Sponsored by-

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
With participation by-
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

AM
I Paper
NO.73-348

A SYNTHESIS P R O C E D U R E F O R M E C H A N I C A L L Y F A S T E N E D
J O I N T S IN ADVANCED C O M P O S I T E M A T E R I A L S

by
J. P. WASZCZAK and T. A . C R U S E
Carnegie-Mellon University
P i t t s b u r g h , Pennsylvania

1
Conlerence
WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA / MARCH 20-22, 1973
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AlAA Library, 750 3rd Avenue, New York, New York 10017
 A SYNTHESIS PROCEDURE FOR MECHANICALLY
FASTENED JOINTS IN ADVAhCEO .COMPOSITE MATERIALS

J. P. Waszczak and T. A. Cruse

Department of Mechanical Engineering
v Carnegie-Me1 l o n U n i v e r s i t y
P i t t s b u r g h , Pennsylvania

Abstract

The purpose o f t h i s study i s t o p r o v i d e t h e

composites designer w i t h an automated p r e l i m i n a r y
design c a p a b i l i t y f o r w e i g h t minimized mechanically
fastened j o i n t s . Output from such an o p t i m i z a t i o n
procedure would prove useful i n p r o v i d i n g s e n s i t i v i -
t y i n f o r m a t i o n on the various design v a r i a b l e s .
Lamination t h e o r y and t h e mathematical t h e o r y of
a n i s o t r o p i c e l a s t i c i t y form t h e b a s i s of t h e syn-
t h e s i s program a n a l y s i s package. An o p t i m i z a t i o n
a l g o r i t h m based on t h e v a r i a b l e m e t r i c method i s
used t o solve the unconstrained m i n i m i z a t i o n problem
which i s formulated u s i n g an i n t e r i o r p e n a l t y func-
t i o n . L i n e a r v a r i a t i o n s i n b o t h j o i n t w i d t h and
i n d i v i d u a l p l y thicknesses along the l e n g t h o f t h e
j o i n t a r e p e r m i s s i b l e . The r e s u l t s of several
example p r o b l e m a r e presented and discussed i n an
attempt t o d i s c o v e r common c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of
minimum weight designs.

I. I n t r o d u c t i o n

The w e i g h t p e n a l t y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h b o l t e d F i g u r e 1. Schematic o f a T y p i c a l J o i n t Design Show-

