Numerical Evaluation of Pin-Bearing Strength for the Design of Bolted Connections of Pultruded FRP Material

Abstract

This paper presents finite-element predictions for the strength of a pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) material subjected to pin-bearing loading with hole clearance. One of the distinct modes of failure in steel bolted connections is bearing. It is caused by the compression action from the shaft pressing into the laminate, and when there is no lateral restraint the mechanism observed at maximum load shows brooming for delamination failure. Each lamina in the glass fiber polyester matrix material is modeled as a homogeneous, anisotropic continuum and a relatively very thin resin layer is assumed to contain any delamination cracking between stacked layers. A cohesive zone model is implemented to predict the size and location of the initial delamination, as well as the load-carrying capacity in a pin-bearing specimen. Finite-element simulations (as virtual tests) are performed at the mesoscale level to validate the modeling methodology against experimental strength test results with delamination failure, and to show how pin-bearing strength varies with parameter changes. For an example of the knowledge to be gained for the design of bolted connections, the parameteric study in which the mat reinforcement is either continuous strand or triaxial (+45°/90°/−45°/chopped strand) shows the latter does not provide an increase in pin-bearing strength.