Investigating the Effects of Contact Area and Chamfering on the Failure Behavior of Plain Woven Composite-Metal T-joints

This paper experimentally and numerically investigates the failure behavior of plain woven composite-metal connection structures (T-joints) under loads in different directions. According to the direction of load application, it can be divided into TX specimens and TZ specimens. Wherein, TX and TZ are subjected to the tensile load parallel and perpendicular to the composite panel, respectively. Test results show significant differences in the ultimate load, failure modes and strain distribution among different specimens. Increasing the contact area between the lower block and the composite panel and adding round to the contact part between the metal part and the composite panel can improve the load-carrying capacity of the T-joints. The multiscale simulation is conducted to study the failure process of T-joints. Micro-scale and meso-scale models are established to obtain the mechanical properties of the plain woven composite, and the error between the simulated results and the experimental data is less than 10%. Progressive damage analysis is then done by using the macro-scale model. The simulated failure load and damage process of T-joints are consistent with the test results. The information and proposed multiscale analysis method on the failure behavior of T-joints are useful for the optimal design of similar structures.