Abstract

In this study, failure behavior of single lap composite plate fixed by means of both rivets and adhesive bonding was investigated using three-point bending test. Rivet connections were made on specimens at different geometrical intervals. Force-displacement graph were drawn. The composites used were made of glass epoxy materials with four plies and 0° layer angle. An FM73 film layered binder was used for binding process, whereas riveting was done with a 5 mm diameter dome shaped rivets. The bending test model was performed using Abaqus 6.9.1, finite element analysis software. After the three-point bending tests, the failure behavior obtained experimentally was compared with that obtained with numerical analysis. The failure behavior obtained experimentally was compared with that obtained with numerical analysis. In addition, two different failure criteria (Tsai-Wu and Tsai-Hill) were used for the composite test specimens and the failures that occurred in each layer were determined.

Key words: Glass-epoxy material, rivet connection, three-point bending test, rivet geometry.