Bonded lap joints of composite laminates with tapered edges

This study presents a semi-analytical solution method to analyze the geometrically nonlinear response of bonded composite lap joints with tapered and/or non tapered adherend edges under uniaxial tension. The solution method provides the transverse shear and normal stresses in the adhesives and in-plane stress resultants and bending moments in the adherends. The method utilizes the principle of virtual work in conjunction with von Karman’s nonlinear plate theory to model the adherends and the shear lag model to represent the kinematics of the thin adhesive layers between the adherends. Furthermore, the method accounts for the bilinear elastic material behavior of the adhesive while maintaining a linear stress–strain relationship in the adherends. In order to account for the stiffness changes due to thickness variation of the adherends along the tapered edges, the in-plane and bending stiffness matrices of the adherents are varied as a function of thickness along the tapered region. The combination of these complexities results in a system of nonlinear governing equilibrium equations. This approach represents a computationally efficient alternative to finite element method. The numerical results present the effects of taper angle, adherend overlap length, and the bilinear adhesive material on the stress fields in the adherends, as well as the adhesives of a single- and double-lap joint.     

Exact static solutions to piezoelectric smart beams including peel stresses. II. Numerical results,comparison and discussion

This part presents the numerical results, comparisons and discussion for the exact static solutions of smart beams with piezoelectric (PZT) actuators and sensors including peel stresses presented in Part I. (International Journal of Solids and Structures, 39, 4677–4695) The actuated stress distributions in the adhesive and the adhesive edge stresses varying with the thickness ratios are firstly obtained and presented. The actuated internal stress resultants and displacements in the host beam are then calculated and compared with those predicted by using the shear lag model. The stresses in the adhesive caused by an applied axial force, bending moment and shear force are calculated, and then used to compute the sensing electric charges for comparison with those predicted using the shear lag model. The numerical results are given for the smart beam with (a) one bonded PZT and (b) two symmetrically bonded PZTs, with a comparison to those predicted using the shear lag model. Novel, simple and more accurate formulas for the equivalent force and bending moment induced by applied electric field are also derived for the host beam with one PZT or two symmetrically bonded PZTs. The symmetric shear stress and the anti-symmetric peel stress components caused by a shear force are discussed. In addition, in the case of PZT edge debonding, the stress redistribution in the adhesive and the self-arresting mechanism are also investigated.     

曲线加筋Kirchhoff-Mindlin板自由振动分析

相比传统加筋板,曲线加筋板能够更充分地发挥材料力学性能.在加筋板力学分析中,厚板通常采用Reissner-Mindlin理论,然而当板厚较薄时易出现剪切自锁,离散的Kirchhoff-Mindlin理论采用假设剪切应变场可避免该问题.针对曲线加筋Kirchhoff-Mindlin板自由振动分析,采用离散的Kirchhoff-Mindlin三角形单元和Timoshenko曲梁单元分别模拟板和加强筋,根据板的位移插值函数及筋板交界面的位移协调条件,建立基于板单元位移自由度的有限元方程.为了验证方法的有效性和准确性,采用直线加筋薄板、曲线加筋薄板和厚板3种模型进行算例研究,通过收敛性和精度分析来选择合理的有限元网格密度.直线加筋薄板前20阶固有频率均与文献结果吻合良好;曲线加筋板算例中,本文方法满足收敛条件的板单元数目为2469,Nastran模型板单元数目为6243;本文所得曲线加筋板固有频率与Nastran计算结果最大误差为3.4%.研究结果表明,本文方法无需筋板单元共节点,可使用较少的有限元网格数量,并能够保证计算精度;在离散Kirchhoff-Mindlin三角形板单元基础上构造Timoshenko梁单元可同时适用于曲线加筋薄板与厚板自由振动分析.     

