Bolted joints in quasi-unidirectional glass-fibre NCF composite laminates

In this study, crossply and quasi-isotropic quasi-unidirectional (quasi-UD) non-crimp fabric (NCF) glass/epoxy laminates were manufactured by using vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) and tested according to the ASTM bearing test standard D5961. The specimen geometry was kept constant in all specimens with the ratios of e/d = 3, w/d = 6 for d = 6 mm. Similar damage modes and damage propagation trends were observed between the classical unidirectional prepreg tapes and the current material system. Furthermore, the bolted joint strength of quasi-UD NCF glass/epoxy laminates was estimated by a three-dimensional (3-D) progressive damage model (PDM) to evaluate the capabilities of a widely used finite element (FE) program, ANSYS. The experimental data and predicted results were in a good agreement and the experimental failure modes were successfully predicted.