j o i n t s i s a major o b s t a c l e i n o b t a i n i n g the poten-
t i a l s t r u c t u r a l weight savings a v a i l a b l e through
the use o f advanced f i b e r laminated composite mate-
r i a l s . The design o f an e f f i c i e n t b o l t e d j o i n t i n
w a composite m a t e r i a l i s much more complex than i t
i s i n a metal, f o r t h r e e major reasons: Laminated
composites e x h i b i t unique f a i l u r e modes n o t found i n
metals; the m a t e r i a l p r o p e r t i e s o f composites can
be allowed t o vary along the l e n g t h of t h e j o i n t ;
and the m a t e r i a l i s g e n e r a l l y q u a s i - b r i t t l e . The
p r i c e o f the a d d i t i o n a l f l e x i b i l i t y o f m a t e r i a l
t a i l o r a b i l i t y i s a s i g n i f i c a n t increase i n t h e num-
b e r o f p o s s i b l e design v a r i a b l e s , making hand de-
s i g n methods i m p r a c t i c l e , ifn o t impossible.
The purpose o f the c u r r e n t study i s t o p r o v i d e
t h e designer w i t h an e f f i c i e n t , automated p r e l i m i n -
a r y design c a p a b i l i t y which can account f o r t h e e f -
f e c t s o f m a t e r i a l a n i s o t r o p y on f a i l u r e modes and
l o a d d i s t r i b u t i o n s . A s y n t h e s i s procedure i s re-
p o r t e d which automates the a n a l v s i s - r e s i z i n a cvcle.
o l u t i o n based on the theory of
a n i s o t r o p i c e l a s t i c i t y f o r i n f i n i t e p l a t e s i s em-
ployed, u s i n g a n i s o t r o p i c c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r s t o ac-
count f o r the e f f e c t s of f i n i t e s i z e . Computer run
times u s i n g t h i s a n a l y s i s package a r e some 400 times
f a s t e r than f i n i t e element s o l u t i o n s o f comparable
accuracv. Since the a n a l v s i s Dackaoe i s c a l l e d
hundreds of t i w s i n a t G i C a 1 ' j O i n i s y n t h e s i i i t h e
a v a i l a b i l i t y o f such an e f f i c i e n t a n a l y s i s package
i s e s s e n t i a l t o t h i s work.
The s p e c i f i c goal o f the r e p o r t e d study i s t h e
design o f a b o l t e d j o i n t i n which l o a d i s t r a n s -
J f e r r e d from a composite main p l a t e t o double shear
metal s p l i c e p l a t e s by means of a s i n g l e column o f
fasteners. A t y p i c a l j o i n t i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e
1. The items o f i n t e r e s t i n c l u d e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f
i n g t h e Possible Design V a r i a b l e s
the most e f f i c i e n t combinations o f f a i l u r e modes,
the effects of various c o n s t r a i n t conbinations, t h e
i n f l u e n c e o f m a t e r i a l t a i l o r a b i l i t y and the s e l e c -
t i o n of i n i t i a l v a l i d designs. The l i m i t e d r e s u l t s
o f the c u r r e n t study c o n t a i n some s u r p r i s e s , a few
u n r e a l i s t i c designs, b u t a g r a t i f y i n g number o f
simple, i n t u i t i v e conclusions.
The c l a s s o f p o s s i b l e designs considered i s
r a t h e r broad i n t h a t independent l i n e a r v a r i a t i o n s
i n p l a t e w i d t h s and thicknesses are admissible. I t
i s assumed t h a t t h e b o l t s a c t as r i g i d p i n s which
f i t snugly i n t o the j o i n t . The number of b o l t s used
and the b o l t diameter a r e s p e c i f i e d b y the designer
Proposed main p l a t e designs a r e r e s t r i c t e d t o the
(0/+0/90) c l a s s o f laminates. The j o i n t s t r e s s
analyses a r e p e r f o m d assuning t h a t the laminate
i s mid-plane symmetric and t h a t i t can be m d e l e d
as an a n i s o t r o p i c u t homogeneous m a t e r i a l u s i n g
l a m i n a t i o n theory 1) . Main p l a t e s t r e n g t h analyses
are performed based on a maximum s t r e s s f a i l u r e
c r i t e r i o n , although a m r e complex f a i l u r e c r i t e r i -
on c o u l d be used a t l i t t l e a d d i t i o n a l expense. Main
p l a t e f a i l u r e s are p r e d i c t e d on a p l y - b y - p l y b a s i s
w i t h f i r s t f a i l u r e a t any b o l t l o c a t i o n governing
the s t r e n g t h o f the main p l a t e a t t h a t l o c a t i o n .
Standard t chniques i n v o l v i n g nominal s t r e n g t h a l -
P
lowables(2 a r e used t o p r e d i c t f a i l u r e s i n t h e b o l t
and metal s p l i c e p l a t e s .
11. S o l u t i o n Technique
General Oescri p t i o n
A d e t a i l e d f l o w diagram of t h e s y n t h e s i s p r u -
cedure i s shown i n Figure 2. Given an i n i t i a l de-
s i g n , a design u l t i m a t e load, PULT. and t h e re-
maining require.d i n p u t data, a complete s t r e s s
a n a l y s i s of the i n i t i a l j o i n t design i s performed.

1
-3-348
 J o i n t S t r e s s Analysis
A modeling procedure i n which the j o i n t is
t r e a t e d as a series of s i n g l e f a s t e n e r coupons is
i l l u s t r a t e d i n Figure 3. The cross sectional
properties and dimensions of t h e i t h coupon a r e
assumed uniform and equal to those of t h e j o i n t a t
the i t h cut-out, cross section A-A i n Figure 3.

Bolt Number 1 2 A: N

0 0 0 0 0
Objective
Function
Eroluolion
Pockope
(OFEPI IST
Coupon1
+x

NTn
Coupon I
7,
Coupon PSi

y,
1,
Opf,m,z.lio"

