Mechanical properties of fibre-metal composites connected by means of bolt joints

The fibre-metal laminates made of a steel plate and fibreglass laminate plate were tested in the special laboratory stands. Epoxy resin and polyester resin were used as matrix to fabricate the composites. The fibre-metal laminates combine advantages of metals and laminates. These materials have very good force versus displacement characteristics and overall mechanical properties. They are very popular and widely applied in technical systems. They can be put to use in connecting materials made of various fabrics, connecting high number layer laminates and most of all connecting metals and laminates. In this paper there are the results of testing fibrous composite materials connected in bolt joints presented. Composite materials reinforced with fiberglass, carbon and aramid fibers are considered. The impact of number of applied bolts in a joint on strength properties was investigated. The connections by means of eight or sixteen bolts were compared. A major problem of modelling the composites is assuming physical and material parameters of the analyzed elements.