The Effect of Friction on Load Distribution Around the Hole in Composite Pinned Connections

This paper presents analyses for computing and evaluating the behavior of the laminated composite plate at the contact area in single lap, mechanically fastened joints. The analyses involve three dimensional finite element models performed by ABAQUS 6.4-PR11 code to evaluate the stress distribution in contact surface, separation angle, the magnitude and location of maximum radial stress. Results are determined for quasi-isotropic model and attempts are made to validate the models with previous works. The variations of separation angles through the thickness are investigated and effects of friction and applied load level are discussed by using different friction coefficients at contact area. Non-symmetric separation about the bearing plane occurs and the separation angle is greater than 90° in some plies.