Higher-order shear deformable theories for flexure of sandwich plates—Finite element evaluations

A simple isoparametric finite element formulation based on a higher-order displacement model for flexure analysis of multilayer symmetric sandwich plates is presented. The assumed displacement model accounts for non-linear variation of inplane displacements and constant variation of transverse displacement through the plate thickness. Further, the present formulation does not require the fictitious shear correction coefficient(s) generally associated with the first-order shear deformable theories. Two sandwich plate theories are developed: one in which the free shear stress conditions on the top and bottom bounding planes are imposed and another, in which such conditions are not imposed. The validity of the present development(s) is established through, numerical evaluations for deflections/stresses/stress-resultants and their comparisons with the available three-dimensional analyses/closed-form/other finite element solutions. Comparison of results from thin plate. Mindlin and present analyses with the exact three-dimensional analyses yields some important conclusions regarding the effects of the assumptions made in the CPT and Mindlin type theories. The comparative study further establishes the necessity of a higher-order shear deformable theory incorporating warping of the cross-section particularly for sandwich plates.     

Development of a smart composite pipe joint integrated with piezoelectric layers under tensile loading

To actively reduce the stress concentration effect in adhesive layers, a novel smart adhesively bonded composite pipe joint system was developed by integrating piezoelectric layers as sensor/actuator in the connection coupler. In the presently developed smart pipe joint system, the mechanical loading induced structural deformation can be detected and monitored by integrated sensing piezoelectric layers, and then the signal is fed back to the integrated actuating piezoelectric layers to adaptively produce additional forces and moments so as to decrease the maximum peel and shear stresses in the adhesive layer. In order to theoretically predict the efficiency of the developed smart pipe joint system, an electro-mechanical theoretical analytical model was established to investigate the characteristics of the joint system under end tension load in terms of first-order shear deformation theory. Simultaneously, the state-space method was utilized to deduce the final analytical solutions, including the peel and shear stress distributions in the adhesive layer. Finally, some detailed numerical results were obtained to demonstrate the optimal design method of such smart pipe joint system and further validate the integrity of this joint system.     

Stress analyses of a smart composite pipe joint integrated with piezoelectric composite layers under torsion loading

In order to improve the joint failure strength, an adhesively bonded smart composite pipe joint system has been developed by integrating electromechanical coupling piezoelectric layers with the connection coupler. It has been validated that the integrated piezoelectric ceramic layers can smartly reduce stress concentration in the adhesive layer bond-line under bending or axial tension loads. In this study, piezoelectric particle/fiber reinforced polymer composite was utilized to construct adhesively bonded smart composite pipe joint systems, in order to overcome the brittle characteristic of the piezoelectric ceramic layers and to facilitate joint construction. Since torsion is one of the dominating loading conditions in practice, the behavior of the newly developed smart pipe joint system subjected to torsion loading was investigated in-detail to evaluate the effect of the integrated piezoelectric reinforced polymer composite layer on the joint performance. Firstly, based on the first-order shear deformation theory, the fundamental equations with relevant boundary and continuity conditions were developed to theoretically model the smart pipe joint system subjected to torsion loading. Further, the analytical solutions for the mid-plane displacements and the shear and peel stresses in the adhesive layer were obtained by using the Levy solution and the state-space method. Finally, some numerical examples were presented to evaluate the detailed effect of the stacking sequence and thickness of the integrated composite piezoelectric layers in the connection coupler on reducing the stress concentration in the adhesive layer; the effect of the applied electric fields on shear and peel stresses in the adhesive layer was also illustrated.     

Design and analysis of a smart composite pipe joint system integrated with piezoelectric layers under bending

Incorporating with the high electro-mechanical coupling performance of piezoelectric materials, design and analysis of an adhesively bonded smart composite pipe joint system were conducted. In this joint system, piezoelectric layers were integrated into the joint coupler in order to reduce stress concentration in the joint adhesive layer. To theoretically verify the composite action and efficiency of the integrated piezoelectric layers, an electro-mechanical model based on the first-order shear deformation theory was established. This model was able to clarify the energetic characteristics of the proposed joint system on the improvement in the joint strength, which was under the action of a bending moment at the joint ends. The state-space method was utilized to obtain the final analytical solutions, including the peel and shear stress distributions in the adhesive layer. Finally, some numerical examples were calculated to evaluate the effect of the detailed stacking sequence and size of the integrated piezoelectric layers on reducing the stress concentration in the adhesive layer as well as the applied electric fields. These numerical results validated the integrity of the developed adhesively bonded smart composite pipe joint system.     

