Analysis of stress distribution around pin loaded holes in orthotropic plates

An analysis was performed to evaluate the stress distribution in composite pin loaded joints. The analysis involves specification of displacement expressions in the form of a trigonometric series that satisfy the boundary conditions for the contact region in terms of a set of undetermined coefficients. Based on this assumed distribution, the Lekhnitskii complex variable approach is used to obtain the stress functions needed to evaluate the contact stresses within the joint. Unknown coefficients in the displacement expression were obtained by assuming coulomb friction within the contact region and evaluating the displacement at discrete points within this region. Material properties of carbon fiber reinforced plastic laminates were used for this study and the stress distribution for different values of coefficient of friction analyzed. The analysis revealed that friction affects the stress distribution around the hole boundary with, in general, the peak stresses varying with increasing values of frictional coefficient. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved