The Effect of Pin Load Distribution

on the Strength of Pin Loaded

Holes in Laminated Composites

FU-KUO CHANG*
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287
(Received Apnl 2. 1985)
(Revised June 6, 1985)

ABSTRACT
An analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of the assumed pin load distribution
on the calculated strength and predicted failure mode of pin loaded holes in laminated

composites. The calculations utilized a finite element method of stress analysis combined
with the Yamada-Sun failure criterion applied along the Chang-Scott-Springer char-
acteristic curve. Strengths and failure modes were calculated for both a cosine load distri-
bution and a load distribution determined by an iterative procedure. The strengths and
failure modes calculated by the two types of load distributions agreed closely.

1. INTRODUCTION
ALCULATION OF THE STRENGTH AND FAILURE MODE OF A COMPOSITE LAM-
C inate containing a pin loaded hole requires knowledge of the load distribu-
tion inside the surface of the hole. Frequently, a cosine load distribution is
assumed since such a load distribution greatly simplifies the calculations [1-6].
The stresses inside the laminate calculated by a cosine load distribution may dif-
fer significantly from those which actually arise in the material. As a result, those
failure criteria which require an accurate knowledge of the stress distributions
near the surface of the hole, will predict the failure load inaccurately when used
in conjunction with the cosine load distribution.
The cosine load distribution may still be a convenient and accurate assumption
in predicting the strength and failure mode if the failure criterion does not rely
on the stresses near the hole surface but on the stresses in some region inside
the material away from the hole. We demonstrate in this paper that by using an
appropriate failure criterion the cosine load distribution is an adequate approx-
imation for calculating the failure load and failure mode of pin loaded laminates.

*Currently, Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
94305

Journal of COMPOSITE MATERIALS, Vol. 20-July 1986 401

0021-9983/86/04 0401-08 $4 50/0
@ 1986 Technomic Publishing Co , Inc
402

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Consider a plate (length L, width W, and thickness H) made of N fiber-
reinforced unidirectional plies. The ply orientation is arbitrary, but must be sym-
metric with respect to the x, = 0 plane. Perfect bonding between each ply is
assumed.
A single hole of diameter D is located along the centerline of the laminate. A
rigid pin, supported outside the laminate, is inserted into the hole. A uniform ten-
sile load is applied to the lower edge of the laminate (see Figure 1).
Using either the cosine load distribution or the actual load distribution deter-
mined by an iterative procedure, it is desired to find the strength of the laminate
and the failure mode.

3. ANALYSIS

Stress Analysis
The stress distribution in the laminate can be calculated by using the finite ele-
ment procedure described in References [1-4]. Details of the procedure are given
in [1-4], and are not repeated here. It is noted, however, that in order to perform
the calculations, either the load distribution or the displacements on the inside
boundary of the hole (pin-hole contact area) must be known. When a cosine load
distribution is used, the load is taken to vary according to the relationship

Figure 1. Geometry of the problem.

 403

Figure 2. Illustration of the reversal of the normal contact stresses when the assumed con-
tact angle 80 is greater than the actual contact angle 8e (left). No stress reversal occurs for
the actual contact angle 0. (right).

where P is the applied load and T, is the load distribution (surface traction). D
and H are the diameter of the hole and the thickness of the laminate, respectively.
n, is the unit vector normal to the hole surface. The load is applied from
-

~r/2 s 0 s 7r/2.
A different and presumably more accurate representation of the load distribu-
tion on the hole surface can be obtained by knowing the actual displacements on
the inside surface of the hole. To calculate the displacements, the pin-hole contact
area must be known. In the following an analysis is presented for determining
the contact area. This analysis is based on the assumption that the pin is rigid
and that friction between the pin and the surface is negligible. Accordingly, only
tangential displacements are allowed on the contact surface of the hole.
Due to symmetry, only half of the laminate is considered. As the first step in
the analysis, the pin is assumed to contact with the laminate over an area char-
acterized by an angle 90 (60 > ~/2, Figure 2). Outside the contact area the
stresses are zero on the hole surface. The actual contact angle 0 is determined
as follows:
The displacements on the contact area are calculated by the finite element
method. The normal stresses along the contact surface are then calculated. If the
assumed contact 00 angle is greater than the actual contact angle Oc, part of nor-
mal stresses are tensile instead of compression (Figure 2). The angle 6. is then
decreased slightly, and the stresses are calculated again.
However, if the new contact angle is less than the actual contact angle 6~ there
404

will be inward radial displacements on the hole boundary outside the contact
area, which violate the rigid pin assumption. The angle 0, is then increased
slightly.
This procedure is repeated until all the normal stresses are in compression
along the contact area and all the radial displacements on the hole boundary out-
side the contact area are moving outward. The value, 00, thus obtained is taken
to be the actual contact angle 9~ . The normal stresses corresponding to the angle
0,are taken to be the actual contact stresses. The iterative procedure described
above will be referred to as the &dquo;displacement method.&dquo;

