Static and dynamic behaviour of composite riveted joints in tension

The tensile response and failure of composite riveted joints are studied experimentally in the present paper. Seven joint configurations for aircraft application are tested at quasi-static, 4 and 8 m/s nominal loading rates. Joint specimens are made of CFRP in a number of lay-ups of unidirectional tapes and woven fabrics. A dynamic tensile test method is designed to give reliable test results. It is shown that the variation of tensile strength with loading rate is negligible for the tested composite riveted joints. However, for most of the tested specimens, the average total energy absorption of the composite joint increases with increasing loading rate. Various failure modes are identified for various joint designs and it was found that joint failure modes can change with varying loading rates. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.