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1359-8368(95)00021-6

Composites: Part B 27B (1996) 351 360 Copyright t") 1996 Elsevier Science Limited Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 1359-8368/96/$15.00

Load and resistance factor design (LRFD) approach for bolted joints in pultruded composites

R. Prabhakaran*, Z. Razzaqt and S. Devara* Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, VA 23529, USA (Received March 1995, accepted June 1995)
The application of glass fiber-reinforced polymeric matrix composites in civil engineering structures has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Pultruded composites are attractive for structural applications because of their continuous production and excellent mechanical properties. The present study is intended to be a step in understanding bolted joints in pultruded composites. Specifically, bolted connections in pultruded plates are investigated for their block shear and net tension failure modes. Configurations and dimensions have been selected to highlight the block shear and net tension failure phenomena and to compare the behavior of composites to the standard practice in the case of steel connections. Specimens with single and multiple holes have been tested in tension under bolt-loading conditions. Some of the specimens were instrumented with strain gages and the load-strain responses were monitored. The failed specimens were examined for the cracks and fracture patterns. The results have been analyzed using the strength calculations similar to those used in the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) procedures for steel structures. Two LRFD-type formulae for block shear and net tension failure for pultruded composites are proposed in the present paper. It was found that the failures in the bolt-loaded pultruded specimens could be predicted reasonably well with the proposed formulae. The use of these formulae is also demonstrated by means of examples. The proposed resistance factors are checked with additional test results.
(Keywords: pultruded composites; bolted joints; load and resistance factor design; failure modes; net tension failure; block shear failure)

INTRODUCTION The use of composite materials in civil engineering structures has been increasing in recent years. In addition to the high specific strength and specific stiffness, composite structures offer additional benefits such as corrosion resistance and design flexibility. Many of the design procedures for composite structures are based on past experience with conventional materials such as metals and wood. Mechanical fastening is still the preferred joining technique, in spite of the severe stress concentrations introduced by bolts and rivets. Bolted joints in glass fiber-reinforced polymeric composites and carbon fiber-reinforced polymeric composites have been studied for many years. Hart-Smith 1 and Crews 2 have studied the stress distributions and failure modes in aerospace composites by finite element analysis. Prabhakaran and Naik 3-6 have employed experimental mechanics techniques to investigate the * Department of Mechanical Engineering t Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

stresses around loaded holes and the contact angle between the bolt and the composite specimen. Bolted joints in pultruded composites have been investigated only to a limited extent. Rosner and Rizkalla 7, Mosallam et al. 8, and others have studied bolted connections in composite structures. Sotiropolous et al. 9 have reported on the structural efficiency of bolted and adhesive connections in pultruded glass fiber-reinforced plastic composites. Some of the c o m m o n failure modes in bolt-loaded specimens are shown in Figure I. The actual mode of failure depends on the material, the loading, and the dimensions of the specimen. If the specimen boundaries are sufficiently far from the hole, the failure initiates by bolt bearing as shown in Figure l(a). If the specimen width is too small, net tension failure occurs as shown in Figure l(b). If the end-distance is too small, shear-out failure occurs as shown in Figure l(c). If the specimen dimensions are favorable, failure may occur along a path involving tension on one plane and shear on a perpendicular plane, as shown in Figure l(d); this mode of failure is termed block shear failure. If the holes in a

351

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites." R. Prabhakaran et al.

P P

Table 1 Nominal mechanical properties of pultruded composite Property Tensile strength (lengthwise) Tensile strength (crosswise) Tensile modulus (lengthwise) Tensile modulus (crosswise) Shear strength Shear modulus Value 33 000 psi 7500 psi 2.5 Msi 0.8 Msi 5500 psi 0.42 Msi

12.0

12.0

12.0

,I
4',--q .1

I
1 Z.O

f
14.0
/

Figure l

Failure modes for loaded holes

multiple-bolt joint are staggered, then there may be several competing sections where failure may occur. The design of bolted joints in steel structures is done according to the guidelines and specifications given by the load and resistance factor design (LRFD) procedure of the American Institute of Steel Construction ]0. Design guidelines, similar to those for steel structures, need to be developed for the application of composite materials in civil engineering structures. The investigation reported here is a step towards the evolution of an LRFD approach for pultruded fiber-reinforced plastic (PFRP) connections subjected to tensile loads. EXPERIMENTAL WORK The current investigation is aimed at studying the failure modes in pultruded composite plate specimens.subjected to bolt-loading and developing LRFD-type of equations. Specific specimen configurations have been selected to highlight the block shear and the net tension failure phenomena. Specimens with single, double and four holes have been tested. The test specimens were fabricated from 1/2in thick,

:,oil
.

