FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL PREDICTION OF BONDED, RIVITED

AND HYBRID COMPOSITE JOINT IN GLASS FIBRE EPOXY LAMINATES

1. S.Prakash, 2. M.Ramesh, 3. P. Manavalan
1. P.G. Scholar/MECH, Shri Andal Alagar College of Engineering, mamandur India.
Email:sprakashmech2012@gmail.com
2. Assistant Professor/MECH, Shri Andal Alagar College of Engineering, mamandur, India.
3. Head of the Department/MECH, Shri Andal Alagar College of Engineering, mamandur, India.
ABSTRACT - The composite structural
members are highly used in the following
applications such as aerospace, automobiles,
robotic arms, etc., has attracted extensive attention
in the past decades. One of the important issues in
the composite technology is the repairing of aging
aircraft structures. In such applications and also
for joining various composite parts together, they
are fastened together either using adhesives or
mechanical fasteners. Modeling and static analysis
of 3-D models of the joints (bonded, riveted and
hybrid) were carried out using ANSYS software.
The results were interpreted in terms of Von
Misses stress. A parametric study was also
conducted to compare the performance of the
hybrid joint with varying adherent thickness,
adhesive thickness and overlap length. To utilize
the full potential of composite materials as
structural elements, the strength and stress
distribution of these joints must be understood.
ANSYS FEA tool has been performed to
investigate the stress distribution characteristics of
various configurations of single lap joint. This
study was focused on the analysis of stress
distribution in three prominent joining methods
namely, bonded, riveted and hybrid joints. FEA is
used to study the stress distribution in the
members involved under various design
conditions and various joints failure criteria. Also
Conduct tensile test in all these above three joints
with same configuration then the results were
compared.

1.INTRODUCTION - Over the past three

decades, application of composite materials are
continuously
increasing
from
traditional
application areas such as military aircraft,
commercial aircraft to various engineering fields
including automobiles, robotic arms and even
architecture. Due to its superior properties,
composites have been one of the materials used
for repairing the existing structures. In such
applications and also for joining various
composite parts together, they are fastened
together either using adhesives or mechanical
fasteners. Nowadays, a novel method called
hybrid joint is also being employed, where a
combination of both adhesive and mechanical
fasteners is used.
Material and methods
Modeling and static analysis of 3-D
models of the joints (bonded, riveted and hybrid)
were carried out using ANSYS 10 FEA software.
The results were interpreted in terms of Von
Misses stress. A parametric study was also
conducted to compare the performance of the
hybrid joint with varying adherent thickness,
adhesive thickness and overlap length.
Composite Materials
Basic
requirements
for
the
better
performance efficiency of an aircraft are high
strength, high stiffness and low weight. The
conventional materials such as metals and alloys

could satisfy these requirements only to a certain

extent. This lead to the need for developing new
materials that can whose properties were superior
to conventional metals and alloys, were
developed.
A composite is a structural material which
consists of two or more constituents combined at a
macroscopic level. The constituents of a
composite material are a continuous phase called
matrix and a discontinuous phase called
reinforcement.

The most commonly used advanced

composites are polymer matrix composites. These
composites consists of a polymer such as epoxy,
polyester, urethane etc., reinforced by thindiameter fibers such as carbon, graphite, , boron,
glass etc. Low cost, high strength and simple
manufacturing principles are the reason why they
are most commonly used in the repair of aircraft
structures.

Matrix gives shape and protects the

reinforcement from the environment. It also makes
the individual fibers of the reinforcement act
together and provides transverse shear strength
and stiffness to the laminated composites. The
matrix factors which contribute to the mechanical
performance of composites are transverse modulus
and strength, shear modulus and strength,
compressive strength, inter-laminar shear strength,
thermal expansion co-efficient, thermal resistance
and fatigue strength.
Reinforcement provides strength and stiffness
and controls thermal expansion co-efficient. It also
helps to
achieve directional properties.
Reinforcements may be in the form of fibers,
particles or flakes. The fiber factors which
contribute to the mechanical performance of a
composite are length, orientation, shape and
material.
The factor which influences the mechanical
performance of composites other than the fiber
and the matrix is the fiber-matrix interface. It
predicts how well the matrix transfers load to the
fibers.
Composites are classified by
1.The geometry of the reinforcement as
particulate, flakes and fibers
2.The type of matrix as polymer, metal, ceramic
and carbon

