Experimental and numerical investigation of composite box joint under tensile load

In this paper, tensile behavior of box-joint structure fabricated by resin transfer moulding (RTM) was investigated. A finite element model (FEM) of the box joint based on cohesive zone model was established to study the joint tensile behavior. Hashin failure criterion and degradation rules were applied to simulate damage modes and to predict failure strength. The FEM results show a good agreement with experimental results. Based on the model, the influences of bolt location and lap length on the joint tensile performances were analyzed. The results show that the delamination between the L-shape part and box-shape parts is the main failure mode. Bolt location affects the damage modes, ultimate load and structure stiffness of the joint, and longer lap length has a tendency to promote ultimate load and structure stiffness.