Figure 2 Dimensions of the bolted-joint pultruded composite test specimens

E-glass fiber-reinforced isophthalic polyester matrix pultruded composite sheet (manufactured under Series 1500 by Creative Pultrusions Inc., Pleasantville Industrial Park, Alum Bank, PA 15521). The nominal material properties are given in Table 1. The specimen dimensions are shown in Figure 2. The specimens are classified as Type A-E, depending upon the number and location of the holes. These dimensions were chosen to induce block shear or net tension failure. Three specimens of each type were tested in a double-lap configuration. The test fixture configuration is shown in Figure 3. High-strength steel bolts, 5/8" in diameter, and washers were used to connect the composite specimens with the steel fixture-plates. The nuts were only tightened finger-tight in all the cases. The holes in the pultruded composite specimens were drilled carefully, to provide a very small clearance (of the order of 0.005 in) and to minimize the size of the affected zone around the holes.

352

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites. R. Prabhakaran et al.

1000.0
I i

800.0 600.0

Gage-1 400.0 Gage-2 200.0

0.0

4
-:-

~,-~

-Z
~

~,~_,~

~-~
-~. ~,,_

Gage.7

-200.0 j
-400.0 i

FRP

specimen~

-600.0
-800.0 ~

Gage4

-1000.0 -0.0

100(30.0
Load,

20000.0 Ibs.

30000.0

wo, s h e r * w G %!q e""

Figure 4 Selected strain gage responses for a B-type specimen

900.0 ! /
700.0 I

Gage-2 /' J~ Gage13 ~' d~

~s~ s ~ 0 ; ; . o ~oGage"12

0685"

steei

bctt /

500.0 300,0

S~P I Dto~e 100.0 SID0, C e~" -100.0 :~ ~: ~'::: -

Gage-1

01, 3
-300.0 ~

E l ?
10000"0

012 i

P/2

P/8

-500.0
OmO

20000,0

3000010

40000.0

50000,0

Figure 3 Bolted-joint specimen grip details One of the three specimens of each type was instrumented with electrical resistance strain gages to monitor the strains in critical regions. All the specimens were tested in tension in a Tinius Olsen universal testing machine. The failure loads, the strains as a function o f the load for the strain-gaged specimens, and the failure patterns were recorded for the specimens.

Load, Ibs.

Figure 5 Selected strain gage responses for an E-type specimen are many types of block shear failure mode and a few types of net tension failure mode. These details are discussed later. Some of the failed specimens are shown in Figures 69. In Figure 6(a), a failed specimen with a single hole is shown. The failure mode can be termed cleavage and can be attributed to the low transverse tensile strength of the pultruded composite. The specimen with two holes arranged perpendicular to the specimen axis, shown in Figure 6(b), illustrates the shear-out failure mode. The specimens with two holes arranged along the specimen axis failed in one of two modes: net tension or block shear. One of the specimens that failed in the net tension mode is shown in Figure 7(a) and the specimen that failed in the block shear failure mode is shown in Figure 7(b). All the specimens with four holes arranged in a square pattern failed in net tension, as shown in Figure 8. Two of the three specimens with four staggered holes failed in net tension, as shown in Figure 9(a), while the third failed in a block shear mode, as shown in Figure 9(b). A N A L Y S I S OF R E S U L T S As mentioned earlier, the two main modes of failure were

TEST R E S U L T S The variation of strains with the applied load for selected strain gages for two o f the specimens are shown in Figures 4 and 5. In Figure 4, the strains are shown for the specimen with two holes arranged along the specimen axis. Only the strains indicated by gages 1, 2, 4 and 7 are shown; these are the strains significant for the block shear and the net tension failure modes. Similar results for the specimen with four staggered holes are shown in Figure 5. Again, for clarity, the strain readings from only a few selected gages are shown. These are the gages numbered 1, 2, 12 and 13, which are located on the sections which are critical for net tension or block shear failure modes. These results are discussed later. The failed specimens were examined for their failure modes. The two principal failure modes observed were block shear and net tension. It should be noted that there

353

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites: R. Prabhakaran et al.

