface prone to crushing by over-tightened bolts, but also a weak layer prone to peel
failure in a bonded joint.
It can be appreciated that the composition of an FRP material, as well as the loading pattern
that it is subjected to, influence the behaviour of both the material and the joints made with
it. The dependent relationship between the composite fibre orientation of structural elements
and the fibre orientation and distribution around bolt holes is key to appreciating the load-
carrying capacity of joints.
4. 1OINT GEOMETRY - SINGLE FASTENERS
Joint performance is strongly dependent on geometry in terms of the laminate width, w,
thickness, t, bolt diameter, d, edge distance, e, side distance, s, and pitch, p (Figures 2 and 5).
There are intimate relationships between these parameters and the strength properties of a
laminate as determined by fibre orientation which are difficult to separate. Generalized
design information is therefore lacking but, as a rule, the fastener pitch is chosen so that the
mean tensile laminate strength and the ultimate bearing strength of the material are reached
simultaneously.
Provided that the edge-distance, e, is sufficient to provide adequate shear resistance, it would
seem that maximum joint strength is achieved when the ratio of bolt diameter to joint width
(or fastener pitch), d/w lies between 0.3 and 0.25. The relationship shown in Figure 4 for
single 6.35mm diameter bolts acting in double shear shows that the optimum ratio of d/w is
around 0.3. If the strip width, or pitch, w, is large then bearing failures predominate whereas
if the bolt diameter is large in comparison to the strip width then tension failures across the
laminate predominate.
Figure 4 Relation between bearing ana tension failures for epoxy-matrix CFRP ana GFRP
laminates. as functions of geometry
The required edge distance, e, is highly dependent upon the in-plane shear strength and
therefore the fibre orientation of the FRP material. Practical experience has shown that
maximum shear-out stresses are obtained in laminates with 0 and 45 orientations, with
65% of the fibres at 45 to the direction of loading. The literature suggests recommended
minimum ratios of e/d between 2 and 5, with a value of e/d 4 for full bearing strength to be
realised across a broad range of materials. Material thickness is important, and smaller ratios
are appropriate for thicker sections; thus a ratio of e/d = 2 may be suitable if the composite
thickness t is greater than 5mm.
The literature values cited for GFRP for the various geometrical parameters are collected in
Table 1. Three points should however be noted. Firstly, the distances recommended derive
from experimental testing using marine composites with a variety of fibre orientations, and
may not necessarily be suitable for pultrusion or other components with unidirectionally
aligned fibres. Secondly, a minimum value for the pitch distance in the case of multiple
fasteners may be determined by practical considerations such as the size of adjacent washers
or the ability to use a spanner on individual bolt heads where they are very close together.
Finally, many investigators have determined optimum values for e/d, s/d and d/w for values
of d/t which vary considerably from unity.
Table 1 Suggestea ana experimentally-aeterminea fastener parameters for GFRP
Source Composite
thickness (mm)
Diameter/
thickness GW
Edge
distance HG
Side
distance VG
Pitch, or
GZ
Glass/polyester
ASCE (1984)
Extren Design
Manual (1989)
}unspecified 1 to 3 2.0 to 4.5 1.5 to 3.5 4a to 3a, or
0.25 to 0.3
Cooper and
Turvey (1995)
6.35 1.6 3.0 4a, or 0.25
Rozner and
Rizkalla (1995)
9 to 19 0.5 to 1 5.0 5a, or 0.2
Glass/epoxy
Kim (1995) < 3
3 to 5
> 5
3.0
2.5
2.0
2.0
1.5
1.25
}4a to 3a
5. 1OINT GEOMETRY - MULTIPLE FASTENERS
Many applications consist of a joint geometry involving a flat plate or section containing one
or two rows of fasteners along an edge (Figure 5). It would be assumed that there may be
some interaction due to loading patterns and grouping of fasteners but, because joint designs
attempt to initiate simultaneous bearing and composite tensile or shear failures, the effect of
interaction between fasteners is low.
Figure 5 Multi-row of bolts
It has been demonstrated for GFRP laminates using a diameter/pitch (i.e. d/w) ratio of 0.25
that the strength of single rows and double rows of bolts could be predicted from a
knowledge of single-hole data. This finding contributes to the generalisation that the strength
per bolt in a row is less than that of a single bolt unless the pitch, p, is greater than 4d. gives
the strength of a joint, P, as:
P = n KP
min
(4)
where n is the number of bolts in a row, K is the strength reduction factor obtained from
Figure 6, and P
min
is determined either by testing or by reference to equation 2 with an
appropriate allowable bearing stress,
b
. In joints involving materials of similar thickness
there is no advantage in having more than two rows of fasteners because, in the absence of
any plastic deformation, the fasteners at the joint ends would carry most of the load.
