Composites joints reinforced by composite rivets

This paper presents an investigation into the mechanical behaviour of composite joints reinforced by using a novel composite rivet made of rolled laminates. Two typical joints have been modelled using three-dimensional solid finite element model in the study. The first type is a composites single lap joint bonded and reinforced by a composite rivet compared with the joint reinforced by a titanium bolt subjected to tensile load. The results are also compared with an adhesive bonded joint as reference. The second type of joint model is a wing box section with skin-rib joint reinforced by composite rivet subjected to a pulling load. A range of adhesive damage was modelled up to 50% (undamaged WBDM, WBDM I 16%, WBDM II 33% and WBDM III 50% respectively) of the bonding area. The results show that the rivets located in the regions where the adhesive bonding failed will carry higher stress and make more contribution to the structure integrity. Although the titanium rivets provide better mechanical performance to carry more load, composite rivets offer an alternative adequate reinforcement to delay the bonding failure and safeguard the structure.