1--1+1
0, - 0.20 ,
Figure 2. Flow Diagram f o r the Synthesis Procedure
Various f a i l u r e c r i t e r i a are checked f o r possible
f a i l u r e s a t each hole along the j o i n t . I f i t is
found t h a t the proposed i n i t i a l design cannot carry
the design ultimate load a new i n i t i a l design must
be proposed by the user which can s a t i s f y the Con-
rtraints.
The constrained minimization problem i s then
converted t o a n unconstrained minimization problem
via an i n t e r i o r penalty function and solved using
an unconstrained minimization algorithm* based on
the variable metric twthod.** The design problem
being considered has a t o t a l of sixteen possible de-
sign variables and approximately ten design con-
s t r a i n t s which must be s a t i s f i e d a t each fastener
location.
*The authors wish t o thank the Composites Group of
General Dynamics, Fort Worth f o r the algorithm
used in t i s study.
'r'
**See Fox(3 f o r a discussion of the method.
2
F i g u r e 3. Modeling Procedure f o r Joints
In the b o l t load d i s t r i b u t i o n analysis t h e various
b o l t loads a r e defined e x p l i c i t l y in t e r n s of the
variable laminate properties. A s e t of N equations
i n t e r n of t e N unknown b o l t loads is used which
!
was derived(4 by equating t h e t o t a l elongations o f
the composite main p l a t e a n d metal s p l i c e p l a t e s be-
tween pairs of adjacent f a s t e n e r s .
A s t r e s s analysis of each of the N coupons is
then performed. The problem of an i n f i n i t e aniso-
t r o p i c p l a t e containing a c i r c u l a r cut-out, having
the same material P r o o w t i e s as the i t h cowon. i s
loaded a s shown i n ' Figure 4. The b o l t load', Pii,
is
represented by a cosine d i s t r i b u t i o n of normal
stress, q i , acting over t h e f r o n t half of the hole
surface; the netload of t h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n i n t h e
x direction being equal t o Psi. The i n t f q ction that is
assumed f r i c t i o n l e s s . I t has been shown
such a d i s t r i b u t i o n can be used t o adequately
representt h e bolt-specimen i n t e r a c t i o n . The s k i n
stress,,,si = pSi/St, i s used to representt h e load-
i n g from preceding b o l t s .
Solutions to both of these proble r e based
on the theory of anisotropic e l a s t i c i t 3 5 ? . The
s e r i e s solution t o t e loaded hole problem, Figure
4b, is presented i n ?6); the s o l u t i o n t o the prob-
lem o f f p l a t e under tension, Figure 4c, i s present-
ed in ( ) , The i n f i n i t e p l a t e solutions a r e both
corrected f o r the e f f e c t s of f i n i t e specimen s i z e
using anisotropic correction factors p r i o r t o t h e i r
s u p e r p o s i t i y . The correction f a c t o n have been
developed 7 f o r a wide range of possible laminate
constructions and coupon geometri s via t h e
boundary-integral equation methodP8). These aniso-
t r o p i c correction f a c t o r s a r e f s i m i l a r u t i l i t y as
a r e those reported by Peterson?g) f o r i s o t r o p i c
materials. The time required f o r a complete
boundary solution f o r a s i n g l e coupon using this
method on a UNIVAC 1108 i s l e s s than a tenth of a
 .+

%
and f a i l u r e o f t h e m e t a l l i c s p l i c e p l a t e s i n n e t
t e n s i o n , shear-out and b e a r i n g Comparisons of
nominal s t r e s s e s t o a l l o w a b l e s l 2 ) a r e used.
The s y n t h e s i s procedure has two i m p o r t a n t fea-
W t u r e s . It has t h e a b i l i t y t o recover i n t h e event
uti t h e design a c c i d e n t a l l y steps o u t o f t h e f e a s i b l e
design r e g i o n d u r i n g a l i n e a r m i n i m i z a t i o n . I n such
a case t h e program merely reverses i t s d i r e c t i o n o f
t r a v e l and moves back toward t h e l a s t f e a s i b l e design.
Secondly, the procedure uses a m t h o d o f converging
( 0 ) Problem o f Interest t h e s t r e s s a n a l y s i s s e r i e s s o l u t i o n as t h e o p t i m i z a -
t i o n a l g o r i t h m converges t o a l o c a l optimum. T h i s
feature s i g n i f i c a n t l y improves computer r u n times,
w i t h mre expensive analyses p e r f o m d o n l y as t h e
f i n a l design ' i s approached.