Figure 6 Failed specimens:(a) A-type,cleavagemode; (b) C-type, shear-out mode

[] DIL

Figure 8 Failedspecimen:D-type, net tension mode

Figure 7 Failedspecimens: (a) B-type, net tension mode; (b) B-type, block shear mode failure loads, the failure of identical specimens in different failure modes will be discussed briefly. The strain gage responses for the B-type specimen, shown in Figure 4, clearly indicate that the tensile strains on the top net tension section (gage 1) are much higher than those on the bottom net tension section (gage 2). On the other hand, the compressive strains directly below the bottom hole (gage 4) are significantly higher in magnitude than those below the top hole (gage 7). Thus, there are competing failure modes for a given bolt-hole geometry. Another factor to be considered here is the load on each bolt. For simplicity, it is assumed that all the bolts share

net tension and block shear. The various specimen configurations were classified as type A, type B, etc., depending on the number of holes and the location of the holes. All the A-type and C-type specimens failed in the same mode; the cleavage mode is treated as a shear-out mode, for the sake of simplicity. All the D-type specimens failed in the net tension mode. One of the B-type and one of the E-type specimens failed in the block shear mode, while the others failed in the net tension mode. Before describing the quantitative analysis of the

354

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites: R. Prabhakaran et al.

the applied load equally. This is an approximation, since the load on a particular bolt depends on its location in the bolt-pattern, the clearance between the bolt and the hole, and the bolt-tightening force (which was avoided as a variable in this investigation for simplicity). The strain gage responses for the E-type specimen, shown in Figure 5, also show that the tensile strains on the net tension sections depend on the location of the hole. In this figure, the strain responses from four of a total of thirteen strain gages mounted on an E-type specimen are shown as a function of the applied load. These four gages were located on the net tension sections between each hole and the specimen boundaries. The strains indicated by gages 2 and 13 are close to each other and both are substantially higher than the strains indicated by gages 1 and 12. Thus, net tension failure of the specimen involving the top two holes is a possibility. But block shear failure due to high compressive and shear strains below the lowest hole can be a competing failure mode, especially in the present pultruded test material which has low shear and transverse tensile strengths combined with a high tensile strength.
, T5

LRFD approach: block shear and net tension loads

The LRFD procedure developed for bolted steel structures has been applied to the failure loads measured for the five types of bolted pultruded composite specimens (Table 2). Here, only the block shear and net tension failure modes are considered; the fifteen specimens are grouped under these two categories based on their actual failure modes. The block shear test results for specimens A-l, A-2, A-3, B-3, C-l, C-2, C-3 and E-3 are summarized in Table 3. The experimental ultimate loads for these specimens are given in the second column of this table as RuE. The RuE values and the dimensions of the specimens are used to establish a block shear resistance factor, ~BS, by the following expression:
RuE = qSBsR n = q~BS(7-uAns + o'uAnt ) Failure load, lbs 12770 12 820 12 050 21 530 23 280 23 470 27 000 24 260 23510 45 600 46 100 43 600 43 200 45 500 43 600 (1)

Figure 9 Failed specimens: (a) E-type, net tension mode; (b) E-type,
block shear mode

