Analytical determination of contact stresses in mechanically fastened composite laminates with finite boundaries

The present analysis focuses on the assessment of the contact stresses in mechanical joints with a single fastener, with two fasteners, and with a row of fasteners perpendicular to loading in finite composite laminates. The solution is obtained by solving the governing equations of elasticity under plane-stress assumptions using the modified mapping-collocation method. The load exerted by the fastener through the contact region, which consists of no-slip and slip zones due to the presence of friction, is modeled with appropriate mixed boundary conditions. The analysis results compare favorably with the photoelastic experimental measurements available in the literature.