Size effect on strength of bi-material joints of steel with fiber-polymer composite

Metal-composite joints between steel ribs and advanced fiber-polymer composites are an effective structural system for hybrid ship hulls. Similar joints are of interest for fuel-efficient aircraft. The current designs of such joints are generally based on the strength criterion, which ignores fracture mechanics. Aimed at an efficient and reliable design, this study investigates the size effect on the strength of these joints theoretically, numerically and experimentally. The analytical formulation of the size effect is asymptotically anchored at the large-size limit in linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). The bi-material corner of the joint is shown to have a singular stress field with complex singularity. The strength of the joint is determined by the energy criterion for the macrocrack initiation at the corner, from which the large-size asymptote of the size effect law has been derived. A general approximate size effect law, spanning all sizes and various joint angles, is further derived via asymptotic matching. Numerical analysis with cohesive fracture model is used to design the experiments. Experimental studies involve the testing of geometrically similar hybrid joint specimens with the size ratio of 1:4:12. The analytical, numerical and experimental studies all indicate that the strength of bimaterial metal-composite joints is subjected to a strong size effect.