Fig .1.1 Aircraft Structures

To measure the relative mechanical advantage
of composites, two parameters are widely used,
namely, the specific modulus and the specific
strength. These two parameter ratios are high in
composites.
The building block of a laminate is a single
lamina. Therefore the mechanical analysis of a
lamina precedes that of a laminate. A lamina is an
anisotropic and non-homogeneous material. But
for approximate macro-mechanical analysis, a
lamina is assumed to be homogeneous where the
calculation of the average properties are based on
individual mechanical properties of fiber and

matrix, as well as content, packing geo

metry
and shape of fibers. The lamina is considered as
orthotropic, so it can be characterized by nine
independent elastic constants: three Youngs
modules along each material axis, three Poissons
ratio for each plane and three shear modules for
each plane. Once the properties for each lamina
are obtained, properties of a laminate, made of
those laminate can be calculated using those
individual properties.
In the highly competitive airline market, using
composites is more efficient. Though the material
cost may be higher, the reduction in the number of
parts in an assembly and the savings in the fuel
cost makes more profit. It also lowers the overall
mass of the aircraft without reducing the strength
and stiffness of its components.

the service that the joint is expected to provide.

Thus a requirement for disassembly and lack of
adequate preparation facilities would certainly
preclude bonding; a requirement to join thin sheets
might rule out the use of mechanical fasteners
whereas heavily loaded joints are designed using
mechanical attachments.
A short description of the three types of joints
used in the present work namely, bonded, riveted
and hybrid joints is given below.

BONDED
JOINT

RIVETED

HYBRID

JOINT

JOINT

Fig.1.3 Joints
Bonded Joint

`Fig.1.2 Comparative characteristics of

metals and composites

Bonded joints can be made by gluing together precured laminates with the suitable adhesives or by
forming joints during the manufacturing process,
in which case the joint and the laminate are cured
at the same time (co-cured). Here, load transfer
between the substrates take place through a
distribution of shear stresses in the adhesive.

Composite Joint
Ideally, it is always preferred to make
monolithic structures, that is, structures without
joints. This ideal can never be realized for many
reasons like size limitations imposed by materials
or the manufacturing process, need for
disassembly of structure for transportation and
access for inspection and repair etc. Basically,
there are two types of load-carrying joints
available: mechanically fastened joints and
adhesively bonded joints. Nowadays, a novel
method called hybrid joint is also being used in
certain applications.
Reaching a decision about the type of
joints to be used requires careful considerations of
several parameters together with the knowledge of

In general, there are numerous advantages of

adhesive bonded joints over the traditional
mechanical fastened joints. These advantages
include large bond area for load transfer, low
stress concentration, smooth external surfaces at
the joint, less sensitivity to cyclic loading, time
and cost saving, high strength to weight ratio,
electrical and thermal insulation, conductivity,
corrosion and fatigue resistance, crack retardation,
damping characteristic and so on. Some of the
disadvantages of bonded joints are
1. Disassembly is impossible without component
damage.
2. They can be severely weakened by
environmental effects.
3. They require surface preparation.

Joint integrity is difficult to confirm by

inspection. Thus ensuring a quality of bonding
has been a challenging task..
Riveted Joint
Riveted joints can be used quite successfully on
laminates up to about 3mm thick and also where a
tight fit, called interference fit, is necessary. The
choice lies between solid & hollow types and
whichever is chosen, care must be taken to
minimize damage to the laminate during holedrilling and closing of rivet. In addition to material
and configurational parameters, the behavior of
riveted joints is also influenced by rivet
parameters such as rivet size, clamping force, hole
size and tolerance. Of these parameters, the
clamping force, that is, the force exerted in the
through thickness direction by the closing of the
fastener, is of critical importance.). Some
advantages of riveted joints are that
1.No surface preparation of composite is required.
2. There are no abnormal inspection problems.
Though mechanically fastened joints involve
simple processing and handling, they have several
disadvantages.
The
holes
create
stress
concentration and reduce the strength of the
substrate laminates. Other than this, these joints
incurs large weight penalty and also create a
potential corrosion problem resulting from contact
with the composites. Also disassembly is not
possible in riveted joints.
.
Hybrid Joint
Hybrid joints have a combination of
adhesive bonding and mechanical fasteners. In the
present case, rivet has been used as the mechanical
fastener. The advantages of using a combined
bonded-riveted design apply mainly in a repair
situation. It is generally accepted that a bonded
joint is stronger than a mechanically fastened joint
and a well-designed bonded joint is stronger than a
hybrid joint. However, in a repair situation,
limitations force the repair design to be less than