' ~ u s ~ ~ M i n i m i z a~t i o n A l q o r i t h u
m s i

( b ) Bolt Load Only ( c ) Tension Loading Only
F i g u r e 4. Method o f S u p e r p o s i t i o n f o r t h e I n f i n i t e
Plate Solution
second as compared to n e a r l y f o r t y seconds u s i n g
the f i n i t e e l e m n t m t h o d .
The c o n s t r a i n t equations which must be s a t i s -
f i e d ift h e j o i n t i s t o c a r r y the design u l t i m a t e
o d are based on the f a i l u r e c r i t e r i o n proposed i n
148. The c r i t e r i o n i s b a s i c a l l y a maximum s t r e s s
c r i t e r i o n a p p l i e d a t v a r i o u s p o i n t s along t h e c i r c u -
l a r boundary (See F i g u r e 5 ) . Checks f o r f i b e r f a i l -
ures are made i n t h e v a r i o u s p l i e s a t p o i n t s where
f i b e r s a r e tangent t o the c i r c u l a r cut-outs;
checks f o r m a t r i x f a i l u r e s are made a t p o i n t s where
f i b e r s are p e r p e n d i c u l a r t o t h e cut-outs. The
c r i t e r i o n has been shown capable o f c o n s e r v a t i v e l y
p r e d i c t i n g f a ' l re modes e x h i b i t e d by b o l t e d j o i n t s
i n composites 4 1 Y.
Fiber Failure
Matrix
The f u n c t i o n t o be minimized i s W , t h e t o t a l
w e i g h t o f a mechanically fastened j o i n t . I f WH i s
t h e w e i g h t o f t h e composite main p l a t e , Ws t h e t o t a l
w e i a h t o f t h e t w o. w..-
t a l s o l i c e D l a t e s and W. D t h e
t o t i 1 w e i g h t o f a l l the b o l t s , t h e n
w = wM +WS+WB (1 1
The method used f o r t h e m i n i m i z a t i o n of t h e
n o n - l i n e a r o b j e c t i v e f u n c t i o n i s an u n c o n s t r a i n e d
m i n i m i z a t i o n a l g o i t m based on t h e v a r i a b l e m t r i c
T !
m t h o d o f Davidon 10 as m d i f i e d by F l e t c h e r and
Powell(11). I n t h i s method c o n s t r a i n t equations a r e
colrbined w i t h the t o t a l j o i n t weight, W , u s i n g an
i n t e r i o r p e n a l t y f u n c t i o n t o c r e a t e an u n c o n s t r a i n e d
problem. The new o b j e c t i v e function, F, i s g i v e n b y
where DF, r e f e r r e d t o here as t h e draw-down f a c t o r ,
i s a p o s i t i v e c o n s t a n t which c o n t r o l s t h e magnitude
o f the p e n a l t y assigned t o F. The draw-down f a c t o r
w i l l be made s u c c e s s i v e l y s m a l l e r d u r i n g t h e o p t i m i -
z a t i o n such t h a t t h e c o n s t r a i n e d minimum o f W i s
approached.
The c o n s t r a i n t e q u a t i o n s , C ( I ) , a r e mathemati-
cal representations of the j o i n t f a i l u r e c r i t e r i o n ,
and a r e w r i t t e n such t h a t 0 < C(1) 5 1 i f t h e I t h
c o n s t r a i n t i s s a t i s f i e d . As an example suppose t h a t
t h e I t h c o n s t r a i n t checks f o r f i b e r t e n s i o n f a i l u r e s
a t som s p e c i f i e d l o c a t i o n . Then

0 Plies
' C(I) = 1.0 - ol/alUt (3)

where a 1 i s the magnitude of t h e e x i s t i n g f i b e r ten-

s i o n s t r e s s and alut i s t h e f i b e r ' s u l t i m a t e t e n s i o n
stress.

Note t h a t t h e o b j e c t i v e f u n c t i o n , F, i s d e f i n e d
i n t e r n of t h e c o n s t r a i n t equations such t h a t l a r g e
p e n a l t i e s are imposed as designs a r e s e l e c t e d which
t r y t o f o r c e the c o n s t r a i n t equations t o zero; i n
t h e case o f ( 3 ) . C(1) + 0 as a1 + slut or as f i b e r
+ a Piier -=Plies f a i l u r e becoms imninent. As noted, the a c t u a l mag-
n i t u d e of t h e p e n a l t y depends on t h e value which we
assign t o the draw-down f a c t o r .
Figure 5 . P o i n t s o f A p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e Main P l a t e
Failure Criterion Methods which u t i l i z e i n t e r i o r p e n a l t y f u n c t i o n s
W have one i n h e r e n t l i m i t a t i o n . The i n i t i a l design
There a r e four a d d i t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t equations s p e c i f i e d by t h e designer mubt s a t i s f y a l l t h e de-
which must be s a t i s f i e d f o r each coupon. They a r e s i g n c o n s t r a i n t s . I f t h e i n i t i a l design v i o l a t e s
used t o i n s u r e a a a i n s t f a i l u r e of the b o l t i n shear the I t h c o n s t r a i n t , then C ( I ) < 0, and t h e a l g o r i t h m ,
i

