Analyzing the Sample Geometry Effect on Mechanical Performance of Drilled GFRP Connections

Area of Science:

• Composite Materials Engineering
• Structural Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Limited research exists on the mechanical behavior of single-lap bolted joints in pultruded profiles.
• Existing studies primarily focus on single-bolt connections, leaving a data gap for lap joints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mechanical performance of single-lap bolted connections in pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) plates.
• To address the deficit of experimental data for GFRP bolted lap joints.
• To evaluate the accuracy of finite element analysis for predicting the behavior of these joints.

Main Methods:

• Conducted tensile tests on 80 single-bolt GFRP joints with varying geometries.
• Utilized Abaqus finite element (FE) software with a user-defined subroutine for simulation.
• Compared experimental results with theoretical models and FE predictions.

Main Results:

• Shear-out failure was the predominant failure mode in the GFRP pultruded plates.
• End length significantly influenced the load-bearing capacity of the joints.
• Hart-Smith's theoretical model overestimated the ultimate resistance.
• FE model accuracy improved with increased plate thickness and width, reducing prediction error from 25.7% to 2.9%.

Conclusions:

• GFRP bolted joints exhibit low efficiency, necessitating strengthening strategies for drilled connections.
• The simplified FE model demonstrates reasonable adequacy for predicting joint performance.
• The validated FE model serves as a valuable reference for future bolted joint development in GFRP composites.