an optimum joint design. In this case, the inclusion

of rivets can be advantageous in one of the
following two ways.
1.If a bond line is subjected to forces that induce
out-of plane peel stresses, the addition of rivets
can reduce these stresses, thereby, increasing the
strength of the joint.
2. Once damage has initiated in a bonded-only
repair, it can propagate quickly and the bond line
will completely unzip. The additions of rivets
arrest the propagation of the crack, thereby
increasing the strength or the life of the joint.
2.DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTAL

PROCEDURE

CREATING
PARTS

MODELING

ANALYZING

(CATIA)

(ANSYS)

MAKING
ASSEMBLY

PREPROCESSOR

SOLVER

POSTPROCESSOR

APPLYING
ELEMENT
VALUES

SOLVING THE
MODEL

RESULTS

APPLYING
BOUNDERY
CONDITIONS

APPLYING
LOADS

Fig.2.1 Flow Chart

Fig 2.2 Model of Bonded Joint shielding

COMPONENT

MATERIAL

Laminates

Glass/EpoxyComposite

Adhesive

Redux 319

Rivet

Aluminum

Table2.1 Materials for various components

Fig 2.3 Model of Riveted Joint

Fig 2.4 Model of Hybrid Joint

ANSYS:
ANSYS is a complete FEA simulation software
package developed by ANSYS Inc USA. It is
used by engineers worldwide in virtually all fields
of engineering.
Structural
Thermal
Fluid (CFD, Acoustics, and other fluid
analyses)
Low-and High-Frequency Electromagnetic.
PROCEDURE:
Every analysis involves three main steps:
Pre-processor
Solver
post processor
.

S.No

PROPERTY

VALUE

E1

138 GPa

E2

10 GPa

E3

10 GPa

0.3

G12

7.2 GPa

G23

7.2 GPa

G31

7.2 GPa

Table 2.2 Properties of Carbon/Epoxy Composite

S.No

PROPERTY

VALUE

2.8 GPa

0.4

Table 2.4 Properties of Redux 319

FINITE ELEMENT MODELS

Bonded Joint
The composite laminates of FEA model for
bonded joints were developed by using Layered
46, a 3-D brick element. The adhesive layer was
modeled using SOLID-45, an 8-node brick
element. The adherent and adhesive were glued
together using Boolean operation. Finer mesh was
used in the design. Meshed model of bonded joint
is shown below.
Riveted Joint
The composite laminates were designed
using Layered 46, a 3-D brick element. The rivet
was designed using SOLID-45, 8-node brick
element. The mesh was refined adjacent to the
rivet-hole and at the overlap ends. A neat fit was
assumed between the rivet and laminates in all
simulations. Contact was defined between the
laminate and the rivet using TARGE170 element
for the target and a 3-D non-linear contact
element, CONTA174 for the contact, with a
friction co-efficient of 0.2. Pretension section was
defined at the mid portion of the rivet. Meshed
model of riveted joint is shown below.
Hybrid Joint
This model is similar to the riveted joint,
except that it has a thin layer of adhesive between
the laminates. Meshed model of hybrid joint is
shown below.
Boundary Conditions And Loads
The analysis for bonded joints was performed
by applying a tensile load of 5000 N at the end of
the joint which was free to move in the
longitudinal direction only (UY = UZ = 0). The
opposite end of the joint had fixed boundary
condition (UX = UY = UZ = 0).
The analysis for riveted and hybrid joints were
performed in two steps. First, a clamping load of 6
kN was applied through the application of a pre-

tension load at the mid-portion of the rivet.