Figure 6 Strength reauction factor. K
6. CLAMPING AND LATERAL RESTRAINT
One of the most important parameters influencing joint strength is the clamping force exerted
by tightening a bolt. This lateral restraint prevents the FRP material from delaminating on
the loaded side of the hole, an outcome which is commonly observed in compression testing
of composite materials. The compression strength of composites is intimately related to their
bearing strength, so that an increase in bolt-tightening torque, and hence lateral restraint,
increases the bearing strength. The presence of washers in a fully tightened assembly
therefore considerably enhances joint strength.
In structural bolted metal assemblies the bolt shank is ideally torqued up to a value of about
85% of its yield strength, providing a very large clamping force thereby ensuring that joint
loads are transferred by friction between the faces of the joint. By contrast, composite
assemblies are characterised by relatively low clamping forces with the joint loads being
transferred in bearing on the shank of the bolt. Excessive over-tightening may crush fibres
directly, or indirectly by forcing washers to dig into the FRP material. However the ideal
clamping loads are not well known and washer sizes should be taken into account. Even a
finger tight nut can exhibit a strength about twice that of a pin joint because the splitting
mode of failure is suppressed.
7. HOLE SIZE, ASSEMBLY TOLERANCES AND CORROSION
Maximum joint strength is mobilized by obtaining maximum bearing strength, and this is
obtained when the bolt diameter most nearly matches the hole size. Maximum joint strength
is therefore obtained when the bolt hole in the composite and in the washer are reamed to
size. Normally the holes would be larger than the diameter of the shank of the bolt, reducing
bearing strengths by as much as 25%. However, drilled and reamed holes perform better than
moulded holes because of closer fit-up in the former, and probably because in the latter case
the fibres are not evenly distributed and the opening is resin rich. Further, in CFRP a bolted
joint establishes good electrical contact between exposed carbon fibres and bolts, leading to
galvanic corrosion in the presence of an electrolyte such as water. There is therefore a
potential conflict between mobilising adequate bearing strength in CFRP and having a resin
rich opening to protect a metallic fastener against corrosion.
In assemblies involving multiple fasteners, it is important that each fastener carries its share
of the load. Variations in fit from hole to hole will result in major load-sharing inefficiencies,
requiring very accurate alignment of holes in an assembly.
8. 1OINT DESIGN
8.1 General guidance
The main factors affecting the strength of mechanically fastened joints are shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Main factors affecting mechanical foint strength
Design parameters Geometry (width, pitch, edge distance, hole pattern)
Joint type (e.g. single lap, double lap, etc.)
Thickness and modulus of composite component
Nature and direction of loading
FRP material
parameters
Fibre type, form and orientation(s)
Matrix resin type
Fibre volume fraction
Fastener parameters Fastener type, size and material
Hole size and annular clearance
Washer size
Clamping force
Service /
environmental
conditions
Temperature, moisture, stress, duration of loading
The following rules of thumb for the design of lapped joints loaded in tension have been
proposed:
the strength of bolted joints rarely exceeds half of the strength of an FRP component
which does not contain a hole.
joint strength is increased only marginally by increasing the number of rows of
fasteners (Figure 7).
bolt diameters should typically be greater than the thickness of the FRP components,
i.e. d/t1, sized to restrict bearing stresses.
the bolt bearing stress capability of FRP is increased very significantly by the presence
of a clamping force.
the optimum fibre orientations are at least 25% at 0
o
, 50% at 45
o
and up to 25% at 90
o
.
Figure 7 Boltea foint showing rows of holes
8.2 Design parameters
The joint geometrical details such as width, pitch and edge distance, expressed as a multiple
or fraction of the fastener diameter, are discussed in Sections 4 and 5. The optimum ratio of
bolt diameter to joint width (or fastener pitch), d/w, lies between 0.3 and 0.25 for a range of
materials including pultruded GFRP Sheet (Table 1). For bolted epoxy matrix GFRP
composites this optimum ratio is around 0.3, corresponding to an abrupt transition between
bearing failure and tensile failure of the composite itself. Some recommended fastener
distances for various thicknesses of this material are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Recommenaea fastener aistances for epoxy matrix GFRP
Thickness of FRP (mm) Edge distance ratio, e/d Side distance ratio, s/d
< 3
3 - 5
> 5
3.0
2.5
2.0
2.0
1.5
1.25
Where there are several bolts in a row, the strength per bolt is reduced by a factor, K (Figure
6), unless the bolt pitch exceeds 4d. Several rows of fasteners are very inefficient under static
load conditions, because the first row of fasteners tends to take most of the load (Figure 7).