Table 2 Failure loads of bolt-loaded specimens

Specimen number A-1 A-2 A-3 B-1 B-2 B-3 C- 1 C-2 C-3 D- 1 D-2 D-3 E- 1 E-2 E-3 A: Single hole B: Two holes, along the load direction C: Two holes, perpendicular to the load direction D: Four holes, symmetric E: Four holes, staggered

in which the material nominal ultimate shear and normal stresses, % and a u, are 5500psi and 33000 psi (Table 1), respectively, and R n is the maximum possible theoretical ultimate block shear resistance given by the expression in the parentheses. The terms Ans and Ant are defined as net area subjected to shear and net area subjected to tension, respectively. The procedure for calculating these terms is demonstrated through examples presented later. The Ans, Ant and R n values for the specimens are tabulated in the third through the fifth columns of Table 3. The ~bBSvalues calculated using equation (1) are presented in the sixth column. The mean value of the eight different 0Bs values is found to be about 0.59. As seen from the seventh column of the table, if this mean ~bBSvalue is utilized, then the (gBsRn/RuE values for the eight specimens range from 0.74 to 1.15, that is, the 'predicted' versus the experimental values range from

355

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites: R. Prabhakaran et al.

Table 3

Summary of block shear test results and comparison of calculated and measured block shear ultimate loads Experimental ultimate load, RuE (lbs) 12 770 12 820 12 050 23 470 27 000 24 260 23510 43 600

(~BsRn/RuE with
Ans (in2) 0.594 0.594 0.594 1.781 1.188 1.188 1.188 1.781 Ant (in2) 0.594 0.594 0.594 0.594 1.188 1.188 1.188 1.875 Rn (lbs) 22 869 22 869 22 869 29 397 45 738 45 738 45738 71 670

Test specimen A-1 A-2 A-3 B-3 C- 1 C-2 C-3 E-3

~as
0.558 0.561 0.527 0.798 0.590 0.530 0.514 0.608

~as = 0.59 1.06 1.05 1.12 0.74 1.00 1.11 1.15 0.97

~bBS= 0.50 0.89 0.89 0.95 0.63 0.85 0.94 0.97 0.82

Table 4

Summary of net tension test results and comparison of calculated and measured net tension ultimate loads Experimental ultimate load, TuE (lbs) 21 530 23 280 45 600 46 100 43 600 43 200 45 500

4~T T~/ T~Ewith

Ant (in2) 1.188 1.188 2.376 2.376 2.376 2.469 2.469 Tn (lbs) 39204 39 204 78 408 78 408 78 408 81 477 81 477 ~bNT 0.549 0.594 0.581 0.588 0.556 0.530 0.558 ~T = 0.56 1.02 0.94 0.96 0.95 1.01 1.06 1.00 5~r = 0.50 r 0.91 0.84 0.86 0.85 0.90 0.94 0.89

Test specimen B-I B-2 D-1 D-2 D-3 E- 1 E-2

26% on the conservative side to 15% on the nonconservative side. Adopting a rounded ~BS value of 0.50, however, leads to ~bBsRn/RuE values ranging from 0.63 to 0.97, that is, conservative by 3% or more in each case, as seen from the last column of the table. Thus the following block shear load formula is recommended on a tentative basis: PBS = ~bBS(TuAns+ truant) (2)

therefore, recommended on a tentative basis:

TNT = ~bNT(truAnt ) (4)

in which ~bBs= 0.50. The net tension test results for specimens B-l, B-2, D-l, D-2, D-3, E-l, and E-2 are summarized in Table 4. The experimental ultimate loads are given in the second column as TuE. The TuE values and the dimensions of the specimens are used to establish a 'net tension resistance factor', ~bNT,by the following expression:
TuE = gbNTrn = t ~ T ( t r u A n t )

in which ONT = 0.50. It must be emphasized here that the OBS and q~NT values in the above formulae are proposed only on a tentative basis. Extensive additional tests need to be conducted to refine their value. Furthermore, the statistical variation in ru and au values may also require an adjustment of the ~ values. The AISC-LRFD specificationl for steel structures uses load factors of 1.2 and 1.6 for dead and live loads, respectively. If the load factors for composite connections are represented by 7DL and 7LL, the ultimate design load may be expressed as: P = ')'DLPDL + 'YLLPLL
(5)