Failure Analysis
In order to determine the failure load and the failure mode, a failure criterion
must be applied. Numerous failure criteria have been proposed in the past
[7-10]. In this investigation, the Yamada-Sun failure criterion [11] combined with
the Chang-Scott-Springerfailure characteristic curve [2-3] was adopted. These
were selected because, as will be shown, they predict the failure load and failure
mode well and are insensitive to the assumed load distribution inside the bound-
ary of the hole.
The Yamada-Sun failure criterion states that failure occurs when the following
condition is met in any one of the plies.

Failure occurs when e is equal to or greater than unit. In this equation, Qx and

Qx,, the
are longitudinal and shear stresses in a ply, respectively (x and y being
the coordinates parallel and normal to the fibers in the ply). S is the rail shear
strength of a symmetric, cross ply laminate [0/90]S . X is either the longitudinal
tensile strength or the longitudinal compressive strength of a single ply. The ten-
sile strength (X X,) is used when the stress a, is in tension (QX >_ 0). The
=

compressive strength (X = XJ is used when Qx is compressive (or., < 0).

Equation (2) must be evaluated along the characteristic curve specified by the
expression [1-4]

The angle 0, measured clockwise from the xl - x2 axis, may range in value from
-

~r/2 to ~r/2 (Figure 3). R, and R~ are the characteristic lengths for tension and
compression [2,3]. These parameters must be determined experimentally [2,3].
Failure occurs when the parameter e is equal to or is greater than unity at any
point on the characteristic curve
No failure
along the characteristic curve
Failure
 Figure 3. Description of the characteristic curve.

Figure 4. Location of failure (e =

1) along the characteristic curve.

405
 CONTACT ANGLE 8
Figure 5. Comparisons of the assumed cosine normal load distribution with the actual nor-
mal load distributions of T300/1034-C laminates calculated from the displacement model.

Figure 6. Bearing strength of fiberite T300/1034-C laminates contaming a single loaded

hole. Comparisons between the data and the results of the present displacement model and
the previous cosine normal load distribution.

406
 407

Table 1. Properties of fiberite T300/1034-C graphite/epoxy composite [2,3J.

The failure mode is determined by observing the location (0 =

Of) at which
e reaches unit (e=
1) (Figure 4).
4. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Using the displacement method, normal load distributions were calculated

along the contact surfaces for four types of T300/1034-C laminates. The material
properties used in the calculations are listed in Table 1. The laminate lay-ups and
the results are shown in Figure 5. The cosine load distribution is also included
in the Figure.
The load distributions determined by the present displacement method differ
considerably from the cosine load distribution. It is interesting that the maximum
contact angles calculated by the displacement method are less than 90 degrees.
On the other hand, for the cosine load distribution the maximum contact angle
is, by definition, always 90 degrees.
As stated in the Introduction, the calculated failure loads and failure modes
could be insensitive to the types of load distributions, provided an appropriate
failure criterion is used in the analysis. In order to demonstrate this point, the
strengths and failure modes of T300/1034-C laminates were calculated and com-
pared to data which were obtained previously [2,3]. The experimental apparatus
and procedures used in the tests are given in References [2,3]. The calculations
were performed by the displacement method (present method) and by the cosine
load distribution method (previous method).
The numerical results are shown in Figure 6 together with experimental data.
The ordinate in the figure represents the bearing strength PH = PlDH, where P~
is the failure load and DH is the cross-sectional area of the hole. The bearing
strengths calculated by the previous method (cosine load distribution) and the
present method (displacement method) are indicated by solid and dashed lines,
respectively. The calculated failure modes were not identified separately as long
as they were the same as those given by the data. In those cases where the
calculated failure mode differed from the data, the calculated failure mode was
identified by the letters T, B, or S, next to the corresponding data point. These
408

letters represent failure in tension, bearing and shearout modes. As can be seen,
the failure loads and failure modes calculated by the displacement method and
by the cosine load distribution agree closely with each other and with the data.
This indicates that, the cosine load distribution is a suitable approximation in
calculating the strengths and failure modes of laminates containing pin loaded
holes, as long as an appropriate failure criterion is chosen. The Yamada-Sun
failure criterion together with Chang-Scott-Springer characteristic curve pro-
vides such a failure criterion.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is grateful for valuable discussion with Dr. George S. Springer and
Dr. Richard A. Scott during the preparation of this manuscript.

REFERENCES

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