Analytical solutions for adhesive composite joints considering large deflection and transverse shear deformation in adherends

This paper presents a novel formulation and analytical solutions for adhesively bonded composite single lap joints by taking into account the transverse shear deformation and large deflection in adherends. On the basis of geometrically nonlinear analysis for infinitesimal elements of adherends and adhesive, the equilibrium equations of adherends are formulated. By using the Timoshenko beam theory, the governing differential equations are expressed in terms of the adherend displacements and then analytically solved for the force boundary conditions prescribed at both overlap ends. The obtained solutions are applied to single lap joints, whose adherends can be isotropic adherends or composite laminates with symmetrical lay-ups. A new formula for adhesive peel stress is obtained, and it can accurately predict peel stress in the bondline. The closed-form analytical solutions are then simplified for the purpose of practical applications, and a new simple expression for the edge moment factor is developed. The numerical results predicted by the present full and simplified solutions are compared with those calculated by geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis using MSC/NASTRAN. The agreement noted validates the present novel formulation and solutions for adhesively bonded composite joints. The simplified shear and peel stresses at the overlap ends are used to derive energy release rates. The present predictions for the failure load of single lap joints are compared with those available in the literature.     

Fully-coupled nonlinear analysis of single lap adhesive joints

This paper presents novel closed-form and accurate solutions for the edge moment factor and adhesive stresses for single lap adhesive bonded joints. In the present analysis of single lap joints, both large deflections of adherends and adhesive shear and peel strains are taken into account in the formulation of two sets of nonlinear governing equations for both longitudinal and transverse deflections of adherends. Closed-form solutions for the edge moment factor and the adhesive stresses are obtained by solving the two sets of fully-coupled nonlinear governing equations. Simplified and accurate formula for the edge moment factor is also derived via an approximation process. A comprehensive numerical validation was conducted by comparing the present solutions and those developed by Goland and Reissner, Hart-Smith and Oplinger with the results of nonlinear finite element analyses. Numerical results demonstrate that the present solutions for the edge moment factor (including the simplified formula) and the adhesive stresses appear to be the best as they agree extremely well with the finite element analysis results for all ranges of material and geometrical parameters.     

Vibration and buckling of laminated sandwich plates having interfacial imperfections

The vibration and buckling characteristics of sandwich plates having laminated stiff layers are studied for different degrees of imperfections at the layer interfaces using a refined plate theory. With this plate theory, the through thickness variation of transverse shear stresses is represented by piece-wise parabolic functions where the continuity of these stresses is satisfied at the layer interfaces by taking jumps in the transverse shear strains at the interfaces. The transverse shear stresses free condition at the plate top and bottom surfaces is also satisfied. The inter-laminar imperfections are represented by in-plane displacement jumps at the layer interfaces and characterized by a linear spring layer model. It is quite interesting to note that this plate model having all these refined features requires unknowns only at the reference plane. To have generality in the analysis, finite element technique is adopted and it is carried out with a new triangular element developed for this purpose, as any existing element cannot model this plate model. As there is no published result on imperfect sandwich plates, the problems of perfect sandwich plates and imperfect ordinary laminates are used for validation.     

扩展的Hellinger-Reissner原理及特殊层合杂交应力元

建立了一种非匀质材料新的、扩展的Hellinger-Reissner原理,发展了当一个单元域划分为不同材料特性子域、其元内应力场沿子域表面不连续、且位移场在子域表面也急剧变化时,一个非匀质有限元刚度列式便利方法。这种列式亦可用于对每层横向剪应变均独立处置的厚层板。基于此变分原理建立了新的具有一个无外力圆柱表面的层合杂交应力元,单元各层独立假定的应力场通过以自然坐标表示的非协调位移为权函数使齐次平衡方程变分满足的理性方法及严格满足给定圆柱面上无外力条件得到,位移场在元间及层间连续条件则分别通过Lagrange乘子进行了松弛。数值算例表明：这类新型元可有效地分析具有多类圆柱形槽孔的厚、中厚及薄层板自由孔边应力分布。     

A three-parameter elastic foundation model for interface stresses in curved beams externally strengthened by a thin FRP plate