(3)

in which the material ultimate normal stress tru is 33000psi, and Tn is the maximum possible theoretical ultimate net tensile resistance given by the expression in the parentheses. The net tension area, Ant, and the Tn values for .the specimens are tabulated in the third and fourth columns of Table 4. The ~ values calculated using equation (3) are presented in the fifth column. The mean and the adopted values of 4~,rr are 0.56 and 0.50, respectively, leading to 4'NTTn/TuE values given in the last two columns of Table 4. The mean ~NT value of 0.56 results in a maximum of 6% overestimation of the strength, whereas the adopted value of 0.50 provides a strength estimate which is at least 6% on the conservative side. The following net tension load formula is,

in which PDL and eLL a r e dead and live service loads, respectively. The LRFD criterion for block shear and net tension may then be expressed as follows: P < R (6) in which R is the smaller of PBS and TNT given by equations (2) and (4), respectively. Two numerical examples are presented next, to illustrate the design procedure. Later, the results from some additional verification tests, to verify the proposed resistance factors, are given.

Numerical examples
To illustrate the use of the block shear and the net tension formulae, two numerical examples are presented here.

356

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites." R. Prabhakaran et al.

T T

3/4 -in. dia. I I

_ thickness = 1/2 -in.

T
3/4-in. dia.
S =

2"

t
2" ~ = ' ~ 4" ~ 8" 2
2"

2"

thickness = 1/2-in ]

2"

o
2"
~ 2" ~ g=4" 8" = " ~ - 2" --="

Figure 10 Type D specimen for design example no. 1

Example 1. Check the adequacy of the 1/2in thick P F R P connecting plate shown in Figure 10 for service dead and live loads of 10 000 lbs and 12 500 lbs, respectively, with 3/4in diameter holes, a material tensile strength of 20 000 psi, and a shear strength of 6000 psi when the distance G equals: (a) 6.0in, and (b) 4.0in. Assume the dead and live load factors as 1.2 and 1.6, respectively. Solution. Using equation (5), the ultimate design
load is given by: P = 1.2(10000) + 1.6(12500) = 320001b. (7)

1-

Figure 11 Type E specimen for design example no. 2

(b) With G = 4.0 in, Ans = 2[6.0 - 1.5(0.75)](0.5) = 4.875in z (13)

while Ant remains equal to 1.625 in 2. The block shear load is, therefore, given by: P~s = 0.50[6000(4.875) + 20 000(1.625)] = 30 875 lbs.
to:

(a) With G = 6.0 in, compute the block shear strength based on the shaded area and equation (2):
PBS ---- 0 . 5 0 ( 6 0 0 0 A n s + 2 0 0 0 0 A n t ) (8)

(14)

The tensile resistance remains unaltered and is equal TNT = 32 5001bs > 308751bs (15)

in which
Ans = 2[8.0 - 1.5(0.75)](0.5) = 6.875in 2

(9) (10)

Ant = 2[2.0 - 0.5(0.75)](0.5) = 1.625in 2 Therefore, PBS = 0.50[6000(6.875) + 20 000(1.625)] = 36 8751bs.

(11)

The block shear failure mode controls and the ultimate resistance R is 30 875 lbs. Since R < P, the connection is inadequate. It should be noted here that reducing the distance G from 6.0in down to 4.0in alters not only the ultimate resistance, from 32 5001bs to 308751bs, but also the failure mode from net tension type to block shear type.

Estimate the tensile resistance using equation (4) and based on the gross plate area less the area of two holes: rNT = 0.50(20 000)[(8.0)(0.5) - 2(0.75)0.5] = 32 5001bs < 36 875 lbs. (12)

Example 2. Determine the ultimate resistance of the 1/2 in thick P F R P connecting plate shown in Figure 11, with 3/4in diameter staggered holes, a material tensile strength of 20000psi, and a shear strength of 6000 psi. Solution. Three of the probable block shear failure modes are shown in Figure 12. Compute the block shear strength as follows based on the shaded areas in Figures 12(a), (b), and (c), respectively.
(a) For the failure mode involving only two holes, shown in Figure 12(a), the shaded area is associated with one half of the block shear load, PBs, based on

Comparing PBs and TNT values, it is concluded that the net tension failure mode controls and the ultimate resistance R is 325001bs. Since P = 320001bs is less than the resistance R = 32 500 lbs, the L R F D criterion given by equation (6)is satisfied and the connection is adequate. In part (b) of this example, analyzed by reducing the dimension G from 6.0 to 4.0 in, the failure mode as well as the ultimate resistance are investigated.