Any so-called by-pass loading which is transmitted to subsequent rows of fasteners depends
very much upon the geometry of the joint and the fibre orientations in the composite.
Joints can be loaded either eccentrically or concentrically; examples would be the single lap
joint and the double lap joint, respectively. Eccentricity of loading leads to component
bending, bolt bending, reduced bearing and clamping, and local damage. As FRP material
thicknesses increase it is important to consider a joint geometrical design that reduces the
eccentricity of loading by scarfing (although this will introduce normal as well as shear
stresses), or by a symmetrical arrangement of splice plates. Experimental results show that
the bearing strengths of double lap joints are 20% higher than those of single lap joints.
Whilst a thicker laminate can support a higher bearing stress, unfortunately the effects of load
eccentricity increase.
Figure 8 Stress aistribution in boltea ana bonaea foints
Clearly the larger the diameter of hole or holes, the greater is the reduction in tensile strength
due to the reduction in net cross section at the holes. Moreover a hole gives rise to a stress
concentration around it in a stressed laminate and, even with some redistribution of stress,
this is responsible for the relatively poor load-bearing capacity of bolted joints in FRP
materials (Figure 8).
8.3 FRP material parameters
The influence of fibre orientation and composite manufacturing processes used is discussed
in Section 3. The bearing strength is related to, but not the same as, the compressive strength
of the composite. Bearing failures occur in the contact area between the bolt and the
laminate. Bearing, shear and net section strengths depend very much upon the exact nature
of the composite material and need to be determined experimentally to derive characteristic
values.
For the failure criterion of bearing failure, some typical bearing strengths of GFRP for the
case of d/t = 1 are shown in Table 4. The failure load is given as the load corresponding to a
permanent hole elongation of 4% of the hole diameter, or pull-out of the bolt, whichever is
the smallest.
Table 4 Typical bearing strengths of GFRP
FRP material Ultimate compressive
stress (MPa)
Design failure stress at ULS
corresponding to 4 hole
elongation (MPa)
Woven fabric epoxy
Woven fabric polyester
Mat - polyester
320
300
210
255
240
140
8.4 Fastener parameters
Fasteners should be chosen whose strengths exceed the requirements for bearing and load
transfer, and may be of plastic or metallic materials. A close fitting bolt is advisable, used in
conjunction with a suitable washer and tightened up to a suitable torque. Clamping serves
not only to prevent premature failure caused by out-of-plane forces acting on the joint, but
mobilises friction between the joint faces; both aspects help to increase joint strength.
8.5 Design procedure
There are currently two approaches for mechanical joint design:
simplified design procedure
finite element approach.
Both approaches begin with a consideration of the loading requirements and an outline joint
configuration. An analysis of the bolt load distribution is then made, followed by detailed
analyses of stresses around bolt holes for different load cases. In the simplified procedure the
bypass load distribution is also calculated before detailed analyses are undertaken for stresses
around the holes in joints involving more than one row of fasteners. Finally a failure analysis
is performed and the mode of failure predicted. Both approaches could be summarised as
shown in Figure 9.
FURTHER READING
ASM INTERNATIONAL. Composites, Engineered Materials Handbook, USA, Vol 1,
1987.
CLARKE, J.L. (ed.). Structural design of polymer composites EUROCOMP design
code and handbook, E & F N spon, London, 1996.
COOPER, C and TURVEY, G.J. Effects of joint geometry and bolt torque on the structural
performance of single bolt tension joints in Pultruded GRP sheet material, Composite
Structures, Vol 32, 1995, pp 217-226.
ECKOLD, G.C. Design and Manufacture of Composite Structures, Woodhead Publishing
Ltd, Cambridge, 1994.
HUTCHINSON, A R. 1oining of Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composite Materials, Project
Report 46, Construction Industry Research and Information Association, London, 1997.
KIM, D-H. Composite Structures for Civil and Architectural Engineering, E & F N
Spon, London, 1995.
MATTHEWS, F.L (ed.). 1oining Fibre-Reinforced Plastics, Elsevier, London, 1987.
(Chapters 2, 3 and 6 deal with mechanically fastened joints; chapters 4, 5 and 7 deal with
adhesively bonded joints.)
Load transmission requirements
Outline joint configuration
Select suitable FRP materials, if possible
Select connector materials (bolt material, adhesive types, etc.)
Consider design parameters
(detailed geometry, component thickness,
load distribution)
Characteristic material properties
Calculation of load distribution
Stress Experimental
Analysis Testing
Comparisons of allowable stresses
NOT OK
OK
Finalise design, materials and fastener parameters
Specification and assembly tolerances
Figure 9 Design steps for mechanically fastenea foints