Externally bonding of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) plates or sheets has become a popular method for strengthening reinforced concrete structures. Stresses along the FRP–concrete interface are of great importance to the effectiveness of this type of strengthening because high stress concentration along the FRP–concrete interface can lead to the FRP debonding from the concrete beam. In this study, we develop an analytical solution of interface stresses in a curved structural beam bonded with a thin plate. A novel three-parameter elastic foundation model is used to describe the behavior of the adhesive layer. This adhesive layer model is an extension of the two-parameter elastic foundation commonly used in existing studies. It assumes that the shear stress in the adhesive layer is constant through the thickness, and the interface normal stresses along two concrete/adhesive and adhesive/FRP interfaces are different. Closed-form solutions are obtained for these two interfacial normal stresses, shear stress within the adhesive layer, and beam forces. The validation of these solutions is confirmed by finite element analysis.     

A new zig-zag theory and C<Superscript>0</Superscript> plate bending element for composite and sandwich plates

A higher-order zig-zag theory for laminated composite and sandwich structures is proposed. The proposed theory satisfies the interlaminar continuity conditions and free surface conditions of transverse shear stresses. Moreover, the number of unknown variables involved in present model is independent of the number of layers. Compared to the zig-zag theory available in literature, the merit of present theory is that the first derivatives of transverse displacement have been taken out from the in-plane displacement fields, so that the C⁰ interpolation functions is only required during its finite element implementation. To obtain accurately transverse shear stresses by integrating three-dimensional equilibrium equations within one element, a six-node triangular element is employed to model the present zig-zag theory. Numerical results show that the present zig-zag theory can predict more accurate in-plane displacements and stresses in comparison with other zig-zag theories. Moreover, it is convenient to obtain transverse shear stresses by integration of equilibrium equations, as the C⁰ shape functions is only used when implemented in a finite element.     

A coupled refined high-order global-local theory and finite element model for static electromechanical response of smart multilayered/sandwich beams

In the present study, a coupled refined high-order global-local theory is developed for predicting fully coupled behavior of smart multilayered/sandwich beams under electromechanical conditions. The proposed theory considers effects of transverse normal stress and transverse flexibility which is important for beams including soft cores or beams with drastic material properties changes through depth. Effects of induced transverse normal strains through the piezoelectric layers are also included in this study. In the presence of non-zero in-plane electric field component, all the kinematic and stress continuity conditions are satisfied at layer interfaces. In addition, for the first time, conditions of non-zero shear and normal tractions are satisfied even while the bottom or the top layer of the beam is piezoelectric. A combination of polynomial and exponential expressions with a layerwise term containing first order differentiation of electrical unknowns is used to introduce the in-plane displacement field. Also, the transverse displacement field is formulated utilizing a combination of continuous piecewise fourth-order polynomial with a layerwise representation of electrical unknowns. Finally, a quadratic electric potential is used across the thickness of each piezoelectric layer. It is worthy to note that in the proposed shear locking-free finite element formulation, the number of mechanical unknowns is independent of the number of layers. Excellent correlation has been found between the results obtained from the proposed formulation for thin and thick piezoelectric beams with those resulted from the three-dimensional theory of piezoelasticity. Moreover, the proposed finite element model is computationally economic.     

Analysis of an adhesively bonded single-strap joint integrated with shape memory alloy (SMA) reinforced layers

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are increasingly becoming a topic of research in the area of smart materials. In this study, the design and analysis of a SMA reinforced joint is presented to elucidate the contribution of the active composite layer to the reduction of stress concentrations in the adhesive layer. Basic thermo-mechanical properties of the SMA are obtained by micromechanics. The forces and moments at the joint edges are obtained by incorporating the thermo-mechanical effect of the active composite layer within the joint. Further, an analytic model based on the first-order shear deformation theory was employed to conduct stress analyses of this joint system. The state-space method was utilized to obtain the final analytic solutions, including the peel and shear stresses in the adhesive layer. Detailed numerical analyses are conducted. The results confirm that the active composite layer significantly reduces stress concentrations at the joint edges.     