Secondly, a tensile load of 5000 N was applied to
the end of the joint which was free to move in the
longitudinal direction only (UY = UZ = 0). The
opposite end of the joint had clamped boundary
condition (UX = UY = UZ = 0).
3.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results from the analysis of the models
were interpreted in terms of Von Mises stress.
Von Mises Stress actually refers to a theory called
the Von Mises - Hencky criterion. In an elastic
body that is subject to a system of loads in 3
dimensions, a complex 3 dimensional system of
stresses is developed. That is, at any point within
the body there are stresses acting in different
directions, and the direction and magnitude of
stresses changes from point to point. The Von
Mises criterion is a formula for calculating
whether the stress combination at a given point
will cause failure. There are three "Principal
Stresses" that can be calculated at any point,
acting in the x, y, and z directions. The Von Mises
criteria is a formula for combining these 3 stresses
into an equivalent stress, often called the "Von
Mises Stress", which is then compared to the yield
stress of the material. The yield stress is a known
property of the material, and is usually considered
to be the failure stress. A short interpretation of
the results of the analysis is given below.
Bonded Joint
The minimum value of stress was found to be
1.506 N/mm2 and it was located on the surface of
the laminate. The maximum value of stress was
found to be 2037 N/mm2 and was located at the
corners of the surface where the load was applied.
The adhesive layer had a stress distribution of the
order of 300 N/mm2 to 500 N/mm2. The laminate
had a varying stress distribution ranging from the
minimum value to an order of 227.66 N/mm2. The
corners of the surface where the load was applied
had a stress distribution ranging from 680 N/mm2
to the maximum value 2037 N/mm2. The

maximum deflection was found to be 0.429028

mm. The images of analysis of bonded joint are
given below.

interface. It was found that the adhesive layer took

maximum stress, beginning from a minimum of
3349 N/mm2 to a maximum of 15063 N/mm2,
whereas the rivet shank took a varying stress
distribution of the order of 3349 N/mm2 to 6696
N/mm2. Here the maximum deflection was found
to be 0.447246 mm.

Fig 3.1 Analysis Result of Bonded Joint Von

MissesStress
Riveted Joint
Fig 3.3 Location of Maximum Stress in top View

The minimum value of stress was found to

be 1.966 N/mm2 and it was located on the
laminates and the rivet head. The maximum value
of the stress was found to be 16738 N/mm2 and it
was located on the interface between the laminate
and the rivet shank. While the rivet head and the
laminate did not take much stress, the laminaterivet shank interface and the mid-portion of the
rivet shank had a varying stress distribution
ranging from a value of the order of 3721 N/mm2
to the maximum value of 16738 N/mm2. Here the
maximum deflection was found to be 0.443099
mm. The images of analysis of riveted joint are
given below.

Fig 3.2 Von Misses Stress of Riveted Joint

Hybrid Joint
The minimum value of stress was found to be
2.036 N/mm2 and was located on the laminates
and the rivet head. The maximum value of stress
was found to be 15063 N/mm2 and was found to
be in the adhesive layer near the laminate-shank

Comparison Between Bonded, Riveted And

Hybrid Joints
In bonded joints, the stress was distributed
throughout the laminate and the adhesive took up
much of the load. The maximum stress is also low
since the applied load alone acts on the joint,
whereas in riveted joint, the maximum stress
concentration was very high since pre-tension load
was also applied to the joint. The rivet head and
the laminate surface take up less stress compared
to the interior of the laminate and the rivet shank.
The case of hybrid joint is found to have a
situation that is in between that of both the above
joints. The rivet shank and the adhesive layer are
the main areas that have maximum stress
concentration. Thus, from the above observation,
it was found that hybrid joint can be used in a
situation where quality of bonded joint cannot be
assured with certainty and where riveted joint
alone is not sufficient to take up the entire load
since it has characteristics in between that of
bonded and riveted joints. It is mainly applicable
in repair situation.

Graph

vonmissess stress
20000
10000
0
bonded riveted hybrid
joint
joint
joint

vonmissess
stress

Fig 3.4 Von Misses Stress of Hybrid Joint

CONCLUSION
In the present work, FEA for the prediction
of stress distribution in bonded, riveted and hybrid
joints has been carried out. 3-D models were
created and analyzed using ANSYS FEA
software. Von Misses stress was used to compare
the results. Thus from the present study, it was
found that a well-designed hybrid joint is very
efficient when compared to bonded or riveted
joints n the case of repair situation in aircraft
structures.
The study can be extended to the failure prediction
of the various configurations of joints using
various failure modes and also the progressive
failure analysis can be carried out . The boned ,
riveted and hybrid joint will prepared and then this
will undergo for testing. The compare the
mechanical characterization with data acquisition
system. Geometric parameters in the joint were
varied and the stress distributions were compared
to find the efficiency of the joint as their
geometrical parameters are changed.
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