3
73-348
ifp e t m i t t e u t o operate according t o (21, would
a t t e r r p t t o minimize F b y d r i v i n g F + --, A proposed
method f o r a l l e v i a t i n g t h i s problem i s discussed
later.
The method can b e s t be i l l u s t r a t e d by consider-
i n g a design which i s a f u n c t i o n o f o n l y two v a r i a -
b l e s (e.g., the wei h t of a r i g h t c i r c u l a r c y l i n d e r
9
i s g i v e n by W = DTR L), s u b j e c t t o two design con-
s t r a i n t s , which could, f o r example, represent
s t a b i l i t y o r s t r e n g t h c r i t e r i a . Figure 6a i l l u s -
t r a t e s a nurrber o f p o s s i b l e constant w e i g h t contours
and t h e two design c o n s t r a i n t s . The minimum w e i g h t
design s u b j e c t to no c o n s t r a i n t s i s l o c a t e d a t t h e
o r i g i n . The minimum w e i g h t design s u b j e c t t o t h e
imposed c o n s t r a i n t s i s a t M. The t a s k i s t o
s y s t e m a t i c a l l y move through t h e f e a s i b l e r e g i o n from
an i n i t i a l f e a s i b l e design, I D , t o M. f o r an
i n i t i a l value of DF, contours o f F as defined b y
(2) a r e i l l u s t r a t e d i n F i g u r e 6b. A convenient way
of d e f i n i n g t h e i n i t i a l value o f OF, which works
w e l l f o r a v a r i e t y o f d i f f e r e n t problems, i s
M r
(4)
where W and C(1) a r e e v a l u a t e d f o r the i n i t i a l
design.
F i g u r e 6. V a r i a t i o n s i n Objective Function Contours
D u r i n g tne O p t i m i z a t i o n
The minimum of F f o r the i n i t i a l value o f kF
i s PI. The rove f r o m ID t o P, i s made by a s e r i e s
of l i n e a r m i n i m i z a t i o n s as o u t l i n e d i n t h e f l a v
diagram, Figure 2. Once the process has converged
t o PI, the value of OF i s reduced by sow s p e c i f i e d
amount ( i n the p r e s e n t study by 80%) and t h e process
i s repeated. A t the conclusion o f a p r e s p e c i f i e d
number of i t e r a t i o n s , Imax, PImax + M as shown i n
F i g u r e 6c.
The d i r e c t i o n along which a g i v e n l i n e a r
m i n i m i z a t i o n i s p e r f o r w d i s given by
4
5 . - a[H] v F (5)
where V F i s the l o c a l g r a d i e n t of F and [H]
i s an approximation of t h e l o c a l m a t r i x o f second
d e r i v a t i v e s of F. The l i n e a r m i n i m i z a t i o n seeks
t h a t value of a, c a l l e d a', which r e s u l t s i n a
minimum value o f F a l o n g t h e v e c t o r d i r e c t i o n 5 .
For an i n i t i a l approximation t o [H] t h e i d e n t i t y
m a t r i x , [ I ] , i s used. The approximation t o [H] i s
updated a f t e r the convergence o f each l i n e a r
m i n i m i z a t i o n using t h e c u r r e n t approximation and
g r a d i e n t i n f o r m a t i o n a t b o t h the new and o l d de-
signs. A d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h i s e n t i r e
method and a proof t h a t t h e method does r e s u l t i
convergence t o a l o c a l minimum a r e presented i n 1 3 )
I n i t i a l Designs
For a g i v e n design u l t i m a t e load, Pu T, and a
s p e c i f i e d nunber of geometric c o n s t r a i n & , t h e
designer may f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t and a t times impos-
s i b l e t o propose an i n i t i a l design which i s i n t h e
f e a s i b l e region. Work i s p r e s e n t l y underway t o
p r o v i d e t h e s y n t h e s i s procedure w i t h t h e c a p a b i l i t y
o f a c c e p t i n g i n i t i a l designs which cannot c a r r y t h e
design u l t i m a t e load.
A method s i m i l a r t o t h a t discussed i n (12) i s
b e i n g considered. Assume t h a t t h e proposed deslgn
can c a r r y some a p p l i e d load, P, which i s l e s s than
P U as~ i m ~ p l i e d by t h e r e l a t i o n
P 5 ( l - ~ ) PULT , 0 < a s 1 (6)
By r e d e f i n i n g t h e o b j e c t i v e f u n c t i o n as
NC
F = W t DF l / C ( I ) + WF;\ (7)
I=J
and t r e a t i n g as an a d d i t i o n a l design v a r i a b l e , t h e
program w i l l attempt t o d r i v e h + 0, t o minimize F,
assuming a s u f f i c i e n t l y l a r g e w e i g h t i n g f u n c t i o n ,
WF, IS s e l e c t e d . Ift h e imposed design c o n s t r a i n t s
p r o h i b i t a l l the f e a s i b l e designs from c a r r y i n g t h e
design u l t i m a t e load, an optimum design f o r the
l a r g e s t p o s s i b l e a p p l i e d l o a d would be obtained.
111. Numerical Results and Observations
The r e s u l t s o f a s e r i e s of example problems a r e
sumnarized i n Table 1. I n a l l cases t h e main p l a t e
m a t e r i a l system i s g r a p h i t e epoxy, t h e s p l i c e p l a t e
m a t e r i a l i s 6A1-4V t i t a n i u m and t h e b o l t s a r e made
o f s t e e l , having an e f f e c t i v e shear s t r e n g t h of
130,000 p s i . The d e s i r e d design u l t i m a t e l o a d i n
a l l cases i s 18,700 pounds.
The proposed i n i t i a l design i s l i s t e d as
problem 1 i n the t a b l e . The e n t i r e l e n g t h o f t h e
main p l a t e i s a O J t 4 5 laminate. The main p l a t e
and s p l i c e p l a t e s a r e o f the same c o n s t a n t w i d t h
and they a r e b o t h of constant thickness. The
programs' a n a l y s i s package was used t o analyze t h e
proposed i n i t i a l design. Although the p r e d i c t e d
f a i l u r e l o a d o f t h e design i s o n l y 20% g r e a t e r than
the d e s i r e d design u l t i m a t e load, t h e design i s a
poor one. No attempt was made t o t a p e r the j o i n t ,
minimize i t s w i d t h o r decrease i t s l e n g t h t o i n -
crease i t s e f f i c i e n c y . The measure o f j o i n t e f -
f i c i e n c y used here i s l o a d c a r r i e d p e r pound o f
j o i n t m a t e r i a l . The i n i t i a l design i s c r i t i c a l i n
a s p l i t t i n g rode ahead o f t h e t h i r d b o l t .
73-348
 Table 1. Summary o f A n a l y t i c a l R e s u l t s