357

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites." R. Prabhakaran et al.

Failure Load Vs. Stagger

3/4 P

120000.0 HPBSI ~ - ~ PBS2 ~ PBS3 ..... TNTI ~ TNT2 n EXP LOAD F 1 = 4190O EXP LOAD- F 2 = 431CO +EXP LOAD. F 3 = 419{}0

Edge

Distance,

D2 = 4

-- J _~ 1 ~ - ~ ~ 4~~ -~

100(300.0 112 P

--
(a) (b) (c)
.J ~_

80000.0

Figure 12 Block shear failure modes for design example no. 2

60000.0

the assumption that each bolt through a hole carries one-fourth of the total load. Thus: ~PBs = q~BS(q-uAns+ 'uAnt) in which Ans = [2.0 - 0.5(0.75)](0.5) = 0.812in 2 Ant = (2"0)2 ] 6.0 -- 1.5(0.75) + 4(4.0)J (0.5) (18) (17)
1

40000.0

(16)

20000'00.0

t .0

2.0 S , in.

3.0

4.0

5.0

Figure 13 Parametric study of failure loads and failure modes for an edge distance of 4 in

Therefore, PBs = 0.50[6000(2.25) + 20 000(2.562)]

= 2.562in 2

= 32 370 lbs.

(25)

In the calculation for Ant , the third term inside the brackets accounts for 'the stagger effect' and is taken from the A I S C - L R F D specification, and is given by:

Compute the tensile resistance based on the plate gross area less the area of one hole: TNTI = 0.50(20000)[(8.0)(0.5) -- (0.75)(0.5)] = 36 250 lbs. (26)

s2/4g

(19)

in which s is the stagger and g is the gage distance, as shown in Figure 11. This stagger effect term is based on the analysis of the biaxial stress state which exists on the inclined plane between a pair of consecutive staggered holes. Herein, it is used for P F R P connections as a first approximation. Therefore, PBs = 2(0.50)[6000(0.812) + 20 000(2.562)] = 56 112 lbs. (b) For the failure mode shown in Figure 12(b): (20)

Compute the tensile resistance based on the plate gross area less the area of two holes plus the area due to the stagger effect (s2t/4g): TNT2 = (0.50)(20 000)[(8.0)(0.5) -- 2(0.75)(0.5) + (2.0)2(0.5) 4(4.0) -- 337501bs. (27)

]PBs=
in which:

0.50(%ans + truant)

(21)

Comparing the smaller of the PBS and TNT values, it is concluded that the ultimate resistance R of the plate is 32 370 lbs and is associated with the block shear mode of failure shown in Figure 12(c). For the connection to be considered adequate, the criterion given by equation (6) must be satisfied.

Ans = [6.0 - 2(0.75)](0.5) = 2.25in 2 (22)

Ant =

2.562 in 2

Verification tests and results

In order to verify the usefulness or validity of the proposed resistance factors, q~BSand ~bNV,six additional specimens of the E-type, with four staggered holes, were tested. In order to select the specimen dimensions, a parametric study was conducted to predict the failure modes for various specimen configurations. Selected results from this parametric study are shown in Figures 13 and 14. In these figures, the edge distance D2 is the distance from the center of the lowermost hole to the specimen edge. The stagger, s, is the distance between the holes along the specimen axis. The failure loads for the three block shear failure modes and the two net tension failure modes are shown as a function ofs in each

Therefore, PBs = 4 (0.50)[6000(2.25) + 20 000(2.562)1 = 43 1601bs. (c) For the failure mode shown in Figure 12(c): PBS = 0.50(TuAns + tYudn,) in which:
Ans = 2 . 2 5 i n Ant = 2.562

(23)

(24)

in 2

358

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites. R. Prabhakaran et al.

