Load distribution of multi-fastener laminated composite joints

Abstract In this paper, a general and effective method is developed for load distribution of multi-fastener laminated composite joints by using the Faber series expansion (Cutis, 1971, Am. Math. Monthly78, 577–596; Kosmodamianskii and Chernick, 1981, Appl. Mech. 17(6), 94–100) and a complex potential method (Lekhnitskii, 1957, Anisotropie Plates, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York; Muskhelishvili, 1966, Some Basic Problems of the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity (5th Edn), Nauka, Moscow) in the plane theory of elasticity. As an application, the effects of friction and fitting tolerance on load distribution of a four-fastener joint are studied. The method presented here can be generalized to solve other problems in this field.