OESCRlPTlOll DOLT LAMIIIATION OCLT LOAO FAILURE COMP0:IENT PREDICTED LOAO(LBF)

v
PRO8 PREASSIGXO VARIABLES LISTEO ROW Z 0' PLIES nIS~RIBUTIO!I :IODES WEIGIITS FAILURE LOAO VE~~HI(LBF!
put1 U:.,*Ws .W8.W

A : l N Y S I S OF PROPOSE0 1 50 50
0.672
I I ! I I T I A L 0ESIG:l (IO) 2 50 0 9,mo
3 50 51 !4P-Sp 2.387
USES 1 AS ID. 1 67 12 HP-T 0.098
ALPHA=4S.T (O)=T o(L)=O 2 47 9 0.09 18.900 82,000
:io IIP-SP C88PATlO?LlTY R E Q ' T 3 ?6

U S l S I AS IO, 1 43 16 0.104
2 45 6 0.058 75,000
3 ALPllA=45,Tg0(0)~T90(L)=0 , 42 0.088 18.700
0.250
USES 1 AS 10, 1 40
ALPllA=05,Tg (O)=T (L)=O 2 30 IS
noti SHEAR OTRE;IG?~~ i 50% 3 36 ".lZ7 18,700 67,000

-
5 USES 1 AS 10,(O)=T90(L)=O
ALPHA=45.T
I10 TAPER I?I~PLATEI.IIOTHS
I
2
53
49
45
23
3
74
MP T
{;;:;,Sp E:;:
0.269
20,390 34,500
0.585

0.182
1 57 11 0.101
6 IO. O/i45/90 QI 2 52 7 0.119
18,900 47,000
3 45 82 SP-T 0.402
0.159
USES 1 AS IO,
I 40 10 0.095
2 41 4 19,300 55,500
Tgo(o)=Tgo(L)=O MP-T.Sp 0.093
3 42

I 34 19 0.212
2 30 3 0.115 23,100 53,500
L 3 25 78 L{:-;sH 0.104
0.432

MP Main p l a t e ID I n i t i a l desian
SP Splice plate Quasi-isotropic
T Tension Weight o f main p l a t e
B Bearing T o t a l weight o f s p l i c e p l a t e s
SO Shear-out T o t a l weight o f b o l t s
Splitting T o t a l weight o f j o i n t
Shear

Using problem 1 as an i n i t i a l design, f o u r

problems (problem 2 through problem 5 ) were r u n t o
i n v e s t i g a t e the e f f e c t s o f various design c o n s t r a i n t
combinations on j o i n t e f f i c i e n c y . As a d d i t i o n a l
c o n s t r a i n t s a r e imposed ( i . e . , moving from problem
2 t o problem 5 ) the e f f i c i e n c y of the i n d i v i d u a l
minimum weight designs decreases d r a s t i c a l l y . A
Main Plole
d i r e c t comparison of the various minimum design
weights i s n o t r e a l l y p o s s i b l e s i n c e a l l the designs
d i d n o t converge according t o the sow convergence
c r i t e r i o n . Several runs terminated prematurely due 4 I 1
t o problems w i t h n o t b e i n g able t o recover i n t o the
f e a s i b l e region; o t h e r s converged very s l o w l y and
were terminated a f t e r completing a p r e s p e c i f i e d
nunber o f c y c l e s through t h e o p t i m i z a t i o n loop.

