Experimental and numerical study on the tensile properties of T-joints with low Z-pin volume density

Abstract

Experiments and simulations were carried out to study the tensile performance of unreinforced and Z-pinned composite T-joints with low Z-pin density (Z-pin spacing larger than 5 mm). It was found that the initial load drop of the Z-pinned specimen was obviously smoother than that of the unpinned specimen, and the improvement to the ultimate strength of the T-joint was over 45% by Z-pinning. Besides, the tensile performance of the Z-pinned T-joint was significantly related to the distance of the Z-pin to the symmetry plane of the T-joint and Z-pin diameter, while was independent of the column spacing. Regarding the numerical study, the proposed macro T-joint model was found to be capable of successfully predicting the tensile performance of Z-pinned and unreinforced T-joints in terms of both load-displacement response and damage mode.