Failure Load Vs. Stagger
100000.0

. . . . . . .

Edge Distance, D2 = 1.0 in. "m/ - ~ 8 ,l/It ~ ~e-~ , v ~ . ~ ~ _e

o-

80000.0

ePBS1 * PBS2 ~ - 9 PBS3 TNT 1 K TNT2 [ EXP LOAD - G.~ = 42800 ~ EXP LOAD G 2 = 40800 , EXP LOAD G3:42000

/
~" ~/

"~'"

60000.0

.~

.- ~

40000.0

~-

12.0"

20000.0

0.0

1.0

2.0 S, in.

3.0

4,0

5.0

Figure 14 Parametric study of failure loads and failure modes for an edge distance of l in

0,,3.!4.,)" 0, ,0,,i l
4.8" 6.4" -I
-I Figure 16 Dimensions of the G-type additional specimens F-type, is shown in Figure 15. For the PBS3 specimens, termed G-type, a pitch distance of 1 in was chosen; the specimen configuration is shown in Figure 16. When the six specimens were tested, all the three Ftype specimens failed in the anticipated net tension TNT2 mode. But only two of the three G-type specimens failed in the block shear PBs3 mode and the third failed in the TNT2 mode. The failure loads for the six additional specimens are shown in Figures 13 and 14. As mentioned earlier, there are often competing failure modes. The results from the six additional tests are tabulated in Tables 5 and 6. These six test results follow the pattern exhibited by the previous fifteen specimens. When the previously computed average values of OBS and CNT are used, the ratio of the predicted failure load to the experimental failure load is close to 1 but in some cases the ratio is slightly greater than 1. When the resistance factors are lowered to a value of 0.50, in all cases the ratio of predicted to experimental failure loads is less than 1. This supports the recommendations based on the earlier results.

T
I

18.0"

,,

,
4 )"

6,8,'

,5

l'

6.5"

Figure 15 Dimensionsof the F-type additional specimens figure. It was decided to test three specimens with an anticipated net tension failure mode (TNT2) and three specimens with a predicted block shear failure mode (PBs3)- A pitch distance, s, of 2in was chosen for the TNT2 mode and the specimen configuration, termed

CONCLUSIONS Based on the experimental results obtained for the chosen specimen configurations and dimensions, the following principal conclusions are drawn: 1. Block shear failure has been shown to be one of the failure m o d e s - - i n addition to bearing, net tension,

359

LRFD for bolted joints in pultruded composites: R. Prabhakaran et al.

Table 5

Summary of additional block shear test results and comparison of calculated and measured block shear ultimate loads Experimental ultimate load, RuE (lbs) 42 800 40 800

OBsRn/RuE with
Ans (in2) 0.875 0.875 Ant (in2) 1.970 1.970 Rn (lbs) 69 833 69 833 ~bBs 0.613 0.584 ~bBs= 0.59 0.96 1.01 Oas = 0.50 0.82 0.86

Test specimen G-1 G-2

Table 6

Summary of additional net tension test results and comparison of calculated and measured net tension ultimate loads Experimental ultimate load, TuE (lbs) 41 900 43 100 41 900 42 000

ONTTn/TuE with
Ant (in2) 2.392 2.392 2.392 1.970 Tn (lbs) 78 948 78 948 78 948 65 010 ~bNT 0.530 0.550 0.530 0.646 ~NT = 0.56 1.06 1.03 1.06 0.87 NT = 0.50 0.94 0.92 0.94 0.77

Test specimen F-I F-2 F-3 G-3

2.

3. 4. 5.

and shear-out--in bolt-loaded pultruded composite plates. Two LRFD-type formulae and an LRFD criterion are proposed for block shear and net tension failure load predictions. Resistance factors for block shear and net tension failure modes are proposed on a tentative basis. Practical examples presented illustrate the use of the proposed LRFD-type formulae. Additional test results support the recommended resistance factors.

3 4 5 6 7

Additional work is in progress to validate and refine the proposed formulae and the associated resistance factors.
REFERENCES
1

Hart-Smith, LJ. Bolted joints in graphite-epoxy composites.

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