I n problem 2 an u n r e a l i s t i c design, as f a r as
usefulness i s concerned, was achieved and i s i 1 -
l u s t r a t e d i n Figure 7. The synthesis procedure
b u i l t up the main p l a t e t h i c k n e s s a t t h e end t o
enable the t h i r d b o l t t o c a r r y 79% of the design F i g u r e 7. An Example o f an U n r e a l i s t i c
( I n c o m p a t i b l e ) Design
5
;d - 34 8
 u l t i m a t e l o a d i n bearing. The l o c a l l a m i n a t e con-
s i s t s o f n e a r l y t w o - t h i r d s ?45O p l i e s t o p r e v e n t a
- m a t r i x f a i l u r e i n the 0' p l i e s ahead o f the b o l t .
The remainder o f j o i n t acts as a t e n s i o n couvon.
c a r r y i n g the load-back i n t o the composite s t r u c t u r e .
Since t h e b e a r i n g loads on b o l t s 1 and 2 are s m a l l ,
a l a m i n a t e c o n s i s t i n g o f t w o - t h i r d s 0" p l i e s i s
used to c a r r y t h e l o a d e f f i c i e n t l y around the c u t -
outs.
The problem w i t h t h i s very e f f i c i e n t design i s
t h a t the main p l a t e and s p l i c e p l a t e s are p h y s i c a l l y
i n c o m p a t i b l e . Bending the s p l i c e p l a t e s t o f i t t h e
r a i n p l a t e would induce undesirable bending e f f e c t s .
As a r e s u l t an a d d i t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t was imposed
which r e q u i r e s geometric c o m p a t i b i l i t y between the
p l a t e s ; the thickness o f the main p l a t e a x = L
was forced t o be l e s s than t h a t a t x. = 0. Problem 3
represents a r e r u n o f problem 2 s u b j e c t t o t h i s
a d d i t i o n a l c o m p a t i b i l i t y requirement. The new
minimum weight design has a n e a r l y constant t h i c k -
ness main p l a t e . The w e i g h t p e n a l t y and the re-
s u l t i n g l o s s i n e f f i c i e n c y due t o the a d d i t i o n a l
c o n s t r a i n t , however, are small. As a r e s u l t t h i s
c o m p a t i b i l i t y c o n s t r a i n t was i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t h e
s y n t h e s i s program f o r a l l f u t u r e analyses.
I n problem 4 the b o l t shear s t r e n g t h has been
reduced by 50% This w i l l l i m i t the l o a d which t h e
t h i r d b o l t can c a r r y s i n c e the t h i r d b o l t was n e a r l y
c r i t i c a l i n shear i n problems 2 and 3. The b o l t
l o a d d i s t r i b u t i o n i s much rmre uniform as expected.
Again a small o v e r a l l w e i g h t p e n a l t y i s p a i d as a
r e s u l t o f the a d d i t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t . I t i s i n t e r e s t -
i n g t o note t h a t w h i l e the o v e r a l l j o i n t e f f i c i e n c y
decreased, the main p l a t e e f f i c i e n c y i n c r e a s e d f o r
t h i s design.
L data a l s o tends t o f a v o r the use o f i45O p l i e s as
I n problem 5 an a d d i t i o n a l c o n s t r a i n t was i m -
9osed t h a t the main p l a t e and s p l i c e p l a t e w i d t h s
q u l d n o t t a p e r and t h a t they had t o remain equal t o
one another, although j o i n t w i d t h was a v a r i a b l e .
This c o n s t r a i n t i s a very severe one, i n t h a t the
j o i n t e f f i c i e n c y was n e a r l y c u t i n h a l f .
The l a s t t h r e e p r o b l e m focus on t h e e f f e c t s of
m a t e r i a l t a i l o r a b i l i t y . I n problem 6 a O/i45/90
q u a s i - i s o t m p i c laminate was used as an i n i t i a l
design. D u r i n g t h e o p t i m i z a t i o n t h e 90' p l i e s were
completely e l i m i n a t e d , f i r s t a t x = 0 then a t x = L.
The minimum weight design s h o u l d have converged t o
t h e same design as d i d problem 3 , b u t i t d i d n o t .
As can be seen by the p r e d i c t e d f a i l u r e load, the
problem d i d n o t r e a l l y converge.
I n p r o b l e m 7 and 8 t h e value o f a was a l s o
p e r m i t t e d t o vary. I n n e i t h e r case was t h e program
a b l e t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y change t h e value o f a. I n
problem 7, n increased f r o m 45.0' t o 45.1" w h i l e i n
problem 8 i t increased fmm 35.0' t o 36.8'. I n both
cases 2F/30 was much s m a l l e r than the p a r t i a l s w i t h
r e s p e c t t o the o t h e r f i f t e e n v a r i a b l e s . The program,
as a r e s u l t , was b i a s e d t w a r d changing the o t h e r
v a r i a b l e s and d i d very l i t t l e t o a. One apparent
d i f f e r e n c e between t h e two p r o b l e m d i d e x i s t , how-
ever. The value of ;F/3o f o r - o i 45 f l u c t u a t e d
about zero w h i l e aF/ao f o r o = 35 was always n e g a t i v e .
