Fatigue performance of a bonded wavy composite lap joint

Abstract

ABSTRACT A novel wavy lap joint design was further studied. Our previous studies using cross‐ply composite adherends showed that the new design was indeed much stronger than the conventional flat joint. In order to fully demonstrate advantage of the new wavy lap joint over the conventional single lap joint, comparative fatigue tests were performed to determine the durability performance of the wavy joint. In this study, a comparative static strength test of the conventional flat joint and the wavy joint was first carried out using unidirectional composite adherends. Then fatigue tests at different load levels and load frequencies were conducted. The test results showed that the wavy lap joint had a much longer fatigue life than the conventional lap joint.