基于有限条带的厚/薄板矩形通用单元

基于两广义位移梁理论，利用解析试函数来建立厚／薄梁单元的横向位移、转角位移、曲率、剪应变等位移模式，构造出厚／薄梁通用单元．应用有限条带，将厚／薄梁单元的位移模式应用于厚／薄板矩形弯曲单元，直接构造出单元的横向位移、转角、曲率、剪应变，导出了单元的刚度矩阵和结点等效力，编制了计算程序，进行了数值计算和比较，结果表明，所研究的单元不出现剪切闭锁且精度较好．     

Balanced and unbalanced patching of cracked lap joints using weighted adhesive plate element

First order shear deformation theory is applied to analyze the behavior of one-side (unbalanced) and two-side (balanced) patched lap joints containing initial through cracks. The joints are made of adherends bonded together by adhesives. An adhesive interface plate element is introduced; it consists of an adhesive layer weighted by influence of the adherend. The thin adhesive layer is assumed to behave elastically and modelled as a simple tension-shear spring. The mathematical model contains layers of adherend and weighted adhesive layer.Finite elements are employed to model the adherend with an 8-node isoparametric plate element and interface layer with a 16-node plate element. Numerical results are obtained for one-side and two-side patches the width of which could be narrower or wider than the crack length. The former leads to bulging and possible peeling while the latter provides better bonding. Stresses and crack-tip stress intensity factors are calculated for different patch thickness. Effectiveness of the weighted adhesive layer model is exhibited by comparing the present results with those found in previous work where the adhesive is modelled as an individual layer.     

A layerwise boundary integral equation model for layers and layered media

A hybrid method is presented for the analysis of layers, plates, and multilayered systems consisting of isotropic and linear elastic materials. The problem is formulated for the general case of a multilayered system using a total potential energy formulation. The layerwise laminate theory of Reddy is employed to develop a layerwise, two-dimensional, displacement-based, hybrid boundary element model that assumes piecewise continuous distribution of the displacement components through the system's thickness. A one-dimensional finite element model is used for the analysis of the multilayered system through its thickness, and integral Fourier transforms are used to obtain the exact solution for the in-plane problem. Explicit expressions are obtained for the fundamental solution of a typical infinite layer (element) assuming linear displacement distribution through its thickness. This fundamental solution is given in a closed form in the cartesian space, and it can be applied in the two-dimensional boundary integral equation model to analyze layered structures with finite dimensions. The proposed method provides a simple, efficient, and versatile model for a three-dimensional analysis of thick plates or multilayered systems.     

Effects of thickness on the largely-deformed JKR (Johnson–Kendall–Roberts) test of soft elastic layers

The paper aimed to study the effect of large deformation and material nonlinearity on the adhesive contact between a smooth rigid spherical indenter and a Neo-Hookean layer of finite thickness, for the cases of the layer thickness/indenter radius ratio between 1 and 2. Our analysis was based on the large-deformation JKR (LDJKR) theory, which models the adhesive contact of two elastic solids in large-deformation regime by knowing the solution of the corresponding non-adhesive contact problem. In this paper, the non-adhesive contact between a spherical indenter and a Neo-Hookean layer was solved by finite element analysis. Combined these numerical results and the LDJKR theory, approximate analytic expressions of the applied load and displacement of adhesive contact of Neo-Hookean layers were obtained. The effects of layer thickness were also discussed.     

Interlaminar stresses and energy release rates in delaminated orthotropic composite plates

The classical laminated plate theory is applied to calculate the stresses and energy release rate function in symmetrically delaminated orthotropic plates. First, the equilibrium of classical plate forces, moments and interfacial shear stresses is formulated. Second, the displacement continuity between the interface plane of a double-plate model was considered. The governing equation system of the double-plate model consists of ten equations. As an example a delaminated, orthotropic, simply-supported plate subjected to a point force is analyzed. The distribution of the plate forces as well as the interlaminar shear stresses over the uncracked part were determined. Moreover, the mode-II and mode-III energy release rate distributions along the crack front were calculated by the J-integral. The 3D finite element model of the delaminated composite plate was also created. The results indicate a reasonably good agreement between analysis and numerical calculation.