A n e g a t i v e value o f ;F/;o i n d i c a t e s t h a t F c o u l d be
reduced by i n c r e a s i n g the value o f a. The r e s u l t s ,
therefore, t e n d t o i n d i c a t e t h a t a = 45 i s n o t o n l y
v P e r f e r r e d t o 3 = 35, b u t t h a t CI = 45 i s c l o s e t o an
optimum value. The e f f i c i e n c i e s of problems 7 and 8
a r e n e a r l y equal, although b o t h runs converged very
slowly.
6
D i f f i c u r t i e s with convergence seem t o o c c u r f f
designs g e t t o o c l o s e t o c o n s t r a i n t surfaces e a r l y
i n t h e o p t i m i z a t i o n r o u t i n e . Two p o s s i b l e causes
f o r t h i s d i f f i c u l t y may be given: E i t h e r D F was
reduced t o o q u i c k l y o r forward d i f f e r e n c e a p p r o x i -
mations t o the g r a d i e n t when designs a r e near a
c o n s t r a i n t . s u r f a c e a r e too i n a c c u r a t e . Both
p o s s i b i 1it i e s a r e p r e s e n t l y b e i n g i n v e s t i g a t e d .
IV. Conclusions
The l i m i t e d r e s u l t s o f t h e r e p o r t e d . s t u d y show
t h a t j o i n t e f f i c i e n c i e s dec.rease s i g n i f i c a n t l y as
designs become more h i g h l y constrained. A comnon
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of e f f i c i e n t b o l t e d j o i n t designs,
f o r a v a r i e t y of d i f f e r e n t c o n s t r a i n t combinations:
i s e x h i b i t e d , and i n v o l v e s a s p e c i f i c f a i l u r e mode
combination. The main p l a t e and s p l i c e p l a t e s are
c r i t i c a l i n n e t t e n s i o n a t most f a s t e n e r l o c a t i o n s
w h i l e t h e main p l a t e i s c r i t i c a l i n s p l i t t i n g a t
t h e o u t e m s t fastener. The s p l i c e p l a t e e x h i b i t s
e i t h e r b e a r i n g o r shear o u t a t t h e outermost
fastener. A r e l a t e d r e s u l t i s t h a t uniform b o l t
l o a d d i s t r i b u t i o n s i n metal-to-composite j o i n t s a r e
n o t necessary t o induce such f a i l u r e mode conbina-
tions.
Several i n t e r e s t i n g observations were made
concerning the e f f e c t o f m a t e r i a l t a i l o r a b i l i t y on
j o i n t efficiency. When a q u a s i - i s o t r o p i c , 0/?45/90,
laminate was used as on i n i t i a l design, the
o p t i m i z a t i o n r o u t i n e q u i c k l y e l i m i n a t e d t h e 90' p l i e s
throughout t h e j o i n t . The advantages of u s i n g 90-
p l i e s t o p r e v e n t s p l i t t i n g f a i l u r e s of t h e 0 ' plies
ahead o f t h e b o l t s i s f a r outweighed by t h e problem
o f p r e v e n t i n g m a t r i x f a i l u r e s o f the 90" p l i e s them-
selves. Hence t h e y a r e e l i m i n a t e d . The l i m i t e d
t h e most e f f i c i e n t cross p l y angles, ta, f o r t h e
l a m i n a t e c l a s s considered, O/ta/90.
Several problems i n v o l v i n g the convergence
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e program have been encountered
and a r e p r e s e n t l y b e i n g i n v e s t i g a t e d . I t i s c l e a r
t h a t t h e s y n t h e s i s procedure can serve as a v a l u a b l e
p r e l i m i n a r y design t o o l , i n t h a t t h e complex a n a l y s i s -
r e s i z i n g c y c l e has been e f f i c i e n t l y automated, w i t h -
about two t o f o u r minutes of computer t i m e r e q u i r e d
(on the UNIVAC 1108) f o r a complete s y n t h e s i s .
I n summary t h e r e s u l t s answer some v e r y b a s i c
questions. A combination of f a i l u r e modes has been
i d e n t i f i e d which i s comnwn t o a l l t h e minimum w e i g h t
designs achieved i n t h i s l i m i t e d study. The f a i l u r e
p a t t e r n i s independent o f c o n s t r a i n t combinations
although s i g n i f i c a n t w e i g h t p e n a l t i e s a r e p a i d as
designs a r e ,more h i g h l y constrained. The e f f e c t s o f
m a t e r i a l t a i l o r a b i l i t y a r e somewhat s u r p r i s i n g . The '
r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t a O/t45 l a m i n a t e i s p r e f e r r e d
over a l l p o s s i b l e laminates of the O/ia/90 c l a s s .
P r o b l e m i n v o l v i n g t h e s e l e c t i o n o f i n i t i a l designs
and program convergence have been noted.
V. Acknowledgments
The authors a r e pleased t o acknowledge t h e j o i n t
support o f t h i s work by t h e U n i t e d States A i r Force,
under Air Force C o n t r a c t F33615-72-C-1214, and the
Composites Group of the Convair Aerospace D i v i s i o n
o f General Dynamics Corporation, F o r t Worth.
73-348
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